Netflix adding Oscar-winning sci-fi next month before much-hyped sequel arrives

As we roll toward the end of 2023 there's already lots of promise from the best streaming services coming next year. And while Netflix has been having lots of success with its own Originals movies – such as Leave The World Behind sitting at its no.1 spot at the time of writing – there's a multi-Oscar-winning sci-fi coming next month that'll blow your socks off. 

I'm talking about Dune, the 2021 sci-fi belter from acclaimed director, Denis Villeneuve, which arrives on Netflix from 9 January. It was nominated for a mega 10 Oscars and walked away with six of those, including best cinematography, best visual effects, best sound and more. It really is a stunning-looking movie, as you can see in the trailer below.

Netflix's timing is spot-on here, too, as Dune is the first of two parts, with the continuation Dune: Part Two set to hit cinemas on 24 March 2024. You needn't call it a sequel, per se, as the two movies go hand-in-hand in continuing the story. Given the original's runtime is two hours and 35 minutes, with the sequel being even longer at two hours and 46 minutes, the full back-to-back runtime hits a whopping five hours and 20 minutes.

Speaking of hours, Netflix released a really interesting report about its most-watched shows and movies for the first half of 2023. I compiled the top 10 movies from that list and the number one result may surprise you. However, as Netflix used a metric of cumulative hours watched for this list, it doesn't necessarily reflect overall popularity – especially as the list is only adding up the hours from 1 January through to 30 June 2023. 

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But back to Dune: this is one visually spectacular movie, as you can see from the screenshots in the gallery above, and whether or not you're a major sci-fi fan I think there's stacks of appeal just watching the show on one of the best OLED TVs and basking in its aesthetic excellence. I actually bought Dune on 4K Blu-ray just to squeeze the very best out of it, as I love the format and lament that its days are coming to an end.

Fans certainly agree, with Dune netting a stellar 90% audience score on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, a well-deserved win for the movie. That's Villeneuve's second-highest score on the board, with his also-excellent Blade Runner 2049 sitting a couple of percentage points below, followed by Arrival. Goes to show what a master of sci-fi this director is – which is all the more reason to schedule its 9 January release in your calendar. It's one to not miss and makes signing up to Netflix all the more worth it!