Epidemic? Some kind of epidemic?! The picture Godzilla vs. Kong (Godzilla vs. Kong) from the studio Warner Bros. in terms of the size of the box office receipts, it matched the huge size of the title characters in its opening weekend, exceeding all expectations. It grossed $32.2 million on a record-breaking 3,064 screens for the weekend and $48.5 million since opening in 2,409 theaters last Wednesday. This real blockbuster accounted for 92% of the North American (US and Canada combined) box office. This is the highest opening gross for any film during the pandemic. And these numbers can absolutely be compared with collections of similar genre films released before the epidemic and all kinds of lockdowns. It seems that people are finding the desire to get off the couch and go to the movies again, even when, as in the case of Godzilla vs. Kong, the film was simultaneously available on the streaming service HBO Max.
Interestingly, a significant portion of the collection went to especially large-format theaters, including IMAX, where the picture collected approximately 4.5 million dollars in a five-day period. These movie theaters have proven popular because they allow for easier social distancing due to their enormous size. The opening of movie theaters in the Los Angeles area also greatly helped congregations. Godzilla vs. Kong’s sensational debut is all the more remarkable given that only 55% of North American theaters are currently open, most of which are still limited to occupancy. In Canada, only 20% of movie theaters are open.
Only one more studio film was released this weekend, Sony’s The Unholy , which took second place with $3.2 million from 1,850 screens, which in no way compares to Godzilla .
Russian director Ilya Naishuller’s action flick Nobody , which opened at No. 1 last weekend, also suffered from Godzilla vs. Kong’s theatrical presence, dropping to third place with $3.07 million. The film, starring the popular Bob Odenkirk, collected $11.87 million in ten days after its release.
And, as always, we will finish with a foreign rental. And, as always, China dominates here. After opening with $69.2 million in China last weekend, Godzilla vs. Kong dropped just 37% to $44 million. The box office in China now stands at $137.1 million. The film’s overseas total this weekend was $71.6 million, including $3.8 million in Mexico, $3.6 million in Australia and $2.7 million in Taiwan. Outside of North America, the total has now reached $236.9 million, and the worldwide total is an impressive $285.4 million, $28 million of which came from huge IMAX screens. “Semi-animated” Tom and Jerry (Tom & Jerry) collected $ 3 million in more than 40 countries, including $ 1 million in Australia alone. The total amount of fees of the studio Warner Bros. outside the Americas is $54 million, bringing the worldwide total to $93.5 million.