Godzilla vs. Kong is continuing to prove that the death of cinemas was greatly exaggerated, as the film roared back into the number one spot in its second week.
On 204 screens, the film managed another 67,000 admissions and AED 3.5 million at the box office over the four-day weekend.
Cumulatively over 11 days the film has now grossed AED 13.2 million in 254,707 total tickets sold, or $3.6 million. The film is such an outsized hit that its box office alone accounted for a 51 percent share of the entire box office in the country, with 47 other movies also in cinemas.
It’s the most impressive tally since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with no film selling more tickets since cinema restrictions started after reopening post-lockdown last year.
Godzilla vs. Kong, a combined sequel to Kong: Skull Island (2017) and Godzilla: King of Monsters (2019), has been a huge hit across the world, setting a pandemic record of $48.5 million in the United States over the weekend.
So far, the film has grossed $285.8 million worldwide. The film is tracking well ahead of 2014’s Godzilla film, as well as ahead of Godzilla King of Monsters and similar to Kong: Skull Island in 2017 pre-pandemic.
The film is directed by Adam Wingard, who previously helmed horror films such as You’re Next, The Guest and Death Note.
Esquire Middle East spoke to star Alexander Skarsgård about the film, as well as his love of death metal and the film’s pro wrestling influences.
The film has been a hit with critics, Certified Fresh at 75 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes with over 300 reviews counted.
Nobody, the action film starring Bob Odenkirk, moved up to second place in its third week, bringing in 12,000 people for another AED 615,904, increasing 9 per cent from the week before.
The film has been an impressive hit in the UAE, reaching 66,000 tickets sold and AED 3.5 million at the box office, likely crossing the $1 million mark this week.
Both Raya and the Last Dragon and Tom & Jerry stayed in the top five in their fifth and eigth weeks respectively and more tickets sold this week than last, with 11,000 for Raya and the Last Dragon and a AED 471,793 total and Tom and Jerry with another 6,906 tickets sold and a nearly AED 300,000 weekend total.
Cumulatively, Raya and the Last Dragon has brought in more than 100,000 people and AED 4.8 million at the box office, with Tom and Jerry reaching AED 8 million from 170,000 tickets sold.
Raya and the Last Dragon, starring Kelly Marie Tran and Awkwafina, is set in a fictional kingdom called Kumandra, based on the culture of Southeast Asia, where humans and dragons once lived in harmony, before the world fell into disarray. The story follows young princess named Raya goes on a journey to find the last known dragon in existence and once again unite the kingdom.
The film has gotten a hugely positive reception from critics and audiences alike. The film currently holds a 96 percent critic’s score on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 7.6/10 on IMDb, which is fan-voted.
The Tamil film Sulthan opened at number 3 in its first week with 11,500 admissions and AED 440,00 at the box office. The One, a Malayam film, earned another 6,000 admissions and 240,000 at the box office, bringing its 11 day total to AED 1.2 million. Another Malayam film, Arugraheethan Antony, opened in the top 10 with 2500 tickets sold and AED 91,697.
Way Down opened with AED 162,000 and nearly 4000 tickets sold, with the Mo Al Turki produced Crisis opening also in the top 10 with 3000 admissions and AED 162,438.
Oscar hopefuls Nomadland and Another Round and The Father all brought in under 500 people each.
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