AceShowbiz - "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" is unchallenged in its second week at the North American box office. Warner Bros. and Legendary's fantasy film maintains the reign by adding an estimated $31.7 million to its domestic gross.

The fifth film in the MonsterVerse franchise saw a steep decline, 60.4%, after it surpassed expectations with a monstrous debut last week. The movie concluded its first week with $80 million after initially projected to gross $50-55 million on its opening weekend.

The monster film has grossed a total of $135 million in North America and $226 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $361 million. After two weeks in theaters, it has covered its budget, which is estimated at around $135-150 million.

"The New Empire" finds little to no competition in newcomers, including Dev Patel's directorial debut "Monkey Man" which comes in the second place with an estimated $10.1 million. The action thriller was originally slated for streaming, but Jordan Peele, whose production company has a distribution deal with Universal, saw the movie and felt it deserved a theatrical release.

"Monkey Man" earned rave reviews from critics and is loved by audiences. They gave it a B+ CinemaScore and it holds an 86% average on Rotten Tomatoes, so word-of-mouth could help in the coming weeks.

"This is a good opening for an original action thriller," says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. "It was not expensive to make, and it's going to be very profitable."

Meanwhile, "The First Omen" failed to scare at box office with just an estimated $8.4 million at the fourth place. It also didn't get much of a boost internationally, launching to $9.1 million for a global start of $17.5 million compared to its modest budget of $30 million.

The sixth film in "The Omen" franchise landed behind expectations despite majorly positive reviews from critics. It holds a 78% average on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences were not that fascinated as they gave it a C CinemaScore.

Last week's runner "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" drops one spot to No. 3 with approximately $9 million. It has collected $88.9 million domestically and $49.3 million overseas for a current global total of $138.2 million.

Following it up next at the fifth place is "Kung Fu Panda 4" - $7.8 million, which added an estimated $7.8 million to its domestic gross. It has earned $166 million domestically and $244.4 million internationally for a worldwide total of $420.4 million so far.

Top 10 of North American Box Office (Apr. 05-07, 2024):

1. "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" - $31.7 million
2. "Monkey Man" - $10.1 million
3. "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" - $9 million
4. "The First Omen" - $8.4 million
5. "Kung Fu Panda 4" - $7.8 million
6. "Dune: Part Two" - $7.2 million
7. "Someone Like You" - $3 million
8. "Wicked Little Letters" - $1.55 million
9. "Arthur the King" - $1.54 million
10. "Immaculate" - $1.4 million