March started strong for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures with “Dune: Part Two,” and ends with another successful opening weekend for “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” making $80 million from 3,861 theaters.
The opening surpasses earlier expectations in the $50 million range and almost matches the $82.5 million opening of “Dune: Part Two” at the beginning of the month. It’s also one of the top 5 highest openings ever on Easter weekend.
While the global numbers are still coming in, “Godzilla x Kong” has the potential to make $175 million globally. This is a strong start for a film with a $135 million production budget – 75% financed by Legendary and 25% by Warner. The film earned $47 million internationally on Friday, with $13 million from China alone, surpassing expectations.
Similar to the “Jurassic World” films, “Godzilla x Kong” appeals to audiences with its massive creatures wreaking havoc on the big screen, and viewers have responded by turning out in large numbers. As predicted, the opening night audience was predominantly male at 62%, with the largest age group being the 25-34 cohort, making up 29%.
Another positive for “Godzilla x Kong” is the strong word-of-mouth buzz with an A- CinemaScore and a 93% Rotten Tomatoes audience score. With upcoming films like “Monkey Man” and “Civil War” targeting the core audience of male millennials, having a strong audience buzz can help “The New Empire” maintain its success.
More updates to follow…