The Big Picture

• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire's global box office success surpasses previous MonsterVerse films with $546 million.
• Despite mixed reviews, audience reception remains positive with an A- CinemaScore and a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Director Adam Wingard is in his element with the series, set to return to his roots with a new A24 movie after Godzilla x Kong.

Not only did Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire generate incredible box office numbers immediately after its debut, but the kaiju blockbuster has been holding on remarkably well in recent weeks, and has performed about as well as a summer tent-pole would. As it entered its sixth week of release, Godzilla x Kong surpassed a couple of major milestones at the global box office, thanks to sustained interest both domestically and worldwide. The fifth installment of Warner Bros. and Legendary’s MonsterVerse franchise has now overtaken the series’ first film, Godzilla, which debuted a decade ago.

With $188 million domestically and another $358 million from overseas markets, Godzilla x Kong’s cumulative global gross stands at $546 million. This takes it past the $530 million that director Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla grossed in 2014, and puts it just $22 million shy of passing Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Kong: Skull Island to become the MonsterVerse’s biggest hit. And considering the kind of numbers that the movie is still delivering, it’s entirely possible that it will surpass this milestone as well. The MonsterVerse series is among the rare shared universes outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe to have succeeded at the box office; the franchise has generated a combined total of nearly $2.5 billion worldwide.

Godzilla x Kong grossed $80 million domestically in its opening weekend — the second-best debut in the series’ history, and the second-best of the year so far, behind Dune: Part Two. The movie has also emerged as a rare post-pandemic Hollywood hit in China, where it has made over $125 million. By comparison, 2021’s Godzilla Vs. Kong grossed nearly $190 million in the Middle Kingdom and a little over $100 million domestically, despite a day-and-date release on the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max. And W.B. was smart to take China’s declining box office value into account while putting Godzilla x Kong together. While the 2021 film was reportedly produced on a budget of over $150 million, costs for Godzilla x Kong were apparently restricted to $135 million — the lowest of the franchise.

'Godzilla x Kong' Is Poised to Become the Franchise's Biggest Hit

Reviews, however, weren’t exactly glowing. Godzilla x Kong holds a “rotten” 54% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes — the second-lowest of the series, ahead of only Godzilla: King of the Monsters. But audience reception has been far more enthusiastic, as has been proven by its box office performance. Godzilla x Kong earned an A- CinemaScore from opening day audiences, and currently has a stellar 91% audience score on RT. It’s obvious that director Adam Wingard, who got his start in low-budget horror, has found his grove with the series after taking over with Godzilla Vs. Kong. He’ll be returning to his roots with a new A24 movie next.

You can watch Godzilla x Kong in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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