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

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The TrendPulseGodzilla-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.

READ MORE Colman Domingo and Taylor Hackford are some paying tribute to Louis Gossett Jr. after death at 87 Feds search Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ properties as part of sex trafficking probe, AP sources say Celebrity birthdays for the week of March 31-April 6

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.