COMEBACK – With nearly $ 50 million in five days, “Godzilla vs. Kong” has just signed the biggest box office startup since the onset of the pandemic. The consequence of the reopening of theaters in big cities like New York and Los Angeles.
As if the Covid-19 had never existed… or almost. Released March 31 in the US, Godzilla vs. Kong grossed $ 48.5 million in box office revenue, including $ 32.2 million over the weekend. Normally, that would be a disappointing score for a blockbuster with an almost $ 200 million budget. Except that this is neither more nor less the best start since the appearance of the coronavirus pandemic across the Atlantic in the spring of 2020.
With the vaccination campaign in full swing, cinemas reopened their doors in early March from New York to Los Angeles via Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta, however with limited gauges and the obligation to wear a mask. At first Hollywood had tested the waters, with low budget thrillers like The Veteran with Liam Neeson or Nobody with Bob Odenkirk, the star of the series Better Call Saul .
Godzilla vs. Kong was the first blockbuster to try his luck in a disaster market. And according to The Hollywood Reporter , the figures for the weekend exceeded the expectations of its producers, even though Warner had chosen to release the film simultaneously on the HBO Max platform. “I believe a big movie like this tells us that if we are rational in the way we release it, there is an appetite in the audience for a collective experience in theaters,” says Joshua Grode, boss of Legendary. Pictures, the Californian production company bought in 2016 by the Chinese giant Wanda Group.