Godzilla may be 60 years old, but the big lizard has never been as dominating at the box office. The latest take on the iconic Japanese movie monster thundered to a $93.2 million opening this weekend in North America, crushing the competition and stomping past the expectations of analysts and the studio, which were for a debut in the $70 million range. The massive opening is just under the years-best $95 million that Captain America: The Winter Soldier managed in April, so well have to wait for Mondays final figures to see whos really on top. In any case, this a great start for Godzilla, an effects-laden, $160-million 3D co-production from Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. Also on TheWrap: SNL Season Finale: Solange and Jay Z Bring Big Laughs, Andy Samberg Not So Much Its the biggest opening ever for a monster movie. That a hard term to define, but it blew away the $72 million debut of Jurassic Park: The Lost World in 1997, which tops the list of creature features at Box Office Mojo. And its the biggest May opening ever for Warner Bros., ahead of the $91.4 million that The Matrix Reloaded put up in 2003. Director Gareth Edwardss Godzilla played more strongly than expected across the board, connecting with young fans drawn by the spectacle and older moviegoers for whom the rampaging reptile may have struck a nostalgic chord. Sixty percent of the audience was over 25 years old, and males made up 58 percent of the crowd. It started with a huge $38 million Friday that was fueled by ardent fan boys, many of who turned out for early Thursday night screenings that brought in $9.3 million. Photos: Godzilla through the years Armed with good reviews (73 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes), a B+ CinemaScore from first-night moviegoers and positive word of mouth from Fridays shows, Godzilla had a very strong Saturday. It played exceptionally well all weekend on Imax screens, which accounted for $14.1 million, or 15 percent of the grosses. Thats the yearss best Imax performance, ahead of the $9 million that Captain America took in. And receipts from 3D screenings made up 51 percent of its total. The filmmakers made a concerted effort to stay true to the spirit of the original 1954 Japanese original, and that mobilized fans of the classic directed by Ishiro Honda, especially once the film was out. We approached this in an authentic and passionate way and hoped that it would translate in the film, Legendary President and Chief Creative Officer Jon Jashni told TheWrap. The tonal approach that Gareth undertook in rebuilding this franchise was very effectively communicated through the marketing that we and Warner Bros. collaborated on. Audiences that know and love the brand are even more discriminating, Jashni said, and nostalgia exists in direct proportion to skepticism. If the skeptical person holding the movie to a higher standard is won over, that can create over-compensating in terms of word of mouth. The question of how high Godzilla would go provided the only real suspense at the box office this weekend. Last weeks No. 1 movie Neighbors finished a distant second with around $26 million. That was just a 47 percent drop for the R-rated Seth Rogen-Zac Efron comedy, which is up to $91.5 million after weeks for Universal. Also read: Godzilla Screenwriter Explains Why Theres So Little Godzilla in Godzilla The weekends only other wide-opener, Disneys Jon Hamm baseball movie Million Dollar Arm, took in $10.5 million for fourth, behind The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which brought in roughly $16 million. Sonys Marvel superhero sequel is up to $172 million domestically after three weeks, and has been huge overseas and is up to $633 million globally. Foxs The Other Woman was fifth with $6.3 million in its fourth weekend, which puts the comedy over $70 million domestically. Sonys faith-based Heaven Is for Real came in with $4.4 million for the three days, and is up to $82 million after five weeks. Rio 2 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier followed, with $4.4 million and $3.8 million respectively. That lifts Foxs animated musical to $118 million domestically after six weeks, and its over $423 million worldwide. Disneys Marvel superhero sequel crossed $250 million domestically and is about to hit $700 million worldwide in its seventh week of release. The Top 10: 1. Godzilla, $93.2M; 2. Neighbors, $25.9M; 3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2, $16.8M; 4. Million Dollar Arm, $10.5M; 5. The Other Woman, $6.3M; 6. Heaven Is for Real, $4.4M; 7. Rio 2, $3.8M; 8. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, $3.7M; 9. Legends of Oz: Dorothys Return, $1.9M; 10. Moms Night Out, $1.9M
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 03:47:32 +0000
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