Godzilla X Kong tops North America box office
LOS ANGELES – Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire roared to the top of the North American box office on its debut weekend, pulverising competition with a huge US$80 million (S$108 million) haul in ticket sales, according to industry watcher Exhibitor Relations.
“The final numbers may change by Monday, but whatever they are, this is a fantastic opening,” analyst David Gross said, with ticket sales 2.5 times the average for a sequel to a monster flick.
The enormous gorilla and reptilian giant set their differences aside in the movie, teaming up to save their species and humans in the latest MonsterVerse instalment from Warner Bros and Legendary.
According to BoxOfficePro, the film claimed the second-highest opening weekend in the MonsterVerse after 2014’s Godzilla (US$93 million), but ahead of 2017’s Kong: Skull Island (US$61 million), 2019’s Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (US$47.7 million) and 2021’s Godzilla Vs Kong (US$32.2 million).
Godzilla X Kong also has the second best opening weekend of the year behind Warner Bros’ sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two, which debuted at US$81.5 million.
In second place with an estimated US$15.7 million was Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, co-written by film-maker Jason Reitman, whose late father Ivan Reitman directed the original Ghostbusters in 1984 and the sequel in 1989.
The latest film teams a new cadre of ghost catchers (Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon) with the veterans (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson) as they take on a frightening deity trying to launch a new Ice Age.
Meanwhile, Dune: Part Two, the film about war and survival on an inhospitable sand-covered planet which starred Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya, managed third place, taking in an estimated US$11.1 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period.
In fourth, dropping one spot from the previous weekend, was Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s martial arts comedy Kung Fu Panda 4, at US$10.2 million.
Immaculate, a new psychological horror film from indie studio Neon and starring American actress Sydney Sweeney, placed fifth at US$3.3 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were Tillu Square (US$2.5 million), Arthur The King (US$2.4 million), Late Night With The Devil (US$2.2 million), Crew (US$1.7 million) and Imaginary (US$1.4 million). – AFP
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