‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Keeps Roaring At No. 1 With $13.4 Million In Second Weekend; Passes $350 Million Mark At Global Box Office
While it didn’t roar quite as loudly as it did in its debut weekend, Warner Bros.’ big-budget clash of the titans, Godzilla vs. Kong, continued to rule the box office in its sophomore frame, adding $13.4 million at the domestic box office. And thanks to its monster-sized overseas haul, the titanic tentpole also managed to stomp past Christopher Nolan’sTenet to become the new top-grossing film of the pandemic era.
The PG-13 extravaganza did however suffer a steep -58% drop off at home this weekend, earning a $4,338 per-screen average in 3,084 theaters. Even so, Godzilla vs. Kong is, hands down, the season’s new alpha predator. And its North American haul is especially impressive considering that the film is also available on the HBO Max streaming service for no additional fee.
More bullish news came from overseas, where the film has pulled in $288.3 million to date (the lion’s share of which has come from China, where it has raked in $165.4 million, bringing its cumulative worldwide total to $357.8 million). After just two weeks, it may be premature to read too much into the film’s success, but it does hint that audiences may finally be getting more comfortable with the idea of returning to theaters thanks to increased vaccination rates, easing restrictions, and pent-up demand for the kinds of movies that play especially well on big screens.
In the runner-up spot this weekend was Universal’s Nobody. The bullet-riddled action flick about a suburban dad-turned-vigilante (Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk) added just under $2.7 million its third session. The PG-13-rated film slipped a mere -11.7% from the previous weekend and managed an $1,104 per-screen average in 2,400 theaters, bringing its domestic box office total to $15.6 million. Outside of North America, the movie has tacked on $13.2 million, bringing its total worldwide gross to $28.8 million.
In third place was Screen Gems’ occult horror film, The Unholy. The PG-13-rated chiller starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan dipped -23.9% in its second weekend with $2.4 million. Unspooling in 1,850 theaters, The Unholy scored a $1,297 per-screen average. It has earned a negligible $233,582 internationally, putting its combined box-office total at a hair under $7 million.
In fourth was Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon. In its sixth week, the PG-rated computer-animated adventure tacked on another $2.1 million domestically, popping +4.9% from the previous frame. Despite also being available as a premium VOD rental on the Disney+ streaming platform for a $30 fee, the film had a $1,102 per-screen average in 1,941 theaters, bringing its domestic box office total to $35.2 million. Overseas, Raya has accumulated $54.8 million to date, pushing its current worldwide total to $90 million.
Rounding out the top five was the weekend’s only noteworthy debut—Lionsgate’s Voyagers, which came out of the gate to slightly less than $1.4 million at the domestic box office. Despite withering reviews, the PG-13-rated sci-fi thriller about a crew of young men and women in outer space featuring Tye Sheridan, Fionn Whitehead, and Lily-Rose Depp, scored a $684 per-screen average in 1,972 locations. (As an interesting footnote, Johnny Depp’s daughter fared far better at the box office this spring than her dad, whose indie crime drama City of Lies has racked up a sorry $565,661 in North America after four weeks). Voyagers has not yet opened overseas.
Finally, in the run-up to this year’s Academy Awards, only two of the eight Best Picture nominees saw a boost in business at theaters over the weekend: Sony Picture Classics’ The Father, which witnessed a +36.5% bump from the previous weekend, and A24’s Minari, which popped +8%. To be fair, half of the eight contenders in the top category were streaming debuts as opposed to theatrical ones. But the sluggishness of this year’s “Oscar bounce” this late in the season may hint at a lack of interest in this year’s race. It will be interesting to see if the box-office numbers for the remaining theatrical nominees (Promising Young Woman and Judas and the Black Messiah) also tick up between now and the big night on April 25.
The PG-13 extravaganza did however suffer a steep -58% drop off at home this weekend, earning a $4,338 per-screen average in 3,084 theaters. Even so, Godzilla vs. Kong is, hands down, the season’s new alpha predator. And its North American haul is especially impressive considering that the film is also available on the HBO Max streaming service for no additional fee.
More bullish news came from overseas, where the film has pulled in $288.3 million to date (the lion’s share of which has come from China, where it has raked in $165.4 million, bringing its cumulative worldwide total to $357.8 million). After just two weeks, it may be premature to read too much into the film’s success, but it does hint that audiences may finally be getting more comfortable with the idea of returning to theaters thanks to increased vaccination rates, easing restrictions, and pent-up demand for the kinds of movies that play especially well on big screens.
In the runner-up spot this weekend was Universal’s Nobody. The bullet-riddled action flick about a suburban dad-turned-vigilante (Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk) added just under $2.7 million its third session. The PG-13-rated film slipped a mere -11.7% from the previous weekend and managed an $1,104 per-screen average in 2,400 theaters, bringing its domestic box office total to $15.6 million. Outside of North America, the movie has tacked on $13.2 million, bringing its total worldwide gross to $28.8 million.
In third place was Screen Gems’ occult horror film, The Unholy. The PG-13-rated chiller starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan dipped -23.9% in its second weekend with $2.4 million. Unspooling in 1,850 theaters, The Unholy scored a $1,297 per-screen average. It has earned a negligible $233,582 internationally, putting its combined box-office total at a hair under $7 million.
In fourth was Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon. In its sixth week, the PG-rated computer-animated adventure tacked on another $2.1 million domestically, popping +4.9% from the previous frame. Despite also being available as a premium VOD rental on the Disney+ streaming platform for a $30 fee, the film had a $1,102 per-screen average in 1,941 theaters, bringing its domestic box office total to $35.2 million. Overseas, Raya has accumulated $54.8 million to date, pushing its current worldwide total to $90 million.
Rounding out the top five was the weekend’s only noteworthy debut—Lionsgate’s Voyagers, which came out of the gate to slightly less than $1.4 million at the domestic box office. Despite withering reviews, the PG-13-rated sci-fi thriller about a crew of young men and women in outer space featuring Tye Sheridan, Fionn Whitehead, and Lily-Rose Depp, scored a $684 per-screen average in 1,972 locations. (As an interesting footnote, Johnny Depp’s daughter fared far better at the box office this spring than her dad, whose indie crime drama City of Lies has racked up a sorry $565,661 in North America after four weeks). Voyagers has not yet opened overseas.
Finally, in the run-up to this year’s Academy Awards, only two of the eight Best Picture nominees saw a boost in business at theaters over the weekend: Sony Picture Classics’ The Father, which witnessed a +36.5% bump from the previous weekend, and A24’s Minari, which popped +8%. To be fair, half of the eight contenders in the top category were streaming debuts as opposed to theatrical ones. But the sluggishness of this year’s “Oscar bounce” this late in the season may hint at a lack of interest in this year’s race. It will be interesting to see if the box-office numbers for the remaining theatrical nominees (Promising Young Woman and Judas and the Black Messiah) also tick up between now and the big night on April 25.
