Godzilla vs. Kong' Roars at Theaters, Suggests Pent-Up Demand--Update
April 04 2021 - 1:59PM
Dow Jones News
By Erich Schwartzel
Who won "Godzilla vs. Kong"? Hollywood.
An entertainment industry worried about getting consumers back
to the theater received a burst of confidence this weekend, when a
monster mashup collected a robust $48.5 million over five days
despite coronavirus-driven capacity limitations in most
auditoriums.
The film easily had the best box-office debut since the pandemic
began, indicating pent-up demand exists to resume normal activity
among consumers. The last "Godzilla" movie, released in 2019, made
$47.8 million in its three-day opening weekend.
The nearly $50 million opening has turned "Godzilla vs. Kong"
into an unlikely answer to a larger question facing American
business: Are consumers ready to leave the house?
As mask mandates lift in some areas and Covid-19 vaccinations
proliferate, concert promoters, restaurant owners and movie-theater
operators are counting on a robust reopening to compensate for a
year of stay-at-home restrictions. In Hollywood, the theatrical box
office is especially scrutinized, since executives fear that a year
of streaming at home will keep moviegoers from venturing back to
the theater this summer season.
AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia has done more than most studios to
contribute to such a fear, offering "Godzilla vs. Kong" and its
entire 2021 slate for streaming on its HBO Max service alongside
the theatrical debut. The studio didn't provide information on how
the movie performed on streaming services this weekend.
The reopening of the economy was reflected in where the movie
sold the most tickets. During the pandemic, top-performing
locations tended to be drive-in theaters or smaller markets like
Salt Lake City. This past weekend, multiplexes in El Paso, Los
Angeles and other major cities saw the best sales.
The movie's No. 1 market, Los Angeles, is still keeping theaters
to 25% capacity, but was able to take over a majority of screens at
some locations due to a lack of competition in the marketplace,
said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' president of domestic
distribution.
"There was interest to go out and enjoy some normalcy," said Mr.
Goldstein, adding that initial data showed a significant share of
this weekend's moviegoers had not been to a theater in more than a
year.
Box-office returns since the pandemic spread have been anemic.
Before "Godzilla," the previous weekend record holder was "Wonder
Woman 1984," which opened to $16.7 million in December. That topped
other pandemic releases like "Tenet" and "The Croods," both of
which debuted to less than $10 million.
More than just pent-up demand contributed to the "Godzilla"
grosses. The movie benefited from a holiday weekend release, with
most schools out of session for some days last week. It was also
the only big-budget movie in theaters and faced little competition
for fans of the genre.
The No. 2 movie this weekend, Sony Pictures' "The Unholy,"
grossed $3.2 million, followed by "Nobody," from Universal Pictures
that made $3 million. Besides "Godzilla," the top 10 performers at
the box office this weekend collectively grossed about $11.5
million.
"Godzilla vs. Kong" is the only major studio release for several
weeks, giving studios time for capacity restrictions to further
ease and for consumers to become more confident with heading
out.
Its performance should give rival studios some relief, even as
most executives have opted to wait until more vaccinations take
place and more capacity restrictions are lifted before releasing
their most high-profile movies.
The summer movie season is currently scheduled to begin in late
May with "A Quiet Place Part II" and "Cruella," followed by several
titles -- "F9," "Top Gun: Maverick" and "Black Widow" -- on track
for release over three weeks starting in late June. All of those
films were delayed by the pandemic, creating a calendar pileup that
will require robust demand among moviegoers for the films to turn a
profit.
Like those movies, however, "Godzilla vs. Kong" is a big-screen
spectacle that could also satisfy consumers' interest in movies
that don't play as well on a living-room screen. "Godzilla vs.
Kong," for instance, overperformed in large-format auditoriums,
like those operated by IMAX.
When the movie was made by Legendary, the production company
behind the new "Godzilla" films, executives wanted it to be a
popcorn spectacle, keeping the running time under two hours and
focusing on "nothing more than it is: two big, iconic characters
going at it," said Legendary Chief Executive Josh Grode.
The decision to keep it simple may have also contributed to the
movie getting people out of the house after this past year, he
added.
"Is the need for fun heightened right now?" said Mr. Grode.
"Absolutely."
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 04, 2021 14:44 ET (18:44 GMT)
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