Monstrous debut for Godzilla x Kong at the US box office

The New Titan Empire made short work of the Ghostbusters.

While waiting for its release in France next Wednesday, Godzilla x Kong: The New Kingdom made a successful debut in the United States. Warner Bros. Monster Movie topped a blockbuster-filled US box office, grossing around $80 million from 3,861 North American theaters.

The alliance of Godzilla and Kong far exceeded the expectations of specialists, who predicted a launch between 50 and 55 million dollars. She thwarted all projections thanks to very positive word of mouth and thus achieved the biggest start of the MonsterVerse by Legendary after Godzillawhich opened with $93 million in 2014.

Godzilla x Kong therefore does better than the launch of Kong: Skull Island ($61 million in 2017) and much more than Godzilla: King of the Monsters ($47.7 million in 2019) and almost three times more than Godzilla vs. Kong ($31 million in 2021 but also via HBO Max). For Warner Bros. it's a second big hit in a few weeks, after the box office Dune: Part 2 ($82.5 million during its launch weekend).

As a result, the ghost hunters are eaten by the Titans. Ghostbusters: The Ice Threat, falls to second place, far behind, with $15.7 million (in 4,345 theaters), a sharp drop of 65% compared to last week. The continuation of'Afterlife has still already generated $73.4 million in the USA and $108.5 million at the worldwide box office after two weeks.

On the podium, Kung Fu Panda 4 takes another $10 million and now clocks in at $151 million in North America and over $300 million worldwide. It will have difficulty making as much as the 520 million for the third part released in 2016.

Finally, Dune 2 falling to fourth place for its fifth weekend in U.S. theaters. Denis Villeneuve's film has grossed $251 million across the Atlantic and more than $600 million worldwide. It’s the biggest hit of 2024 so far.