The movie featuring the major titans clashing against each other has passed our expectations. For instance, Godzilla vs. Kong has us impressed, not only with cinematic value but also with how much it is cashing in at the Box Office. It has hit a whopping $285.4 million on Easter Sunday.
Warner Bros. and Legendary posted Godzilla vs. Kong‘s impressive debut of $48.5 million in its first five days. That is including an estimated $32.2 million from 3,064 theaters for the three-day Easter weekend.
The movie has bested everything by far since the COVID-19 crisis began. The result from the success of Godzilla Vs Kong has assured any nervous studios and theater owners about when moviegoing will recover in earnest. Along with that, it has also built confidence about whether it is safe to begin releasing high-profile films as the summer box office season approaches.
“This is really significant,” says Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros. “It is igniting a recovery.”
Before the movie took the top spot at the Box Office in North America, the title was being held by Warner Bros. Wonder Woman 1984 ($16.7 million), which opened over Christmas. At the time, the second wave of COVID-19 was re-closing theaters left and right. At the time, Angeles and New York City theaters still hadn’t reopened at all.
However, Godzilla’s top DMA markets proved the power of Los Angeles and New York City. These cinemas were recently allowed to reopen. They led the list in terms of the top-performing market, followed by Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Chicago, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Orlando, and Atlanta.
The movie had its success boosted by the fact that it had 10,000 private screenings, a pandemic-era innovation. During pre-COVID times, the numbers racked up by Godzilla vs. Kong would be moderate at best. However, it is impressive during the times of this pandemic. The movie launched itself not only in the theaters but also on HBO Max. We do not know how much of an impact that may have had on its theatrical run.
Since the streaming site has not released its viewership numbers, it claims to have the largest audience on the streaming service for its first four days compared to any other film.
“The HBO Max audience has spoken very clearly and loudly: they love this film and are watching it more than once,”
said Andy Forssell, exec VP and general manager of WarnerMedia Direct-to-Consumer.
Even the last Godzilla movie, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, came up short against its successor. To put it in perspective, Godzilla: King of the Monsters opened with $47.8 million in its domestic installment.
With the way the movie is heading, it will soon rise to the top of the entirety of domestic runs such as The Croods: A New Age and Tenet ($57.9 million). According to a few analysts, the movie might be the first to even cross $100 million in North America since the pandemic. For a frame of reference, only 55 percent of cinemas are now reopened in North America, including just 20 percent in Canada is available.
On top of the multiple hurdles that the movie has faced, there were still held back by rules and regulations. Such as, multiple theaters have limited capacity including in Los Angeles and New York City. On Tuesday, Los Angeles County officially entered the Orange Tier, but won’t be allowed to up capacity from 25 percent to 50 percent until April 5.
“Fortunately, there seems to be a much-welcomed change afoot,”
says Paul Dergarabedian of Comscore.
“Thankfully, the industry will likely enjoy some its biggest grossing days of the past year in the coming days and weeks, thus proving that the formula of more vaccines, more falling cases, more open cities/theaters, more studio confidence and more new movies will equal more patrons going back to the movies and a gradual return to ‘normal’ box office.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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