Benjamin Ashford|‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” roars to an $80 million box office opening

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Benjamin AshfordGodzilla-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 the $81.5 million debut of “Dune: Part 2.”

Projections had put the 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.

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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.