Godzilla vs. Kong Already Tops King of the Monsters At Box Office

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Godzilla vs. Kong has already topped Godzilla: King of the Monsters at the worldwide box office. Despite premiering on HBO Max the same day as theaters as part of Warner Bros.' controversial 2021 distribution strategy, Godzilla vs. Kong has gone on to have a very successful commercial run. The latest installment in the MonsterVerse grossed $48.5 million domestically during its extended 5-day opening weekend, setting a new pandemic box office record. Godzilla vs. Kong is poised to turn a profit at the box office, an impressive accomplishment considering the state of movie theaters over the past year.

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Besides the ongoing pandemic, Godzilla vs. Kong's box office performance is noteworthy because the MonsterVerse franchise has never been one to rewrite the record books. 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters struggled at the box office, earning $386.6 million globally for its entire run, by far the lowest total in the MonsterVerse. That raised questions about the property's future, particularly since there weren't any other MonsterVerse movies announced following Godzilla vs. Kong. But based on the latest numbers, the MonsterVerse has experienced a resurgence.

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Per Box Office Mojo, Godzilla vs. Kong has grossed $390.2 million at the worldwide box office, meaning it's already eclipsed its predecessor. This past weekend, Godzilla vs. Kong secured the top spot on the domestic charts for the fourth consecutive week, bringing in $7.7 million.

With Godzilla vs. Kong doing this well, it stands reason to believe followups will be made. Legendary has more MonsterVerse movie ideas in mind, but the studio was likely waiting to see how Godzilla vs. Kong performed before moving forward on any of them. It will be interesting how Legendary and Warner Bros. approach the MonsterVerse future. They could greenlight multiple projects at once and secure a full slate of release dates, or opt to be more restrained and take it one film at a time. Godzilla vs. Kong's success should galvanize the studio, but taking things slow might be wiser - just in case a followup sees diminished returns. If the MonsterVerse sees another mega hit at the box office, they can always make more films.

This development is also encouraging for Hollywood as a whole, demonstrating audiences are still willing to see their most anticipated releases in theaters. It's obviously been a difficult year for exhibitors, with ArcLight and Pacific Theaters closing down for good recently. But with more locations reopening and COVID-19 vaccines available, there are signs of hope. What's even better is Godzilla vs. Kong also broke HBO Max streaming records in addition to its box office haul, illustrating the hybrid release model works for both sides. There was concern HBO Max was killing theaters with their strategy, but that turned out not to be the case.