Warner Bros.
Could Warner Bros. epic monster movie clash, Godzilla vs. Kong, be the box office savior that Hollywood has been hoping for?Â
The over-the-top actioner set a new pandemic record for a movie opening, reports the Los Angeles Times, which breaks down the significance of the movie’s impressive launch overseas.
The film, which opens in North American theaters and on HBO Max on Wednesday, debuted in 38 overseas markets to an impressive $121.8 million, including $70.3 million in Chinese receipts.
That’s the biggest debut for a Hollywood film in China since 2019. The monster smackdown also grossed $12.4 million on 891 IMAX screens, also Hollywood’s biggest IMAX weekend since December 2019.
Godzilla vs. Kong‘s debut outperformed the entire current international gross of the studio’s December release of Wonder Woman 1984, which currently stands at $120 million overseas (and an additional $45.9 million domestic box office), according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore compiled by the Times.Â
The previous biggest pandemic-era overseas opening was the $53-million launch of Tenet in August 2020.Â
While U.S. theaters are slowly reopening after nearly a year of closures, major movie chains like Regal have not yet returned.Â
But despite theaters operating at a limited capacity, the Bob Odenkirk vigilante movie Nobody also opened over the weekend across 2,460 North American screens to $6.7 million.Â
Check out the trailers to Godzilla vs. Kong and Nobody above.Â