'Godzilla x Kong’ roars to $80 million box office debut

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

The Godzilla-King Kong combo stomped on expectations as “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” roared to an $80 million opening on 3,861 North American screens, according to Sunday studio estimates. The monster mash-up from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures starring Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry brought the second-highest opening in what has been a robust year, falling just short of the $81.5 million debut of “Dune: Part 2.” Projections had put the opening weekend of “Godzilla x Kong: Frozen Empire” at closer to $50 million. Last week's No. 1 at the box office, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” was second with $15.7 million for a two-week total of $73.4 million. “Dune: Part Two” stayed strong in its fifth week, falling in the third spot with an $11.1 million take and a domestic total of $252.4 million. The last matchup of the two monsters from Warner Bros. and Legendary, 2021's “Godzilla vs. Kong,” had a much smaller opening weekend of $48.5 million, but that was a huge number for a film slowed by the coronavirus pandemic and released simultaneously on HBO Max. The newer film had the second biggest opening of the studios' broader MonsterVerse franchise. “Godzilla” brought in $93.2 million in 2014. Estimated ticket sales are for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” $80 million. 2. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” $15.7 million. 3. “Dune: Part Two,” $11.1 million. 4. “Kung Fu Panda 4,” $10.2. million. 5. “Immaculate,” $3.3 million. 6. “Arthur the King,” $2.4 million. 7. “Late Night With the Devil,” $2.2 million. 8. “Tillu Square,” $1.8 million. 9. “Crew,” $1.5 million. 10. “Imaginary,” $1.4 million.