Godzilla vs. Kong brought the box office back with a roar, opening with a massive start by pandemic-era standards. Warner Bros. ‘ The beat-em-up MonsterVerse movie opened with a gross amount of $ 32.2 million Friday through Sunday, the best opening for a movie since the last pre-pandemic weekend of March 6, 2020 Forward opened at $ 39.1 million. Add the Thursday and Friday numbers and Godzilla vs. Kong had a five-day take of $ 48.5 million. These numbers are not far from the three-day take of $ 47.8 million Godzilla: King of the Monsters opened in May 2019, and this movie did not have the pandemic mitigating factors and Godzilla vs. Kong’s launch day and date on HBO Max.

It’s a remarkable start for the action-adventure film, which carried a heavy weight on its shoulders in terms of the industry’s hope that it would revive the box office as theaters continue to reopen. The Kaiji and the Giant Monkey carried that weight well, delivering a film that is earning good ratings from critics and moviegoers alike. The film currently has a strong 76% overall score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A CinemaScore (up from 43% and a B + for King of monsters). This positive buzz and the show full of effects helped bring audiences to see the film. It’s hard to imagine what the film could have done with a fully reopened box office, over $ 65 million, certainly wouldn’t have been out of the question.

Godzilla vs. Kong is also performing well overseas, with a gross international total of $ 236.9 million for a worldwide take of $ 285.4 to date. By comparing, Godzilla: King of the Monsters the final worldwide take was $ 383.3 million, a figure that seems quite achievable for this film. Domestically, it’s still difficult to predict what the film might hit, although $ 120 million is on the cards. Add the ancillary revenue taken into account by HBO Max and compare it to the production budget of $ 155 million, and this movie should end up paying off for Warner Bros.

Coming to a Very Distant No.2 was Screen Gems’ religious horror flick The ungodly, which got $ 3.2 million. It’s a very solid opening for a little-promoted horror film at a time when any film hoping to make money in theaters has yet to push really hard for promotion. In fact, the number surpasses Sony’s previous pandemic record with Monster hunter, which opened in mid-December for a startup of $ 2.2 million. The ungodly chose Easter weekend to play in its religious themes involving a young girl who becomes the center of supernatural phemone after a supposed visit from the Virgin Mary. It seems to have paid off for the film directed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

And that’s good, because the review isn’t there for the film, which sits at 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. We don’t have a CinemaScore for it, but like most horrors, it should see a rapid drop in the coming weeks. Screen Gems isn’t worried because this movie probably didn’t cost a lot and the marketing was barely there, so if it can even hit $ 8-10 million, it will likely make a profit. Fortunately, there is little competition until Mortal combat opens in a few weeks.

Last week’s box office champion Person acted like a pre-pandemic action movie tended to drop 55% on its second weekend to $ 3.1 million. This is quite normal for a film competing for the same audience as Godzilla vs. Kong. Action thriller starring Bob Odenkirk now sits at $ 11.9 million domestically and $ 21.1 million globally, a good two-week figure against a budget of $ 16 million . Looks like it will close its box office at around $ 18-20 million domestically and when it goes digital on April 16, it will continue to make money for a very happy Universal Pictures.

Raya and the last dragon was 45% on its fifth weekend at $ 2.1 million. The Disney animated film totaled $ 32.2 million domestically and $ 94.2 million worldwide, on top of anything it grossed through Disney + Premier Access. It should be able to finish its box office at around $ 36 million to $ 37 million, and will be at a certain level of profitability when all the books are totaled even with a production budget of $ 100 million.

Tom and Jerry slipped two spots to fifth in its sixth weekend, down 44% to $ 1.4 million. The hybrid animated / live-action comedy now costs $ 39.5 million domestically and $ 93.5 million globally on a budget of just $ 50 million. Those are good numbers and will secure the film a profit, with its domestic total likely to end around $ 44 million to $ 45 million.

One of the peculiarities of movie releases during the pandemic is that movies no one really heard have a chance to shine. Concrete example: The girl who believes in miracles. This religious drama from Atlas Distribution – a studio previously best known for releasing both Atlas shrugged suites – came in 6th place with $ 526,000. It might sound tiny, but this movie almost certainly costs nothing and has very little promotion. There aren’t even aggregate reviews for this, although a small sample of user reviews on the site is admittedly 96% fresh. That’s pretty normal for faith-based films and doesn’t indicate the film’s crossover potential, but it’s still an encouraging number.

How far can The girl who believes in miracles to have? Well, probably not too far. These types of movies generate little buzz outside of their targeted fan base and tend to drop quickly, especially when released on religious holiday weekends. That should go away quickly, although Atlas will be very happy with everything the film brings.

Benedict Cumberbatch’s The mail fell two spots to 7th place in his third week with $ 452,000, down 57% from last weekend. The thriller is now worth $ 4.3 million domestically and $ 4.6 million globally. These aren’t amazing numbers, but the movie was probably cheap. A national total of around $ 6 million seems likely.

The bad news empire for Lionsgate Walk in chaos, who felt a strong sting of Godzilla vs. Kong and fell 67% to $ 380,000 on its fifth weekend. The sci-fi action flick starring Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley is a money loser, and frankly that would have been regardless of the pandemic given the lukewarm response from fans and critics and the production budget. of $ 100 million. The film has already been released digitally, having released on Friday, but even that won’t help it come out of the red.

The Croods: A New Age was down 62% to $ 210,000 in its 19th week. Universal and Dreamworks Animation production now has $ 56.3 million domestically and $ 162.5 million globally, on a budget of $ 65 million.

Closing the top 10 was French release, The Sony Pictures Classics romantic-comedy-drama starring Michelle Pfeiffer. The film, which is about a Manhattan socialite in Paris who believes her cat may be possessed by her late husband, has been in extremely limited release for some time before expanding to 483 theaters this weekend for $ 193,000. . After eight weeks, the film is now valued at $ 205,500 domestically and $ 640,000 worldwide. Although the film received poor reviews, it was able to capitalize on some publicity after Pfeiffer’s performance won a Golden Globe. We don’t know the budget for this one or if Sony Pictures Classic has any other expansion plans, but for a niche movie in a handful of theaters, it’s not bad.

Next weekend will see only one new full-scale release in Travelers, Neil Burger’s sci-fi thriller starring Tye Sheridan and Lily-Rose Depp. It won’t make a big impression and Godzilla vs. Kong wull continue to reign.

BOX OFFICE TOP THREE (three-day national issues)
1. Godzilla vs. Kong – $ 32.2 million ($ 48.5 million in total)
2. The Unholy – $ 3.2 million ($ 3.2 million in total)
3. Person – $ 3.1 million ($ 11.9 million in total)
4. Raya and the Last Dragon – $ 2.1 million ($ 32.2 million in total)
5. Tom & Jerry – $ 1.4 million ($ 39.5 million in total)
6. The Girl Who Believes in Miracles – $ 526,000 ($ 526,000 in total)
7. The Courier – $ 452,000 ($ 4.2 million in total)
8. Chaos Walking – $ 380,000 ($ 12.2 million in total)
9. The Croods: A New Age – $ 210,000 ($ 56.3 million in total)
10. French release – $ 193,000 ($ 200,500 in total)