See Inside This Picture-Perfect Venue for the ‘Dune: Part Two’ Premiere After-Party

The after-party was held at the American Museum of Natural History’s Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation, which features a five-story atrium with dramatic skylights and smoothly rounded concrete surfaces.Photo: Line 8 PhotographyNEW YORK—Sometimes the venue can be the real star of an event. And for the U.S. premiere of Dune: Part Two, which took place in New York City on Feb. 25, the Warner Bros. events team identified the perfect after-party location—the American Museum of Natural History’s Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation.

Opened in early 2023, the $465 million, 230,000-square-foot Richard Gilder Center is found on the museum’s Columbus Avenue side. Designed by Chicago-based architecture firm Studio Gang, the building features a five-story atrium with dramatic skylights and smoothly rounded concrete surfaces—evoking the feel of river-carved canyons or an underwater coral reef.

Wendy Robino, senior vice president of marketing events for Warner Bros. Pictures, said that the team's original plan was to host the after-party at The Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

“However, during our events team's routine site check before the event, we decided to explore other potential locations for future events," Robino said. "That's when we discovered the Gilder Center at the American Museum of Natural History. Stepping into the new wing, an instant realization hit us—we absolutely had to host our event there. The ambiance resembled stepping into the Fremen sietches on Arrakis (aka Dune). The vastness of the space complemented the grand scale of the film, solidifying our conviction that this was the perfect venue for our event.”

Legendary Pictures' creative team, Warner Bros.' creative experts, and 15/40 Productions then designed a lighting and layout concept around the building’s architecture.

Here, guests were immersed into the world of Arrakis and the Fremen sietches (the desert villages featured in the movie). Warner Bros. also commandeered the museum’s permanent "Invisible Worlds" immersive experience to showcase a special video that placed guests inside the imaginary world, complete with a Hans Zimmer score, ornithopter flights, and sandstorms, all culminating in some sandworm appearances. Robino explained that it offered “guests and influencers an additional avenue for film-centric content to share and engage with on social media.”

In collaboration with the museum's caterer, CxRA, guests dined on a Mediterranean-inspired menu presented at small-plate stations, and sponsor Casamigos designed custom cocktails inspired by themes from the film.

Held at the Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center, the event’s red carpet boasted an ornithopter (an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings) that functioned as a gamer cockpit for talent and influencers to test out.

The carpet was also livestreamed on TikTok and Instagram, reaching 380,000 unique live viewers and generating over 800,000 engagements across the Warner Bros. Movies, Dune Movie, Fandango, and Legendary channels. Robino said that this livestream outperformed the “highly successful Barbie campaign, securing its position as the top-performing live event.” She added that because of the strong statistics, livestreaming the red carpet will be a trend that will “persist and flourish in the future.” The movie screening took place at the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

Keep scrolling to see key vendors and more from the Dune: Part Two red carpet and after-party...

VENDORS
Catering: CxRA
Design & Event Production: 15/40 Productions (red carpet and after-party); NVE Experience Agency (ornithopter build for Xbox)
DJ: Daisy O’Dell
Lighting & AV: Frost Productions
Live Stream: Sassy Create
Photography: Line 8 Photography
Video Design: Snakes and Ladders