Godzilla vs. Kong surpassed our estimates last week to make $48.5 million in its first five days of its U.S. debut. We knew it was tracking big as AMC Theatre CEO Adam Aron revealed last week that the Wednesday Godzilla vs. Kong premiere propelled the chain’s attendance 10x the normal 2021 Wednesday.
To put the numbers in context- another big 2021 film that premiered in theaters and HBO Max was Tom & Jerry. That live action and animated mash up family film brought in $14.1 million for its first weekend. In comparison, Godzilla vs. Kong rang up $32.2 million for the 3 day Easter weekend. Godzilla vs. Kong as premiered on HBO Max.
While the all important Los Angeles and New York City DMAs have theaters open at limited capacity, only 55% of North American theaters are open.
This all portends well for the coming summer movie season. Full throttle action films like F9 (June 25) and Top Gun: Maverick (July 2) are examples of movies premiering in theaters.
