Having exceeded expectations at the global box office with a mighty pandemic-era high of $285 million and counting, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ Monsterverse brawl Godzilla vs. Kong has also proven itself to be a monster hit for streaming service HBO Max.
The film, which received a hybrid theatrical and digital release and was free to subscribers of HBO Max in the United States, was viewed by 3.6 million households in its first five days on the service. That figure, reported by streaming tracker Samba TV, puts it ahead of Zack Snyder’s Justice League (1.8 million households) and Wonder Woman 1984 (2.2 million households) to make it the streamer’s most-viewed launch to date.
SEE ALSO: Read our review of Godzilla vs. Kong here
So, not only has Godzilla vs. Kong’s box office returns offered some hope for the future of theatrical exhibition, but its success on HBO Max seems to indicate that this hybrid release model can indeed be viable, and may not be the death knell for cinemas that many had predicted.
Legends collide in “Godzilla vs. Kong” as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe. The epic clash between the two titans—instigated by unseen forces—is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth.
Godzilla vs. Kong is directed by Adam Wingard (The Guest, Blair Witch) and sees Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Kyle Chandler (Bloodline) and Ziyi Zhang (The Cloverfield Paradox) reprising their roles from Godzilla: King of the Monsters, while new additions to the MonsterVerse include Alexander Skarsgard (Big Little Lies), Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Demian Bichir (The Hateful Eight), Rebecca Hall (Holmes and Watson), Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist), Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver), Shun Oguri (Crows Zero), Lance Reddick (The Wire) and Kaylee Hottle.
