Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire made a suitably thunderous start at China’s theatrical box office on Friday. The film had earned about $7 million (RMB 50 million) by 3 p.m. local time in Beijing, according to ticketing service Maoyan.
Maoyan currently forecasts the monster movie to earn as much as $105 million in China. That would be a significant step-down from the massive $188.7 million that Godzilla vs. Kong earned in the country in 2021, but easily the best performance by a Hollywood film there in months. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is currently the top U.S. title in China of 2024 with a little over $45 million (topping Dune: Part One‘s $39.5 million local total).
The New Empire is benefitting from particularly strong social scores, so far, averaging 9.6 on Alibaba’s Taopiaopiao ticketing platform and 9.4 on Maoyan.
The new film is Warners and Legendary’s fifth installment in the MonsterVerse series, following the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, where fans finally got to see the two apex kaijus fight for supremacy. The New Empire delves deeper into the mysteries of the Hollow Earth and reveals a Titan menace that necessitates an unholy alliance of Godzilla and Kong.
Godzilla vs. Kong filmmaker Adam Wingard returned to direct the new installment, reuniting with returning castmembers Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Kaylee Hottle. Dan Stevens joined the franchise as a new lead.
