The upcoming “Dunesday” battle between Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three could allow Zendaya and Tom Holland to etch themselves into box office history. The “Dunesday” phenomenon is a spiritual successor to 2023’s “Barbenheimer” event, in which two huge studio movies will be released on the same day. While the latter’s Oppenheimer and Barbie were unique in that they were starkly different movies, “Dunesday” is set to be even bigger as two of the biggest movies of 2026 go head-to-head on December 18.
The story of Avengers: Doomsday is the biggest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2019, while Dune: Part Three is the final installment in the massively successful trilogy. Naturally, December 18 is shaping up to be a huge day for the global box office, with the “Dunesday” release date capping off an already successful year. What makes this even more interesting, though, is how “Dunesday” will potentially mean box office history for Zendaya and Tom Holland.
Holland and Zendaya are set to be big winners of “Dunesday”, with the latter having a major role in Dune: Part Three and the former likely to appear in Avengers: Doomsday after the post-credits tease of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Both Holland and Zendaya appeared in the 2026 MCU movie, which has already steamed past $1 billion at the global box office. Similarly, the acting duo both had big roles in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, another billion-dollar movie of 2026.
Therefore, if both Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday gross over $1 billion as expected, Holland and Zendaya will become only the second and third actors in history to have three movies cross this milestone in the same year. Samuel L. Jackson achieved this feat in 2019 with Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home, with Zendaya and Holland set to eclipse that. If they do, the Hollywood couple will make box office history.
Zendaya & Tom Holland Are Dominating Hollywood Together
What “Dunesday” will solidify is that Tom Holland and Zendaya are dominating Hollywood in a way a high-profile couple has not in a long while. “Hollywood power couples” was more a thing of the 90s and 2000s, with the back half of the latter decade ushering in the modern age of the lone movie star. Now, though, Holland and Zendaya are solidifying themselves as two of the biggest stars on Earth who also happen to be married.
Spider-Man: Homecoming earned over $800 million in 2017, beginning their era of dominance. Its sequels, Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home, easily surpassed $1 billion worldwide, with the latter falling just short of $2 billion. Spider-Man: Brand New Day has grossed over $1.6 billion in only two weekends, achieving several records in the process; the movie broke the record for the highest domestic opening weekend in history, surpassing Avengers: Endgame, and became the second-highest-grossing opening weekend worldwide. Spider-Man: Brand New Day became the second-fastest movie to reach $1 billion, doing so in only six days.
The Odyssey was also released in July 2026, only further catapulting Zendaya and Holland into sheer superstardom. That is without mentioning their solo efforts, from Holland’s wider work in the MCU to Zendaya’s Dune movies. Thanks to their personal relationship, though, Holland and Zendaya have been dominating Hollywood together. Success for one means success for the other, given how often they spend time together in the spotlight. 2026 has proven this beyond all doubt, with Dune: Part Three and Avengers: Doomsday only set to continue that.
Zendaya & Tom Holland’s Joint Record Could Be The Most Impressive Yet
What makes “Dunesday” even more special than Samuel L. Jackson’s previous record of the same ilk is just how central Zendaya and Holland will be to their respective 2026 movies. Jackson played a big role in 2019’s Captain Marvel, yes, but his role in Avengers: Endgame was seconds long. Spider-Man: Far From Home then used him as a minor character, meaning he was only central to one of that year’s big $1 billion movies. Conversely, Zendaya and Holland are the true definition of movie stars in 2026.
Florence Pugh will likely also cross the same milestone by appearing in both Avengers: Doomsday and Dune: Part Three, but her role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day was limited to two small cameos.
Both were integral to The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with Zendaya set to be one of the biggest characters in Dune: Part Three. While Holland’s role in Avengers: Doomsday is more speculative, the fact that he spearheaded a movie likely to cross $2 billion quicker than any other bolsters this. Even just a cameo in Avengers: Doomsday would thus make his appearance in three $1 billion movies bigger than Jackson’s, with Zendaya’s role in Dune: Part Three speaking for itself.
- Release Date
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December 18, 2026
- Runtime
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165 Minutes
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Vanessa Kirby
Sue Storm / Invisible Woman
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Johnny Storm / Human Torch
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Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ben Grimm / The Thing
