Godzilla vs. Kong has crossed the $400 million mark at the global box office, making it one of the rare pandemic-era movies to reach that milestone.
The news was announced by Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution, Jeff Goldstein, and President of International Distribution, Andrew Cripps, as reported by Business Wire. “It’s evident that ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ is reigniting moviegoing everywhere and that audiences are more than ready to return to theaters, where and when it’s safe, for a big screen experience like this one," Goldstein said.
“It has been thrilling to see this film mark the return to theaters around the globe," Cripps added, "with audiences continuing to grow and to uphold the importance of the universal shared experience of going to the movies.”
The Chinese comedy Hi, Mom and buddy crime/comedy sequel Detective Chinatown 3 are the only other films to cross the $400 million threshold in 2021 so far, with worldwide totals of $829 million and $693 million, respectively. Domestically, however, Godzilla vs. Kong is still the highest-grossing movie released this year, with more than $85 million. Internationally, the movie has passed $315 million and is currently projected to finish its run with a profit of $96.4 million.
Godzilla vs. Kong is the fourth entry in Warner Bros. and Legendary's MonsterVerse, preceded by Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019). The film has now surpassed King of the Monsters' $386.6 million worldwide total, but still has a ways to go before usurping Skull Island as the franchise's highest-grossing movie with $566.7 million. All the same, its numbers are expected to continue rising over the weeks ahead, as key markets begin to re-open around the world.
Stateside, Godzilla vs. Kong's fellow Warner Bros. release Mortal Kombat is currently the number one film in the U.S. The movie debuted to $22.5 million, the second-highest opening for a domestic release since the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic started. Demon Slayer -- Kimetsu no Yaiba -- The Movie: Mugen Train also put in a strong showing over the same frame, taking in $19.5 million in its first three days of release in the U.S. The R-rated animated film is already a massive hit in Japan with a total gross of $365.1 million since it hit theaters there in Oct. 2020.
Directed by Adam Wingard and written by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein, Godzilla vs. Kong stars Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry. The film is now playing in theaters and on HBO Max.
Source: Business Wire