'Godzilla' Does The Monster Stomp Around Box Office 'Neighbors' With $93M Opening
Silence the doubters! Godzilla has smashed its way to the top of the box office, having earned a monstrous $93.2m on its first weekend. Gareth Edwards' gloomy new take on the popular Japanese tale of a radioactive monster put fellow opener Million Dollar Arm in the dark, leaving the Jon Hamm Disney sports drama a token $10.5 million.
'Godzilla' Stormed Its Way To Box Office No.1 This Weekend With A $93 Million Opening.
Meanwhile, the Zac Efron-starring comedy Neighbors was pushed down to second in its second week with nearly $26 million in takings - a figure far shy of Godzilla's monster haul - whilst the superhero action sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, clung on to the top three with a confident third week figure of $16.8 million.
"A big action romp" - Read our review of 'Godzilla.'
Godzilla, which stars Bryan Cranston and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as a father-son duo, easily surpassed the expectations laid out by key box office predictors, with some even being as much as $25 million off target. Part of the reason that the movie was not expected to perform as well as it did could have been the lukewarm reception early reviewers filed.
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Pacific Rim scored $101.8 million domestically but was given a boost overseas markets such as China, meaning it ended up with $411 million in worldwide ticket sales. Interestingly, at $160m, Godzilla was a cheaper movie to make than the $190m Pacific Rim; a feature that is sure to factor highly in considerations for a second movie.
"If this comes out and works well, we'll figure it out," Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull told reporters at an early screening of the film.