In an opinion piece published on Variety, Dune director Denis Villeneuve has slammed the decision to debut Dune on streaming service HBO Max, saying he learned about the decision "in the news." The director has condemned the move as purely profit-based, placing blame on Warner Media's parent company AT&T for "[hijacking] one of the most respectable and important studios in film history."

In a surprise announcement earlier in December, Warner announced that its entire theatrical line-up would be releasing on HBO Max on the same day as its theatrical release. Legendary Entertainment, a co-financer on many of the films, has threatened legal action over the move.

Dune director Denis Villeneuve has been one of the most vocal critics of the move, writing "there is absolutely no love for cinema, nor for the audience here. It is all about the survival of a telecom mammoth, one that is currently bearing an astronomical debt of more than $150 billion."