After a monstrous opening weekend haul at the box office, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is on its way to earning Warner Bros. (WB) a substantial profit.
The latest Monsterverse team-up, Godzilla x Kong, exceeded opening expectations, earning $80 million during its first weekend in North American theaters.
This is the second-best opening of any modern Monsterverse film, following only 2014's Godzilla.
It also earned the silver medal thus far in 2024 for any opening weekend, trailing narrowly behind Dune: Part Two, another WB film set to break box office records.
How Much Has Godzilla x Kong Made So Far?
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire earned over $200 million worldwide over its first five days in theaters. This combines $94.5 million from domestic theaters and more than $114.7 million from all other international markets.
A couple of weeks into its release the new MonsterVerse movie has earned over $438.9 million at the worldwide box office, with $279.9 million of that total coming from international markets.
In addition, it earned the highest opening in China for any Hollywood film this year, raking in $44.6 million in mainland Chinese cinemas over the weekend and comprising nearly 70% of the country's box office share, per Variety.
2021's Godzilla vs. Kong earned about $88 million more in China than in the United States. It's important to know that Godzilla vs. Kong was streaming on HBO Max day and date in the U.S.
Its sequel is on a similar pace, earning $108.6 at the Chinese box office to date, it's biggest market outside of the U.S. and Canada.
How Godzilla x Kong Can Be Profitable
Generally, Godzilla x Kong needs to earn roughly double its budget or more at the global box office to be profitable. This may also factor in marketing costs that aren't as openly reported to the public as the approximate production budget.
In the case of Godzilla x Kong, the reported production budget is $135 million. This is a phenomenal starting point as it's the cheapest Monsterverse film to date and is already outperforming its box office expectations.
However, its revenue sources will extend beyond theaters, including digital sales, SVOD, and future TV rights. The good news for Warner Bros. is that this "waterfall" effect of continued earnings may not be relied on for The New Empire to turn a profit.
Will Godzilla x Kong Turn a Profit?
Based on its current box office run, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire will likely earn Warner Bros. a tasty profit. Here's the evidence.
In 2014, Godzilla re-ignited Western monster movies and earned $52.477 million in profit, according to Deadline's annual blockbuster-profit tournament.
This is an impressive statistic considering its reported $160 million production budget and the audience's mixed responses because of how little the monster was in the film.
For different reasons, the box office run by 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong was equally impressive. The clash of the titans film became profitable (according to Deadline) despite the pandemic-related theatrical challenges and simultaneously streaming the film.
While the box office may never reach the heights of 2019, audience members are heading back to theaters for certain events, in this case, another Monsterverse movie.
Godzilla x Kong has a chance to become the highest-earning monster movie since 2017. Kong: Skull Island leads the pack with $561 million worldwide, and The Direct predicted Godzilla x Kong could earn $650 million, easily making it profitable.
48% of The New Empire's opening weekend earnings came from premium formats, which is a strong sign there won't be competition for those screens until A24's Civil War the weekend of April 12.
Based on its surprise gainful start, Godzilla x Kong is on pace to earn more than Godzilla in theaters, making its projected studio net profit between $50 million and $75 million.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is now playing in theaters.
Read more about Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire:
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Streaming: When Will It Release Online?
How Tall Is Godzilla In Each Movie (Kong Films, Minus One, Earth & More)
