«Godzilla and Kong: New Empire» lags behind the current box office leader MonsterVerse «Kong: Skull Island» by only $10 million.
MonsterVerse — is a media franchise and cinematic universe based on the «monster movie series» (Godzilla and King Kong) distributed by Warner Bros. and produced by Legendary Entertainment in association with Toho.
This weekend, «New Empire» added $3.8 million from 78 international markets to its global box office total of $558.8 million ($366.9 million internationally, the remaining — North America). The MonsterVerse box office leader, the 2017 film «Kong: Skull Island» in 2017, currently has $568 million, and «newcomer» may need just two weekends to break the record — according to Collider, the momentum of theatrical attention for «New Empire» is not slowing down despite its digital release.
Directed by Adam Wingard and featuring a cast that includes Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, and Kaley Gottlieb, the film tells the story of an epic confrontation between the mighty Kong and the formidable Godzilla. This time, they face a colossal new threat that calls into question their existence — and that of humans.
According to The Hollywood ReporterDave Callaghan (known for co-writing «Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings» with director Destin Daniel Cretton) is working on his next script for MonsterVerse. Thanks to the latest box office achievements «New Empire» at the moment, the franchise’s earnings have exceeded $2.5 billion.
Meanwhile, «The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes» increased its global box office to $129 million (the film’s budget — $160 million)taking first place at the U.S. box office with $56.5 million this weekend), according to Variety.
According to forecasts, Wes Ball’s film has every chance of repeating the success of the previous installments. «Rise of the Planet of the Apes» and «War for the Planet of the Apes» earned $481 million and $490 million respectively, while «Dawn of the Planet of the Apes» — while «the richest» in the 56-year-old franchise with $710 million.
Set long before the reign of Caesar (the revolutionary leader played by Andy Serkis), the film follows a young ape named Noah (Aries Teague) who embarks on a grueling journey with a human named May (Freya Allan) that will shape the future of both apes and humans.