The new movie Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, a crossover film from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, is expected to earn $50 million to $55 million domestically in its opening weekend across 3,850 theatres. Movies featuring Godzilla and Kong tend to perform better overseas, so the movie will likely follow suit and bring in a hefty $80 million to $85 million at the international box office.
In terms of US ticket sales, The New Empire is projected to land between previous MonsterVerse films, behind 2014’s Godzilla ($93 million debut) and 2017’s Kong: Skull Island ($61 million debut) but ahead of 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters ($47.7 million debut). It will also outperform its predecessor, 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, which opened to $31 million while also releasing on HBO Max. At the time, Godzilla vs. Kong was the biggest pandemic-era opening. Despite many theatres being closed, it became a hit with $474 million worldwide, even beating King of the Monsters ($387 million).
With a production budget of $135 million, if The New Empire can match or exceed Godzilla vs. Kong’s box office, it will be in good shape financially. Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard returned to helm The New Empire, starring Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens. Unlike previous films where the monsters fight each other, this movie has Kong team up with Godzilla to stop a mysterious threat endangering the planet. Reviews are still embargoed but based on previous mixed-to-negative critical reception for MonsterVerse movies, those likely won’t impact success much.
As the lone new wide release this weekend, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire should easily top the box office. Other holdovers like Dune: Part Two, the animated Kung Fu Panda 4, and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will try to keep attracting moviegoers. Before Dune: Part Two, overall North American box office was down 20% year-over-year but has been slowly rebounding. It’s now only 9% behind 2021, per Comscore.
