Gareth Edwards and Warner Bros. have proven that the proper way to handle returning Godzilla to the big screen is to not forget about the movie monster’s roots. The proof, of course, is in the box office pudding, and already Godzilla is off to a smoking hot start less than a day into his reign.
Last night, Warner Bros. bowed Godzilla at approximately 3,400 locations and the move paid dividends as the King of Monsters racked up an incredibly impressive $9.3 million. Those types of numbers are usually reserved for big event sequels, but I suppose Godzilla took exception and wanted to brawl with the big boys.
Of the $9.3 million earned by the big guy last night, roughly $2.1 million of it came from IMAX locations. I would expect the IMAX numbers to be impressive as fans of Godzilla will want to see him make his big return on the biggest screen possible, and want to hear that roar for the first time on the loudest sound system available.
How high will Godzilla climb? Original estimates were looking at around a $65 to $70 million opening. With Thursday night screenings nearly touching $10 million and the location count expanding to over 4,000 on Friday, the $70 million mark will definitely be crossed by Sunday. Revised estimates push Godzilla up as high as $75 million. However, if positive word of mouth spreads and Godzilla follows in the footsteps of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it could stomp the estimates and lumber toward $90 million or higher. Saturday’s box office estimates will be telling.
