The highly anticipated film 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' made a colossal impact at the box office, surpassing expectations with an impressive $80 million debut weekend in North America. The monster mashup, featuring the iconic beasts teaming up to save the planet, received an enthusiastic response from audiences, reflected in its 'A-' CinemaScore rating.
Benefiting from the popularity of premium large formats, which accounted for nearly half of ticket sales, the film's success marks the second-highest opening in Warner Bros. and Legendary's MonsterVerse, following 2014's 'Godzilla.'
'Godzilla x Kong' also claimed the second-largest domestic opening weekend of the year, trailing only 'Dune: Part Two.' With a production budget of $135 million, the film aims to resonate with global audiences to secure its financial success.
The strong performance of 'Godzilla x Kong' overshadowed the competition, notably impacting the box office prospects of Sony's 'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,' which saw a significant decline in its second weekend.
Meanwhile, Universal and DreamWorks Animation's 'Kung Fu Panda 4' maintained its position in third place, continuing to draw family audiences to theaters.
'Dune: Part Two,' the sci-fi epic that has been a standout success, slipped to the fourth spot but has already amassed impressive box office numbers both domestically and globally.
Rounding out the top five, Sydney Sweeney's religious horror film 'Immaculate' showed steady performance in its second week in theaters, backed by Neon.
As the box office landscape continues to evolve, the success of 'Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire' highlights the enduring appeal of larger-than-life cinematic experiences that captivate audiences worldwide.
