Summary

• King Kong's height has varied across films, ranging from 12 feet to 335 feet, making it hard to determine how tall he is.
• Godzilla is the other popular character in the giant monster movie genre, starring in over 30 films by Japanese studio Toho.
• Kong's size has changed significantly, with the MonsterVerse version in Godzilla X Kong being the biggest at 335 feet.

King Kong’s height has changed quite a bit since his first movie appearance in 1933, making it hard to know how tall King Kong is. After turning into a cinematic legend, the American pop culture icon has been featured in several big-screen adventures, with each adaptation making at least some changes to the monster and his story. Kong is one of the two most popular characters in the giant monster movie genre. Godzilla has starred in over 30 movies, most by Japanese studio Toho.

Given that so many filmmakers tried their hand at Godzilla, there are multiple versions by this point. Kong has a much smaller list of movie appearances. Before Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, the ape was the focus of nine live-action films. Discounting sequels, six versions of King Kong have appeared on the big screen. Like Godzilla, who also changed in size, a key aspect of King Kong that tends to vary from film to film is his height, which ranges from 12 feet to 335 feet.

King Kong (1933)

King Kong Was 24-Feet Tall (But Listed As 50-Feet In Marketing)

King Kong director Merian C. Cooper delivered a history-making film when he brought King Kong to life in 1933. The movie’s use of special effects and stop-motion animation to make it appear that a gorilla of gigantic proportions was attacking New York City and scaling the Empire State Building was unprecedented. Interestingly, they used different models for Kong, so his size was inconsistent.

The marketing and other action sequences placed him at approximately 50 feet tall.

King Kong was 18 feet in the Skull Island portion of the story, and 24 feet while loose in the city. With that said, the marketing and other action sequences placed him at approximately 50 feet tall.

Son of Kong (1933)

King Kong's Son Was 12-Feet Tall

Released in December 1933, Son of Kong is a direct sequel to King Kong. As the title implies, the movie centers on the giant ape’s offspring, nicknamed “Little Kong” by one of the human characters. The Son of King Kong, far from an adult member of his species, stands out because of his white fur, which makes him visually distinct from his father. Though he was created using many of the same models from the 1933 film, Little Kong was no more than 12 feet tall, drastically smaller than any other version.

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)

King Kong Was 147-Feet Tall

Kong received a major size upgrade when Toho worked out a deal with RKO for a crossover with Gojira. In 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla, a new version of King Kong was introduced. This particular take on Kong is much bulkier and less agile than usual, standing at a towering 147 feet. This major adjustment allowed him to fight on the same level as Godzilla. The movie not only made the size change but also the addition of Kong's new electrical powers. This meant the great ape pushed the kaiju to its limit.

Godzilla appeared for the first time in 1954, 21 years after King Kong's first movie.

King Kong Escapes (1967)

King Kong Was Only 65-Feet Tall

Following King Kong vs. Godzilla, Toho received another opportunity to utilize King Kong. Despite Kong appearing to be the same version that fought Godzilla in 1962, his size in King Kong Escapes was lowered considerably from his appearance in the previous film. King Kong was only 65 feet tall during his fights with the giant Allosaurus known as Gorosaurus and Kong's robotic counterpart, Mechani-Kong. However, that still puts him above most interpretations of the monster until the MonsterVerse.

King Kong (1976)

King Kong Was 55-Feet Tall

This version was still the same size as the original 1933 King Kong movie advertised, but much bigger in real life.

In 1976, Paramount produced a remake of the 1933 classic and made a few changes to the iconic monster’s portrayal, with the most notable difference being that he was significantly larger in proportion to the movie’s human cast and less monster-like in terms of his personality. In one memorable scene, Paramount’s 55-foot-tall King Kong climbed the World Trade Center, replacing the Empire State Building from the original. This version was still the same size as the original 1933 King Kong movie advertised, but much bigger in real life.

King Kong Lives (1986)

King Kong Was 60-Feet Tall

The largest King Kong in an American production until the release of Kong: Skull Island

Ten years after the 1976 King Kong movie, a sequel arrived called King Kong Lives. This continues the ape’s story by giving him a family. A five-foot increase in height bumped Paramount’s version up to 60 feet, making him the largest King Kong in an American production until the release of Kong: Skull Island. Lady Kong was almost as tall as King Kong in the movie, which puts both apes larger than just about any other version until the MonsterVerse brought him back to monstrous heights.

King Kong (2005)

King Kong Was 25-Feet Tall

Instead of upping his size as the 1976 remake did, the Universal movie went in the other direction.

Acclaimed director Peter Jackson rebooted King Kong in 2005. Instead of upping his size as the 1976 remake did, the Universal movie went in the other direction. Whereas the 1933 Kong sometimes towered around 50 feet, the Peter Jackson King Kong's height didn’t exceed 25 feet. In the 2005 reboot’s interpretation of the story, the monster’s stature was explained by the revelation that he’s the last surviving member of a prehistoric species called “Megaprimatus kong.”

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

King Kong Grew To 104-Feet In The MonsterVerse

The second installment in Legendary’s MonsterVerse, Kong: Skull Island, took away the monster’s “King” title but didn’t detract from his image as a powerful beast who reigns over the other denizens of Skull Island. At 104 feet, the MonsterVerse’s Kong is the biggest to appear on the big screen since his crossover with Gojira in 1962. It was revealed that in the MonsterVerse mythos, Kong is one of several Titans that live on Earth, with others being Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah, and more.

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) & Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (2024)

King Kong Is The Biggest Ever, At 335-Feet

He is still shorter than the 394-foot-tall Godzilla, but it’s a huge change from his first MonsterVerse appearance in Skull Island

Toho’s Kong lost his title as the largest version of the monster to grace the big screen. Kong is taller than ever at an impressive 335 feet. He is still shorter than the 394-foot-tall Godzilla, but it’s a huge change from his first MonsterVerse appearance in Skull Island. Legendary’s Godzilla is far larger than all versions that appeared before him. Skull Island’s Kong was only a third of his height, so the size gap had to be narrowed for him to have any hope of posing a physical challenge to Godzilla.

As for how the size increase works regarding the movie’s story, Kong getting bigger is set up in Skull Island when it explains that King Kong wasn’t fully grown yet. Kong was still an adolescent at the time of Skull Island. Since that film was set in the early 1970s, enough time passed for the King of Skull Island to grow 231 feet. From all accounts, he will remain about the same height in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, where Kong teams with Godzilla against more giant monsters from Hollow Earth.

Key Release Dates

• 

  Godzilla Vs Kong

  Release Date:

  2021-03-31