‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ extends Warner Bros. reign at box office

"Godzilla vs. Kong,” the monster epic from Warner Bros. and Legendary, dominated the box office for a third straight week, showing that a new movie available for streaming at home can also draw fans to theaters.

The film took in $7.7 million in weekend sales in North American theaters, according to researcher Comscore Inc., further cementing its spot as the biggest movie release of the pandemic with cumulative sales now of $80.5 million. So far, "Godzilla vs. Kong” has exceeded analysts’ expectations, suggesting people are becoming comfortable with attending theaters more than a year into a global pandemic. The performance is a major win for AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia division, which opted to release all of its 2021 movies on both HBO Max and in theaters. When the studio announced the move last year, filmmakers warned it would hurt cinema owners that were already struggling to survive the Covid-19 virus and competition from streaming services.