Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is winning the hearts of viewers across the globe despite receiving not so favourable reviews from critics. Adam Wingard’s latest MonsterVerse project opened with $80 million, certainly blowing up minds at Legendary and Warner Bros, and topping the domestic box office (Canada and the United States). As of now, the film has minted over $361 million globally against a $135 million budget.
So, what’s next for MonsterVerse and Legendary? Mary Parent, president of worldwide production at Legendary, believes Godzilla X Kong’s success is “certainly an exciting result”.
“We are in a good position to continue the journey, but let’s see how Godzilla X Kong unfolds. These are early days, but we are certainly feeling good,” Parent added.
Executives at Legendary and WB should feel good not only about Godzilla X Kong but also about Dune: Part Two, which is still going strong at the global box office. Denis Villeneuve’s modern day masterpiece has grossed over $665 million worldwide.
While critics mocked Godzilla X Kong for its plot and characterisations of the ‘Titan’ protagonists, general viewers loved it for its action and humour, and they all loved Wingard’s idea of putting Godzilla and Kong against a common adversary. This scenario is quite different from Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), which featured the epic clash between these two titans.
In addition, Godzilla X Kong is MonsterVerse’s least expensive movie, made on a budget of $135 million, which is significantly less compared to Godzilla vs. Kong’s $155-200 million budget. So far, the MonsterVerse franchise has five feature entries and two television shows, and it has grossed over $2.3 billion globally (this figure will change as Godzilla X Kong is currently running in theatres).
Despite the franchise fatigue rising among general audiences, Godzilla X Kong’s ongoing theatrical performance is nothing short of extraordinary. The post-pandemic era did not favour many movie franchises. But surprisingly, the MonsterVerse franchise still stands strong. Back when Godzilla vs. Kong came out in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the film still managed to earn over $470 million. All these things indicate that the future looks certainly bright for the MonsterVerse. Stay tuned for more updates.