Movie

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse franchise beats expectations with a monstrous $80 million debut as the fifth installment in the 'Ghostbusters' film franchise plummets in its second week.

• Apr 1, 2024

AceShowbiz - "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" roars its way to the top of North American box office. On its opening weekend, Warner Bros. and Legendary's monster film debuts atop the chart with an estimated $80 million.

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse franchise beats expectations with the monstrous debut, having been predicted to open to around $45-55 million. It's the second-best opening in the MonsterVerse universe after 2014's "Godzilla" ($93.2 million) and the fifth biggest Easter opening of all time.

"It's a cinematic event, and we're seeing these iconic characters doing things we've never seen them do before," says Mary Parent, chairman of worldwide production for Legendary. "There's big swaths of the film that don't have any dialogue, where we put you with the characters, it's a very mythic experience."

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, also weighs in on the biggest attraction of the movie. "These are literally two of the biggest movie stars in the world, and you have to see them on the biggest screen possible with the biggest sound possible," he says.

Globally, the film stomps to a $194 million launch after taking in $114 million overseas from 64 markets, with China still becoming the biggest market as $44 million of its international cume comes from the country.

"The New Empire" isn't that loved by critics, holding a 55% "rotten" average on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences seemed to disagree. They gave the movie, starring Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens, an "A-" CinemaScore.

"This is certainly an exciting result," says Mary Parent, chairman of worldwide production for Legendary, of the movie's appeal to young audiences. "The film does a great job for the core fans and succeeded in broadening the audience. It played to a new and younger audience."

"The New Empire" easily steals the crown from "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire", which drops to the second place with an estimated $15.7 million. The fifth installment in the "Ghostbusters" film franchise plummets 65.1% in its second week.

"Dune: Part Two" also falls one place to No. 3 with an estimated $11.1 million, dropping a modest 37% from last week. "Kung Fu Panda 4" trails close behind at No. 4 with approximately $10.2 million, followed by Sydney Sweeney's horror film "Immaculate" which adds an estimated $3.3 million on its second weekend.

Top 10 of North American Box Office (Mar. 29-31, 2024):

1. "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" - $80 million
2. "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" - $15.7 million
3. "Dune: Part Two" - $11.1 million
4. "Kung Fu Panda 4" - $10.2 million
5. "Immaculate" - $3.3 million
6. "Arthur the King" - $2.4 million
7. "Late Night with the Devil" - $2.2 million
8. "Tillu Square" - $1.9 million
9. "Crew" - $1.5 million
10. "Imaginary" - $1.4 million