Florence Pugh's Watch Order: Dune Before Avengers?

Two giant films. One release day. What would you watch first?

Florence Pugh, who returns to theaters this December in two very different tentpoles, has an opinion: start with Dune: Part Three, then let Avengers: Doomsday close the night—or save it for the next day. It's a suggestion that feels less like scheduling advice and more like a viewing ritual.

Pugh wears two hats across these worlds. In Marvel's sprawling saga she is Yelena Belova—introduced in Black Widow, popped up in Hawkeye, voiced an appearance in Marvel Zombies and most recently surfed the Spider-Man wave in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In Denis Villeneuve's Dune she plays Princess Irulan, a political figure whose quiet power becomes crucial to the saga's next chapter.

Her recommendation is practical and oddly cinematic: watch Dune first, take a long lunch, talk about what you just saw, let it settle, then either head back the same evening for Avengers or come back the following day. 'Watch Dune first,' she says in the clip. 'Go to lunch, talk about it, analyze it. Maybe spend a night talking about it. Then watch Avengers. I honestly can't say which is better. Just see both.'

There's logic to it. Villeneuve's Dune lives on atmosphere and slow-burn revelations—films that reward digestion, conversation, even a return to quiet reflection. Avengers: Doomsday, by contrast, promises an adrenaline-fueled crossover: the Avengers, New Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and Wakandan warriors are all lined up against Doctor Doom. It's blockbuster cinema meant to be felt in real time.

Box-office momentum already favors Marvel: pre-sales for Avengers: Doomsday reportedly topped $125 million. The Russo brothers steered this leviathan, assembling characters and stakes on a scale few franchises attempt. Dune: Part Three will not be left behind artistically; Warner Bros. secured an IMAX exclusivity window for three weeks, banking on Villeneuve's panoramic vision filling the largest screens.

Cast lists read like a who's-who. Dune's next chapter reunites Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Robert Pattinson, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin alongside Pugh. In the previous Dune film Irulan accepted Paul Atreides' proposal under a fraught condition—an arc that promises political complications moving forward.

On the Marvel side, Pugh's Yelena has been instrumental in shifting alliances: from covert missions in Black Widow to complex team dynamics in Thunderbolts, and now to this universe-colliding showdown. Seeing both roles back-to-back is a strange kind of double feature: intimate political intrigue followed by mythic superhero spectacle.

Both films open Friday, December 18, 2026. Whether you take Pugh's advice and let Dune be the appetizer for an Avengers main course, or the other way around, the real win is the moviegoing marathon itself. Which double-feature will you pick?