Box Office Predictions: Godzilla, Kong, A ‘Monkey Man’, And An Omen
Box Office analysis is provided by Daniel Garris of BoxOfficeReport.com.
Weekend Box Office Predictions: April 5th, 2024 - April 7th, 2024
After last weekend's break-out debut, Warner Bros. and Legendary's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is set to easily lead the box office again this weekend. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire exceeded expectations in a big way last weekend with a debut of $80.01 million. While critical reviews for the latest installment of the MonsterVerse franchise have been mixed, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire looks to be going over better with audiences given the film's healthy A- rating on CinemaScore. Another positive early sign for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is that last weekend the film didn't display relative front-loading for an event film sequel being released over Easter weekend. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire will continue to play on IMAX screens this weekend, though it does look like the film will be losing some of its IMAX showtimes to Dune: Part Two this weekend. Back in 2021, Godzilla vs. Kong declined 56.1 percent in its second weekend to gross $13.88 million. The second weekend hold of Godzilla vs. Kong benefited from that film opening on a Wednesday, but at the same time holding power for Godzilla vs. Kong was negatively affected by that film opening day-and-date, theatrically and via streaming on what was then HBO Max. Those two factors could very well cancel one another out when it comes to this weekend's hold for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which could potentially lead to the film having a very similar second weekend percentage hold as Godzilla vs. Kong. Look for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire to decline a sizable 55.6 percent this weekend for a second weekend take of $35.5 million.
The weekend's most promising new wide release looks to be Universal's Monkey Man. The action thriller was directed by and stars Dev Patel and also features Sharlto Copley. Jordan Peele is one of the film's producers, through Monkeypaw Productions. Monkey Man is playing in 3,029 locations this weekend and has Thursday preview shows beginning at 5PM. While the film's release date was only announced a few months ago, there is a decent amount of buzz around Monkey Man (though at the same time, this could be a case where the level of online buzz doesn't necessarily transfer over to more casual audiences). Monkey Man has gone over well with critics, which could give the film a boost this weekend and beyond. As an original film, there is potential for Monkey Man to have a back-loaded run, especially if the film goes over as well with audiences as it has with critics. As for this weekend, Monkey Man could debut in second place with $13.5 million.
Also opening in wide release this weekend is Disney and 20th Century's The First Omen. The R-rated horror film was directed by Arkasha Stevenson and stars Nell Tiger Free. The First Omen is a prequel to 1976's The Omen and represents the sixth film in The Omen film series (and the first since the 2006 version of The Omen). The First Omen is playing in 3,375 locations this weekend and has Thursday preview shows beginning at 7PM. As is the case with Monkey Man this weekend, critical reviews for The First Omen have also been quite good on the average. Nonetheless, there doesn't seem to be that much anticipation for The First Omen and the film arriving so soon in theatres after the release of NEON's Immaculate likely isn't helping matters for The First Omen. BoxOfficeReport is predicting that The First Omen will open in third place this weekend with $10.0 million.
As for some of this weekend's other holdovers, Sony's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Warner Bros. and Legendary's Dune: Part Two and Universal and DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda 4 should be fairly bunched together for places fourth through sixth. Last weekend, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire declined a very sharp 65.4 percent to land in second with $15.58 million, Dune: Part Two decreased a very solid 35.5 percent to place in third with $11.35 million and Kung Fu Panda 4 slowed by a solid 37.3 percent to follow in fourth with $10.35 million. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire should stabilize some this weekend, but could still decline 43.5 percent to gross $8.8 million. Dune: Part Two and Kung Fu Panda 4 should both hold up significantly better this weekend, as Dune: Part Two could decline 26.9 percent to gross $8.3 million and Kung Fu Panda 4 could decrease a similar 27.5 percent to gross $7.5 million.
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