Godzilla vs Kong is turning out to be a godsend for HBO Max.
The latest addition to Warner Bros’ MonsterVerse churned out the streaming service’s biggest numbers to date, according to Deadline. SambaTV claims that 3.6 million households tuned in to watch at least five minutes of Godzilla vs Kong in its first five days of release (March 31-April 4).
Notably, the Kaiju flick even beat out the initial numbers for Zack Snyder’s Justice League‘s release. The much-anticipated superhero Director’s Cut reined in 1.8 million US households for at least five minutes in its first four days. In addition, Wonder Woman 1984, another huge franchise entry, scored 2.2 million (again, for at least five minutes). The monsters are beating out the heroes.
These figures, while only sampling viewers from terrestrial smart TVs, backs up Direct-to-Consumer EVP and General Manager Andy Forssell’s claim that Godzilla vs Kong “had a larger viewing audience than any other film or show on HBO Max since launch.”
Also according to Forssell, the MonsterVerse movie is winning multiple rewatches. “The HBO Max audience has spoken very clearly and loudly”, he said on Sunday, “they love this film and are watching it more than once.”
Godzilla vs Kong is also smashing the Box Office. Warner Bros. reported that the Adam Wingard-helmed movie made $48.1 million domestically during the first five days. As theaters start opening up again in North America, it’s apparent that people are hungry to see blockbuster movies again on the big screen. The figures are especially impressive considering that only 55% of the U.S.-Canada exhibition market is in operation.
Given the film’s success, there is now incentive for Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. to make more MonsterVerse movies. Godzilla is the culmination of the entire MonsterVerse up to that point. In a March interview with Dread Central, Wingard said that “It’s really at the point where audiences have to kind of step forward and vote for more of these things. If this movie is a success obviously they will continue forward.”
What did you think of Godzilla vs Kong? What would you like to see in future MonsterVerse films? Let us know in the comments below…