The highly anticipated Warner Bros. and Legendary film, “Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire,” has made an explosive entrance into theaters, raking in a record-breaking $10 million in Thursday previews. This remarkable start marks the best preview performance ever for Warner Bros. and Legendary’s MonsterVerse franchise, as well as the top preview debut of the year so far.
Projections for the film’s domestic opening weekend range from $45 million to $50 million over the Easter holiday, with some tracking services even forecasting $50 million to $55 million. Considering the strong preview turnout, “New Empire” could potentially exceed these estimates, unless it experiences front-loading.
‘GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE’ opens to $10M in domestic previews, the biggest ever for the MonsterVerse
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Internationally, “New Empire” is poised for an impressive $80 million debut, placing its global launch in the ballpark of $135 million.
The $10 million preview figure surpasses previous MonsterVerse installments, with “Godzilla” (2014) earning $9.3 million in previews, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” (2019) debuting with $6.3 million, and “Kong: Skull Island” (2017) securing $3.7 million.
While critical reception remains mixed, with a “rotten” score of 55 percent, audience enthusiasm appears to be much higher. Directed by Adam Wingard and starring Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Dan Stevens, the film sees the iconic monsters teaming up to confront a mysterious threat endangering their world.
With little competition on the horizon, “Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire” is expected to dominate the box office and uncover more hidden treasures than its cinematic rivals, including the recent release of the new “Ghostbusters” film.
