After a very long wait, Godzilla Vs Kong is finally getting ready to stomp its way into theaters tomorrow, and it’s going to have quite the massive showing. Few movies have been released widely since health and safety concerns shut down most movie theaters in the U.S. last March. That is about to change as the much-anticipated kaiju brawl will have the widest theatrical release of any movie since the pandemic began.
According to multiple reports, Godzilla vs. Kong will be released in more than 3,000 movie theaters across North America. That is even more than Tenet had when it was released in August 2020. Christopher Nolan’s time-bending thriller, also a Warner Bros. release, debuted in just over 2,800 theaters. Recent releases, such as Tom & Jerry and Nobody, have debuted in anywhere between 1,500 and 2,500 theaters.
While it remains to be seen how robust the box office will be in North America, the fact that this many theaters are even available is a positive sign. It has been difficult, to say the very least of it, for movie theaters over the last year or so. Most blockbusters were pushed out of 2020. The ones that arrived didn’t make nearly as much money as exhibitors might have hoped. But this wide release provides just a bit more hope that things are starting to improve. If box office receipts follow throughout the weekend, this could be the biggest sign of life the industry has had in months.
Like the rest of Warner Bros.’ 2021 slate, the latest entry in the MonsterVerse will arrive both in theaters and on HBO Max in the U.S. That will, undoubtedly, eat into the potential box office earnings. That said, Godzilla vs. Kong has already had a massive showing overseas. It earned more than $70 million in its first three days of release in China alone and has already earned more than $121 million overall. Considering that Godzilla: King of the Monsters topped out at $386 million worldwide in 2019, when theaters will still open all across the world, that is a good sign.
Godzilla vs. Kong is directed by Adam Wingard, known best for his work on movies like Blair Witch and You’re Next. Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler return following King of the Monsters. Alexander Skarsgard, Rebecca Hall, Demian Bichir, Julian Dennison, Brian Tyree Henry and Eiza Gonzales also star.
Word of mouth should help this time around as well. Godzilla vs. Kong currently holds an 80 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. That makes it, at present, the highest-rated MonsterVerse movie to date. Should the financial situation look good come Monday, it will likely open the door for many other blockbusters to safely debut in the coming months. Especially since the outlook is only going to improve, with vaccine distribution ramping up. Indeed, we may well finally be on a slow climb towards normalcy. Godzilla vs. Kong arrives March 31 in theaters and on HBO Max. This news comes to us via Variety.