Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Godzilla vs. Kong opened on Wednesday in the U.S. and set about conquering cities across North America with a pandemic-era single-day record of $9.6 million.
The numbers reflect the fact that the Adam Wingard directed monster-mash is opening in more theatres than any other movie during the pandemic, and it’s about to increase the size of its footprint by expanding from 2409 venues, to over 3000 by Friday, the largest amount since Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
Box-office experts had predicted that Godzilla vs. Kong would open north of $20 million, but now it looks as though the appetite for socially distanced big-screen spectacle will mean the movie smashes those initial estimates.
SEE ALSO: Read our ★★★★ Godzilla vs. Kong review
Godzilla vs. Kong is already doing stellar business at the international box-office, having opened with a huge $121 million last week, $70 million of which came from China.
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.
