Kong: Skull Island dominated the domestic box office, racking up a mighty $61 million. That beat estimates, which expected the movie to debut around $45 and $50 million.
Kong: Skull Island cost $185 million to produce, which means it will need to be a hit overseas if Legendary and Warner are to make a profit.
On the domestic front, Kong: Skull Island will compete with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, a live-action fairy expected to premiere to $120 million next weekend.
Legendary and Warner have grand ambitions for King Kong. The film is the second installment in a planned monster franchise.
The opening weekend crowd for the film was 56% male and 35% under the age of 25. Imax showings accounted for $7.5 million worth of ticket sales.
The massive production and marketing costs, Kong: Skull Island call for roughly $500 million worldwide for the movie to be considered a success.
The film debuted to $81.6 million in 65 foreign markets. A lot depends on how the movie performs in China, the world’s second-largest film market, where it opens in two weeks.
Set at the end of the Vietnam War, Kong: Skull Island takes place in the jungle. Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who made a splash with the Sundance hit, Kings of Summer, directed the smart and well crafted picture.
Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, and Brie Larson head up an ensemble cast.
Critics praised the decision to give an “Apocalypse, Now” sheen to the often-filmed story of King Kong.