According to studio estimates on Sunday, the combination of Godzilla and King Kong earned $80 million at the box office on 3,861 screens in North America.
The movie, featuring Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry, had the second-highest opening this year, falling just short of “Dune: Part 2.”
Initial predictions suggested that “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” would make about $50 million on its opening weekend.
Mary Parent, chairman of worldwide production for Legendary, described the film as a unique cinematic experience with iconic characters doing new things and having large portions without dialogue.
Last week’s top movie, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” came in second with $15.7 million, bringing its two-week total to $73.4 million.
“Dune: Part Two” maintained its position in the third spot with an $11.1 million take and a domestic total of $252.4 million in its fifth week.
The previous clash between Godzilla and Kong had a smaller opening weekend of $48.5 million, but it was considered a success due to the challenging circumstances of the pandemic and simultaneous release on HBO Max.
Parent stated that the opening weekend numbers were impressive given the circumstances.
This film had the second biggest opening in the MonsterVerse franchise. The 2014 “Godzilla” movie was the highest earner in the creature's cinematic history, bringing in over $200 million in North America and over $500 million globally.
“Godzilla x Kong” was released just four months after the critically acclaimed and Oscar-winning “Godzilla Minus One.”
Audiences were still drawn to 'Godzilla x Kong', with many choosing premium formats like IMAX.
According to Paul Dergarabedian, audiences wanted to experience the movie on the largest screens with the best sound due to the popularity of the main characters.
The combined success of “Godzilla x Kong,” “Dune Part Two” and “Ghostbusters” has narrowed the gap to 6 percent behind 2023, compared to the 20 percent behind before the release of “Dune.”
Dergarabedian mentioned that the industry had made progress, bringing cause for optimism after the release of 'Dune Part 2'.
The summer has several potential big hits, such as Ryan Gosling’s “The Fall Guy” and sequels to “Planet of the Apes,” “Mad Max,” “Inside Out” and “Deadpool.”
There is room for optimism in the movie industry as it strives to recover, although surpassing 2023 seems highly unlikely.
'Barbenheimer' is a very rare event, according to Dergarabedian.
Comscore is providing estimated ticket sales for Friday to Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters. The final domestic figures will come out on Monday.
The movie 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' made $80 million.
The film 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' earned $15.7 million.
'Dune: Part Two' brought in $11.1 million.
'Kung Fu Panda 4' made $10.2. million.
'Immaculate' grossed $3.3 million.
'Arthur the King' earned $2.4 million.
'Late Night With the Devil' made $2.2 million.
'Tillu Square' brought in $1.8 million.
'Crew' earned $1.5 million.
'Imaginary' brought in $1.4 million.
