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

Sci-Fi film takes over the top spot on IMDB days before its set to releaseShawshank Redemption held the top spot since 2008, replacing The Godfather READ MORE: The best films of 2023 were Oppenheimer and Barbie 

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

The Shawshank Redemption has held the number one best film spot on IMDB since 2008 when it knocked The Godfather out of its long-standing ranking of nearly 20 years.

The 1994 flick has lost its crown Dune: Part Two, which has been deemed ‘visually thrilling’ and ‘narratively epic’ by critics days before its official release on March 1.

The Warner Bros movie 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 on Rotten Tomatoes.

Dune: Part Two overtook The Shawshank Redemption’s number one spot on IMDB days before it’s release

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 direct contrast to The Shawshank Redemption, which was a slow burn for viewers after it tanked at the box office.

The cult classic didn’t reach the heart of viewers until it was released on VHS a year later but it still took another 12 years before it reached IMDB’s top 250 list.

Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi vision, Dune: Part Two, has seemed to have no such issue, with viewers calling it the movie Hollywood needed and the ‘Sci-Fi/Fantasy epic of our Generation,’ while some compared it to The Lord of The Rings trilogy’s success in the early 2000s.

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

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

Rotten Tomatoes is considered to be a more accurate depiction of a film’s success because it focuses on critics reviews.

Dune: Part Two beat out The Shawshank Redemption’s top spot on IMDB nearly 20 years after the film took The Godfather’s place on the site

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

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

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

Yet its surge in popularity is giving other viewers pause, with one asking: ‘It hasn’t been released yet and it’s already the highest-rated film of all-time on IMDb. How is that even possible?’

Another person wrote that people are judging the film too early.

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

Part one handled ‘the world-building and … expositional heavy lifting,’ according to film critic Austin Goslin, as it followed Paul and the Atreides family’s acquisition of controlling the universe’s one planet, Arakis, that produced a valuable resource called spice.

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

‘It’s a fantastic piece of filmmaking, rarely seen in modern-day cinema,’ one viewer said

When the Harkonnens family overruns House Atreides and kills their patriarch, Duke Leto Atreides to take back the sand-ridden planet, Paul (played by Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (played by Rebecca Ferguson) were among the few who survived the assault, escaping to the desert after their family was nearly obliterated.

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

The film had a much higher budget than the first, with filmmakers spending $190 million, up from $165 million spent to create its predecessor.

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

Dune: Part Two boasts an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Christopher Walken that brings the story to life.

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

‘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 modern-day cinema.’