NEW YORK 鈥� With the help of a few old friends, the box office rekindled some of its old might over the weekend. 鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong鈥� scored easily the best opening of the pandemic with an estimated $48.5 million since opening Wednesday, even as it was simultaneously streaming at home.
The monster mash, from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, was the widest domestic release in the past year, playing in more than 3,000
鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong鈥� stomped to $32.2 million from Friday to Sunday, according to studio estimates Sunday. The five-day total far exceeded expectations, and even outpaced the three-day debut ($47.8 million) of the franchise's last entry, 2019's 鈥淕odzilla: King of the Monsters.鈥� Globally, 鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong鈥� grossed $120.1 million over the weekend, bringing its two-week worldwide total to $285.4 million.
Made for approximately $160 million, 鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong鈥� is one of a small handful of big-budget movies to open in
The studio didn't offer viewing data Sunday but said 鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong鈥� had a larger audience on HBO Max than any film or TV show since the service's launch in 2020.
But clearly the clash of two of the movies' most iconic big guys was enough to drive more people 鈥� whether they have HBO Max accounts or not 鈥� to the big screen more than anything else over the past the year. After a punishing year for
David A. Gross, who runs the movie consultancy FranchiseRe, estimated that 鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong鈥� would have debuted with a $50 million three-day weekend and $500 million worldwide if not for the pandemic.
鈥淲hile it鈥檚 half of what it would be under normal circumstances, the weekend is a clear and positive indication that moviegoing has inherent strengths that aren鈥檛 going away, including going out for the group experience; the big screen quality; and the value for cost,鈥� Gross said.
鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong鈥� had already launched with $123.1 million internationally last weekend, led by especially strong ticket sales in China. There, it opened with $70 million, surpassing the performance of previous entries in the franchise. This weekend, it added another $44 million, Legendary said.
鈥淢oviegoers have been waiting for an event film like 鈥楪odzilla vs. Kong鈥� to arrive on the big screen and the numbers don鈥檛 lie 鈥� it鈥檚 clear that wherever audiences are ready to safely return to the
A new series of movies was restarted in 2014 with 鈥淕odzilla,鈥� followed by 2017's 鈥淜ong: Skull Island鈥� and 2019's 鈥淕odzilla: King of Monsters.鈥� Returns have been steadily diminishing. The previous three films opened domestically with $200.7 million, $168.1 million and $47.8 million, respectively. But the franchise had been leading up to the prize fight of 鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong." Directed by Adam Wingard, its human co-stars include Alexander Skarsg氓rd, Brian Tyree Henry and Rebecca Hall.
The pandemic high had belonged to 鈥淲onder Woman 1984,鈥� which launched with $16.7 million in December. The previous best opening of 2021 in North America was 鈥淭om & Jerry,鈥� with $13.7 million in late February. That gives Warner Bros. the top three movies of the last year, all distributed in a hybrid release plan in both
Theater owners seized on the film's performance as proof that moviegoers are ready to return to
The film drew mostly younger moviegoers. According to the studio, 72% were under the age of 35. 鈥淕odzilla vs. Kong,鈥� which has received mostly positive reviews from critics, scored an 鈥淎鈥� CinemaScore from audiences.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
