After three days of release, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” stands as the third-highest-grossing movie of the year. It has collected a mighty $194 million globally in its opening weekend, ranking behind only “Dune: Part Two” ($626 million after five weeks of release) and “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($347 million after four weeks of release) in terms of overall ticket sales.
The monster mashup, from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, kicked off at the international box office with $114 million from 64 markets. It also far exceeded expectations in North America with $80 million in its first weekend of release. Overseas, China led the way with $44 million, followed by Mexico with $12.8 million and India with $5.5 million.
“We wanted to deliver something that was highly entertaining to audiences,” says “Godzilla x Kong” producer Mary Parent. “Nobody has a crystal ball. You can only hope and dream. So, seeing this result globally feels really good and exciting.”
“Godzilla vs. Kong” filmmaker Adam Wingard returned to direct “The New Empire,” starring Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens. Unlike prior iterations, which pit the creatures against each other, this film sees Kong unite with Godzilla to stop a mysterious threat from destroying the planet. It carries a $135 million production budget, so outsized global ticket sales will be necessary to justify its mighty price tag. With this momentum, though, “The New Empire” is primed to eventually surpass its predecessor, 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong.” The prior installment became a pandemic-era hit with $474 million worldwide, managing to outgross 2019’s “King of the Monsters” ($387 million) at a time when many movie theaters were shuttered due to COVID.
Another Warner Bros. and Legendary tentpole, “Dune: Part Two,” strengthened its standing as the biggest movie of the year with $626.1 million globally. Over the weekend, director Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic generated $18.4 million from 73 international markets, bringing its international tally to $373.7 million. Outside of North America ($252 million), the biggest territories are China ($46.5 million), the United Kingdom ($43 million), Germany ($34.3 million) and France ($34.2 million).
Elsewhere, “Oppenheimer” opened in its final market over the weekend, more than eight months after its initial release. Christopher Nolan’s Oscar-winning historical epic debuted in Japan with $2.5 million, placing third in the country after two local films, the horror title “Strange House” and the animated “Haikyu!!” With these ticket sales, “Oppenheimer” stands at a staggering $965 million globally.
