'Godzilla x Kong’ Maintains Box-office Dominion in 2nd Weekend

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Godzilla, left, and Kong in a scene from "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Godzilla, left, and Kong in a scene from "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
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'Godzilla x Kong’ Maintains Box-office Dominion in 2nd Weekend

This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Godzilla, left, and Kong in a scene from "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Godzilla, left, and Kong in a scene from "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” easily swatted away a pair of challengers to hold on to the top spot at the box office for the second week in a row, according to studio estimates Sunday.
After its above-expectations $80 million launch last weekend, the MonsterVerse mashup brought in $31.7 million over its second weekend, a 60% drop from its debut, The Associated Press reported. The Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures release, directed by Adam Wingard, has thus far outperformed any of the studio’s recent monster films except for 2014’s “Godzilla.”
But with $361.1 million worldwide in two weeks, “Godzilla x Kong” could ultimately leapfrog the $529 million global haul of 2014’s “Godzilla.” The latest installment, in which Godzilla and Kong team up, cost about $135 million to produce.
“Godzilla x Kong” extended its box-office reign as another primate-themed movie arrived in theaters. Dev Patel’s “Monkey Man,” an India-set revenge thriller released by Universal Pictures, opened in 3,029 North American theaters with an estimated $10.1 million.
That marked a strong debut for Patel’s modestly budgeted directorial debut in which he stars in a bloody, politically charged action extravaganza. “Monkey Man,” which cost about $10 million to make, was dropped by its original studio, Netflix, after which Jordan Peele and his Monkeypaw Productions swooped in.
The weekend’s other new wide release, “The First Omen,” from Disney's 20th Century Studios, struggled to make a big impact with moviegoers. It came in fourth with an estimated $8.4 million in ticket sales in 3,375 theaters, while collecting an additional $9.1 million overseas. The R-rated horror film, which cost about $30 million to make, is a prequel to the 1976 Richard Donner-directed original starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick.
This version, directed by Arkasha Stevenson and starring Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom and Bill Nighy, follows 2006’s “The Omen,” which opened to $16 million and ultimately grossed $119 million.
The tepid opening for “The First Omen” allowed Sony's “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” to take third place with $9 million in its third weekend of release. The sci-fi comedy sequel has collected $88.8 million domestically and $138 million worldwide.
Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Two” continues to perform strongly. It added $7.2 million in its sixth week, dipping just 37%, to bring its domestic total to $264 million.
One of the week's biggest performers was in China, where Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning “The Boy and the Heron” landed in theaters. The acclaimed Japanese anime is setting records for a non-Chinese animated film. After opening Wednesday, its five-day total surpassed $70 million, a new high mark for Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.



‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Soars toward a $100 Million Holiday Weekend

 Julius Onah, from left, Anthony Mackie, and Danny Ramirez attend the special screening of "Captain America: Brave New World" on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in New York. (AP)
Julius Onah, from left, Anthony Mackie, and Danny Ramirez attend the special screening of "Captain America: Brave New World" on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in New York. (AP)
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‘Captain America: Brave New World’ Soars toward a $100 Million Holiday Weekend

 Julius Onah, from left, Anthony Mackie, and Danny Ramirez attend the special screening of "Captain America: Brave New World" on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in New York. (AP)
Julius Onah, from left, Anthony Mackie, and Danny Ramirez attend the special screening of "Captain America: Brave New World" on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025, in New York. (AP)

“Captain America: Brave New World” infused some blockbuster cash into the North American box office, bringing in $88.5 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Walt Disney Co. release is by far the biggest opener of 2025 and the company predicts it will hit $100 million domestically and $192.4 globally by the end of Monday's Presidents' Day holiday.

It’s Marvel's first major release since “Deadpool & Wolverine” broke records last summer and re-energized a Marvel fanbase that some worried was weakening after the poor showing for “The Marvels.” Playing in 4,105 locations in the US and Canada, “Brave New World” is also a major transition for the “Captain America” brand: Anointing Anthony Mackie’s Sam Wilson as the new Cap, officially taking over from Chris Evans, who played the character for almost a decade. Harrison Ford co-stars as the US President who transforms into the Red Hulk.

But “Brave New World,” directed by Julius Onah, had a bit of a handicap going into the weekend: Poor reviews, though superhero movies can soar without the stamp of approval from critics. The film is currently sitting at 51% “rotten” on Rotten Tomatoes. It's not the worst in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — “Eternals” has a 47% rating and “Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania” has a 46% — but the latest film is definitely on the very low end of the spectrum.

In his review for The Associated Press, Mark Kennedy wrote that it is, “a highly processed, empty calorie, regret-later candy of a movie.”

Audiences were more generous in their opinions. The “verified audience score” from Rotten Tomatoes was 80% and its CinemaScore was a B-. Exit polls showed that men made up 63% of the opening weekend audience.

The bar for biggest opening of the year wasn’t terribly high: “Dog Man” held the title for two weeks with its $36 million launch.

And “Brave New World's” showing is the middle range for an MCU film. Not accounting for inflation, it sits between “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Thor: The Dark World.”

It also cost significantly less than many of the big budget Marvel movies, with a reported production price tag of $180 million, excluding the millions spent on marketing and promotion.

After only one Marvel movie in 2024, “Brave New World” is the first of three major theatrical releases set for 2025, followed by “Thunderbolts(asterisk)” in May and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” in July.

Second place at this week's box office went to “Paddington in Peru,” the third installment in the beloved franchise, which finally opened in North America this weekend. Released by Sony, it earned an estimated $13 million. The StudioCanal film opened in the United Kingdom in early November 2024 and went into the weekend with $104 million from its international run.

Dougal Wilson took over directing duties for Paul King for this film, which also recast Emily Mortimer as Mrs. Brown, originally played by Sally Hawkins. The other main cast, including Ben Whishaw as Paddington's voice, remained intact.

Sony and Screen Gems' slasher “Heart Eyes” landed in third place with $10 million, up 20% from its opening last weekend. Fourth place went to “Dog Man" with $9.7 million.

This weekend also saw the release of a new “Bridget Jones" movie, subtitled “Mad About the Boy,” which went straight to Universal’s streaming service Peacock, forgoing theaters in the US. In the UK and Ireland it made an estimated $14.9 million, outgrossing “Captain America: Brave New World.” Universal Pictures International reported $32.3 million in grosses from all 70 territories.