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With the 94th Academy Awards coming up this Sunday, many are sharing which Best Picture nominee they want to win the award. In 2021, audiences and critics heaped praise on Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. While Dune isn’t a frontrunner for Best Picture, the fans appear to want it to win, based on the results of a Fandango moviegoers survey. 

‘Dune’ is the highest-grossing Best Picture nominee at the Oscars

The cast of Best Picture nominee Dune attend a UK special screening.
Rebecca Ferguson, Timothee Chalamet, Denis Villeneuve, Babs Olusanmokun and Zendaya | Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for Warner Bros

Dune earned the most at the box office out of all of the Best Picture nominees. According to Box Office Mojo, the film earned over $400 million worldwide, despite also releasing on HBO Max the same day. The marketing for Dune emphasized the theatrical experience, especially on an IMAX screen, and many audiences listened. It is a visual and audio spectacle that is best viewed on the largest screen possible.

Still, the box office may not be the best indicator of how many people watched a movie. Many of the Best Picture nominees went directly to streaming, so it’s harder to figure out how many people watched them. However, because Dune is a well-known IP, more people most likely watched Dune than any other nominee. The movie also has a cast with famous stars like Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Dave Bautista, Josh Brolin, and Jason Momoa.

‘Dune’ is a fan-favorite amongst Fandango moviegoers

In a new survey taken by Fandango, Dune is the favorite amongst fans for Best Picture nominees. Fandango surveyed more than 2,000 of its users and the survey, shared by Gold Derby, shows who fans liked the most in each Academy Awards category. 

“Dune is grand-scale entertainment that marvelously transports you to another place and another time, introducing characters who are instantly memorable and a story that is unforgettable,” says Fandango Managing Editor and Gold Derby Expert Erik Davis. “Fans love Dune the most because of its big ideas and its incredible visuals. This was very much a film that reminded audiences of the power of big-screen moviemaking, and deserves top honors.”

Dune took the top prize with 27% of the vote, with West Side Story coming in second place with 13%. For the other categories, fans chose Andrew Garfield for Best Actor, Kristen Stewart in Spencer for Best Actress, J.K. Simmons for Best Supporting Actor, Kirsten Dunst for Best Supporting Actress, and Steven Spielberg for Best Director. 

Does ‘Dune’ have a chance at winning Best Picture?

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Dune is nominated for 10 Academy Awards, the second most after The Power of the Dog, which is nominated for 12. However, Villeneuve got snubbed for Best Director, and the Best Picture winner has typically the director nominated as well. The past two years, the winner of Best Director also had the Best Picture. 

CODA has also been building momentum with recent wins at the SAG awards and the PGA awards. The race for Best Picture appears to be between CODA and The Power of the Dog, but maybe Dune can pull off an upset to the delight of fans. 

Dune is currently streaming on HBO Max. 

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