'Dune 2' Beaten by 'Godzilla x Kong'

Godzilla x Kong 'stomped all over expectations,' writes Deadline, 'with an $80M opening, the second best start of the year so far, $2.5M behind the $82.5M opening of Legendary's other big pic this spring, Dune: Part Two...

'EntTelligence reports that GxK is expected to pull in more than 5.5M admissions this weekend, the most attended opening weekend for any movie year-to-date.'
No one saw this coming... International delivered $114M for a great $194M global start. The Adam Wingard directed movie, not including preview night, commanded 56% of all foot traffic and 89% of all premium format admissions. Imax and PLF drove 38% of the gross with 3D responsible for 19%... Beamed Warner Bros Domestic Distribution Boss Jeff Goldstein, 'This is a huge, fun Easter movie for the whole family....' For a fifthquel to bounce back the franchise, GxK being the second best start in the Legendary Monsterverse after Godzilla's $93.1M ten years ago, is pretty remarkable.
The article speculates that the first installments (of both the Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong franchise) underperformed because of their mid-pandemic release dates, with their sequels earning more in 2024. The pure theatricality of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire 'clearly underscores the value of the IP on the big screen, and moviegoers' preference to see such monster mashing in no other place but a theater.' (Deadline calls the movie 'a really fun creature feature with a lot of heart; heck, it's even better than Jurassic World: Dominion. Seriously.')

It also earned 'the fifth best Easter weekend opening ever,' the article points out, coming in behind Batman v. Superman ($181M), Super Mario Bros Movie ($166.4M), Furious 7 ($161.2M) and The Fate of the Furious ($107.3M), according to the article. Their headline? 'They Have Risen: 'Godzilla x Kong' Conquers Easter Box Office...'

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