Godzilla x Kong Had Nothing to Fear

'Monkey Man' debuts a distant second
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 7, 2024 12:55 PM CDT
Monster Mashup Remains King
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Godzilla, left, and Kong in a scene from "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire."   (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire easily swatted away a pair of challengers to hold on to the top spot at the box office for the second week, according to studio estimates Sunday. After its $80 million launch, the MonsterVerse mashup brought in $31.7 million over its second weekend, a 60% drop from its debut. The Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures release, directed by Adam Wingard, has outperformed the studio's recent monster films except for 2014's Godzilla. But with around $300 million worldwide in two weeks, Godzilla x Kong could leapfrog the $529 million global haul of that film, the AP reports. The latest installment, in which Godzilla and Kong team up, cost about $135 million to produce.

Another primate-themed movie arrived in theaters. Monkey Man, a revenge thriller released by Universal Pictures, opened in 3,029 North American theaters with an estimated $10.1 million. That marked a strong debut for Dev Patel's modestly budgeted directorial debut in which he stars in a bloody, politically charged action extravaganza. The other new wide release, The First Omen, from Disney's 20th Century Studios, came in third. The R-rated horror film, which cost about $30 million to make, is a prequel to the 1976 original starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick. A big performer was in China, where Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning The Boy and the Heron landed in theaters. The acclaimed Japanese anime is setting records for a non-Chinese animated film. Its five-day total surpassed $70 million.

Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

  1. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, $31.7 million.
  2. Monkey Man, $10.1 million.
  3. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, $9 million.
  4. The First Omen, $8.4 million.
  5. Kung Fu Panda 4, $7.9 million.
  6. Dune: Part Two, $7.2 million.
  7. Someone Like You, $3 million.
  8. Wicked Little Letters, $1.6 million.
  9. Arthur the King, $1.5 million.
  10. Immaculate, $1.4 million.
(More box office stories.)

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