New sci-fi movie replaces The Shawshank Redemption as IMDb’s highest-rated film of all time

A new sci-fi film has overtaken The Shawshank Redemption as the highest-rated film on IMDB – and it hasn’t even been released yet.

The Shawshank Redemption has held the top spot on IMDB since 2008, when The Godfather was dropped from its long-standing ranking of nearly two decades.

The 1994 film has lost its crown to Dune: Part Two, which was deemed “visually exciting” and “narratively epic” by critics days before its official release on March 1.

The Warner Bros. film has a 9.4 rating on IMDB from viewers who went to an early screening of the sci-fi epic on Sunday, along with a 97 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Dune: Part Two is the second park in the film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s first book of the same name

Dune: Part Two’s sudden rise in popularity is in stark contrast to The Shawshank Redemption, which was a slow burner for viewers after tanking at the box office.

The cult classic didn’t reach viewers’ hearts until it was released on VHS a year later, but it took another twelve years before it reached IMDB’s top 250 list.

Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi vision, Dune: Part Two, didn’t seem to have this problem, with viewers calling it the film Hollywood needed and the “Sci-Fi/Fantasy epic of our generation,” while some compared to The Lord or The success of the Rings trilogy in the early 2000s.

The majority of reviewers gave Dune: Part Two a 10-star rating, while only five reviews placed it below five stars, with many complimenting its blend of “visual splendor and narrative depth.”

The film’s IMDB rating has beaten the highest-grossing films of all time, including Marvel’s Avengers: End Game and James Cameron’s Avatar and The Titanic, all of which have collected around 90 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rotten Tomatoes is considered a more accurate representation of a film’s success because it focuses on reviews from critics.

Dune: Part Two beat The Shawshank Redemption to the top spot on IMDB, almost 20 years after the film replaced The Godfather on the site

Dune: Part Two cost $190 million to make and will need $470 million at the box office to turn a profit

Filmmakers hope to make $70 to $80 million in Dune: Part Two’s opening weekend

Dune: Part Two features an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler and Christopher Walken

Still, the surge in popularity has other viewers thinking, with one asking, “The movie hasn’t been released yet and it’s already the highest-rated movie of all time on IMDb. How is that even possible?’

Another wrote that people are judging the movie too early.

Critics are also jumping on the Dune bandwagon and reporting that the second part of the film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s book of the same name did not disappoint.

Part one dealt with “the world building and… the enormous heavy lifting,” according to film critic Austin Goslin, as it followed Paul and the Atreides family’s acquisition of control of the universe’s only planet, Arakis, which produced a valuable resource called spices.

Viewers raved about the film after seeing an early screening, calling it the film Hollywood needed

“It’s a fantastic piece of filmmaking, rarely seen in contemporary cinema,” said one viewer

When the Harkonnen family overruns House Atreides and kills their patriarch, Duke Leto Atreides, to take back the sand-ravaged planet, Paul (played by Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (played by Rebecca Ferguson) are among the few who survived the attack. fled to the desert after their family was nearly wiped out.

The second adaptation reportedly wastes no time with a recap, instead jumping into Paul and Jessica’s attempts to avenge their family.

The film had a much higher budget than the first: filmmakers spent $190 million, compared to $165 million spent to make its predecessor.

To break even, the film will need to bring in $380 million and $475 million to turn a profit, but Villeneuve is reportedly hoping to bring in $70 to $80 million in box office sales in its opening weekend, Variety reports.

Dune: Part Two features an all-star cast, including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Christopher Walken, who bring the story to life.

Austin Butler – known for his debut role as Elvis in the cinematic adaptation of the rock ‘n’ roll star’s life – “steals the show as Feyd-Rautha,” according to a viewer who caught the film’s early release in Imax Viewed.

“Overall, Dune: Part Two is an inspiring, visually stunning sci-fi spectacle and an incredible collision of myth, adventure and destiny on a galactic scale,” the viewer wrote.

They added: ‘It’s a fantastic piece of filmmaking, rarely seen in contemporary cinema.’