This is another instalment of our blog mini-series on book to screen adaptations.
In our previous instalments, we looked at the impact of film or television series adaptations on Canadian sales and library circulation. And we’ll share even more in our upcoming study on the topic later this year (sign up for the research newsletter to be notified when it’s released).
But there’s more involved in a book to screen adaptation than just putting the text onto the screen — there’s press releases, casting announcements, filming announcement, trailer releases, premieres, and more.
Lately, we’ve been looking even closer at the way these key dates impacted sales and library circulation on specific adaptations, like the Bridgerton series and Maid. In this blog post, we’re going to look at another example with the help of our SalesData and LibraryData services.
Today’s special feature – Dune and the Dune series by Frank Herbert.
About the data
SalesData and LibraryData store ISBNs differently. While SalesData gathers data for each individual ISBN, LibraryData uses ISBN clusters. These ISBN clusters may contain any number of ISBNs related to one title or to a series of books.
In order to compare Canadian book sales and Canadian library circulation, the ISBNs related to each film adaptation were taken first from LibraryData clusters. This same list of ISBNs was then used to gather data from SalesData.
Just like in the other instalments of this blog mini-series, if a film was related to a series of books, all titles in the series were considered together. For this instalment, 78 ISBNs from the Dune series by Frank Herbert were analysed.
And, action!
The Dune effect
The Dune series by Frank Herbert includes six books published between 1965 and 1983 that have been classified under the FICTION / Classics and FICTION / Science Fiction BISAC codes. Since then, the Dune series has captured the imaginations of readers and viewers — with a previous film adaptation in 1984, TV adaptations in the early 2000s, and even multiple video game adaptations beginning in the 1990s.
The most recent film adaptation of the series, Dune, premiered in October 2021 to rave audience reviews and critical reception — it has an average movie rating of 8.2 (between IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, and Metacritic) and was nominated for numerous awards including the 2022 Golden Globe Awards and the 2022 Academy Awards.
Which important dates during this adaptation of the Dune series have impacted the sales and library circulation of these titles?
The graphs below show the Canadian sales and library holds for the Dune series pre- and post-film release. And in the sections below that we break down of all the key dates for the Dune series and its film adaptation.
Sales for the Dune series from December 2017 to January 2022
LibraryData was launched in fourth quarter of 2019 and so the data below represents library circulation beginning in January 2020. Since a library’s ability to circulate titles is ultimately limited by the number of copies it has in its collection, this data is for library holds, rather than library loans, as they can show a clearer picture of library book borrowers' interest in a particular title.
Library holds for the Dune series from January 2020 to April 2022
Pre-release excitement
In the three-plus years between the film’s announcement and premiere, the long wait for Dune was matched by Canadian readers' renewed interest in the series, with uptake for both sales and library holds:
After Legendary acquired rights to the first book in the series, Dune, in November 2016 and the confirmation of director Denis Villeneuve’s involvement in February 2017, a two-part film series for Dune was finally announced in March 2018. In March 2018, sales for the Dune series increased 50% over February 2018.
In April 2018, script writing had began. It finished in May 2018, seeing another 10% increase in sales for the Dune series over these two months.
Casting announcements began in July 2018, with sales up 7% in July 2018 and another 50% in August 2018 for the Dune series.
The majority of casting announcements were between January and March 2019. It was also announced in March 2019 that Hans Zimmer would be scoring the film. Filming began in March 2019, too. Interestingly, sales did not increase in March 2019 but were down 15% from February 2019.
Filming ended in July 2019, with accompanying sales for the Dune series rising 4%.
Serious promotion for the film was beginning in April 2020, as Vanity Fair published an extensive two-part first-look report for the adaptation. Sales for the Dune series rose 72% in April, another 35% in May, 12% in June, and 13% in July 2020.
In September 2020, a teaser trailer for the film was released and sales for the Dune series increased 153%. Library holds for the series were also up 5% during the same month.
Promotion continued for the film as it appears as the cover story for Empire in October 2020, alongside a 12% increase in library holds for the Dune series.
With the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the movie industry, the initial release date for the film was moved. Its initial release date was December 2020 — a month that also saw a 44% increase in sales and a 43% increase in library holds for the Dune series.
July 2021 saw the release of the film’s theatrical trailer and exclusive IMAX screening in select theatres which showed the first ten minutes of the film. In the same month, library holds increased 13% for the Dune series, while sales were up 119% over June 2021.
During September 2021, the film was screened at the Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival, with accompanying sales up 78% for the Dune series and library circulation up 17% over August 2021.
Premiere boost
The film premiered in October 2021 with a simultaneous release in theatres and IMAX, with a simultaneous one-month digital release on HBO Max.
October 2021 sales for the Dune series increased 80%. In Canadian libraries, the film’s release didn’t spark an immediate burst in the number of holds.
Post-release buzz
The film and the Dune series continued to gain popularity, with sales of the Dune series rising again 75% in November and 12% in December 2021.
But it’s really in December 2021 that we begin to see library holds for the Dune series come to their peak – up 42% in December 2021, 792% in January 2022, 244% in February 2022, and another 8% in March 2022.
December 2021 also marks the re-release of the film in select IMAX theatres and the film’s definitive digital release on HBO Max. In the same month, the film was nominated for the 2022 Golden Globe Awards.
January, February, and March 2022 also have important dates for this film adaptation. In January 2022, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray and also won at the 2022 Golden Globe Awards. And the awards continued with a nominated for the 2022 Academy Awards in February 2022 and Academy Awards wins in March 2022.
Other important dates
More key dates have also impacted the sales and library circulation of the Dune series.
As Canadian readers awaited the release of the film, new editions of the Dune series became available for them to read, with editions for these titles being released in both June 2019 and July 2020:
In June 2019, sales increased 44% for the Dune series.
In July 2020, sales were up 13% and library holds for the Dune series increased 36%.
The holiday season is a time of year where the Canadian book industry always sees a big boost in sales. Year to year, we also see this trend with the Dune series:
In 2018, sales for the Dune series increased 91% over the fourth quarter of the year.
In 2019, sales for the Dune series were up 105% during the holiday season.
In 2020, sales for the Dune series rose 38% from October to December.
Curious for more data on book to screen adaptations? Keep your eyes peeled on our blog and sign up for the research newsletter to be the first to know about our upcoming research studies.
Stay tuned!
International standards organization, EDItEUR, releases Application Notes.