Godzilla vs. Kong is on track to have the best opening weekend at the box office since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Ever since the coronavirus pandemic shut down movie theaters in March 2020, it has been difficult for Hollywood to recover. Christopher Nolan's Tenet tried to be the first big tentpole to debut and performed admirably given the circumstances, but the box office has been much lower than usual. This was due to theaters being closed around the world and limited capacity and movie options offered at those that were open.
Now over a year after theaters shut down for the first time, most of them are open across America again, and the international box office is heating up too. Godzilla vs. Kong became one of the first Hollywood films to release in these more favorable conditions. The fourth installment in the MonsterVerse franchise has done quite well early on. Godzilla vs. Kong opened to more than $120 million internationally, including $70M in China alone. Those figures were high enough for Warner Bros. to claim the highest international opening weekend since the pandemic, and now they'll do the same domestically.
According to THR, Godzilla vs. Kong continues to perform strongly at the domestic box office over its extended Easter weekend opening. The movie reportedly earned $11.6M on Friday, giving the monster mashup a current domestic total of $27.9M. That three-day total is already higher than any other opening in the last year domestically, but Godzilla vs. Kong is heading for more. This performance puts the movie on track for an opening north of $42M, which is easily the best opening since COVID-19.
Godzilla vs. Kong's new pandemic box office record goes far beyond anything other Hollywood movies have done. Wonder Woman 1984 previously held the record for its Christmas release after earning $16.7M. The next biggest openings have been Tom & Jerry's $14.1M, The Croods: A New Age's $9.7M, Tenet's $9.4M, and Raya and the Last Dragon's $8.5M. While Godzilla vs. Kong has the benefit of a few extra days to boost its final opening total, it's already surpassed each total. This is the benefit of more than 3,000 theaters being open, positive reviews for Godzilla and Kong's fight, and more people feeling comfortable going back to cinemas.
Not only is Godzilla vs. Kong's current box office performance impressive given the COVID world it's been released in, but the movie is performing on par with other blockbusters pre-pandemic. It is on track to out-earn 2019's Easter weekend release The Curse of La Llorona ($28.6M), and open on par with 2018's Ready Player One ($47M). There's even a chance that Godzilla vs. Kong's extended weekend performance could allow it to top Godzilla: King of the Monster's $47.7M opening. This should be a good sign for other upcoming movies, like Warner Bros.' Mortal Kombat, that are hoping to make a splash at the summer box office.
Source: THR