The Monsterverse will continue! THR reports that Dave Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) has been tapped to pen the sequel to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has proven to be a big success. The film is still in theaters, but it’s already grossed $548 million worldwide, making it one of the more profitable movies in the Monsterverse franchise, as it reportedly had a budget of just $135 million. Dave Callaham is no stranger to the Monsterverse, as he wrote the early drafts of the film that started the franchise: Godzilla.

Although the studio would like Godzilla x Kong director Adam Wingard to return for the sequel, there is no deal for him to do so. Wingard is set to direct Onslaught later this fall, which is said to be in the same vein as his previous cult classic movies, The Guest and You’re Next. Wingard seems open to returning, previously saying, “There’s always the seduction of making a trilogy out of it, and I think that there’s some untapped areas to go into. There’s also ways to continue to innovate the stylized approach to the MonsterVerse, and what’s great about the MonsterVerse is that it’s allowed so many different directors to approach it with their unique style and color palette.“

“This latest entry follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new cinematic adventure, pitting the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own,” reads the official Godzilla x Kong synopsis. “The epic new film will delve further into the histories of these Titans, their origins and the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.“

Although Godzilla x Kong has received mixed reviews, it sounds like it’s a lot of pure fun bursting with monster mayhem. However, our own Chris Bumbray did have one complaint. “While the trailers made it look like it’s a non-stop brofest between Godzilla and Kong, the two are kept apart for close to ninety minutes, and this movie is just under two hours,” Bumbray wrote. “All of the scenes you’ve seen of them doing their thing together are from the last chunk of the film. While that’s a bummer, I must admit that I found myself surprisingly engaged by the build-up.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here.

What do you hope to see from the Godzilla x Kong sequel?

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Get ready to bring the roaring and fighting to your home theaters as Blu-ray.com has now released the details for Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. The monster mash from Adam Wingard was a kaiju-sized hit that has Warner Bros. excited for more MonsterVerse films. The physical media website has revealed the specs for the Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD releases, as well as a peek at the limited edition steelbook copy that will also be available wherever retailers sell movies. These releases will be available on June 11.

The studio’s release reads,
“The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.”

Once again at the helm is director Adam Wingard. The film stars Rebecca Hall (Godzilla vs. Kong, The Night House), Brian Tyree Henry (Godzilla vs. Kong, Bullet Train), Dan Stevens (Gaslit, Legion, Beauty and the Beast), Kaylee Hottle (Godzilla vs. Kong), Alex Ferns (The Batman, Wrath of Man, Chornobyl) and Fala Chen (Irma Vep, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).

The screenplay is by Terry Rossio (Godzilla vs. Kong, the Pirates of the Caribbean series) and Simon Barrett (You’re Next) and Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight), from a story by Rossio & Wingard & Barrett, based on the character Godzilla owned and created by TOHO Co., Ltd.. The film is produced by Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric Mcleod, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and Brian Rogers. The executive producers are Wingard, Jen Conroy, Jay Ashenfelter, Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira.

Once again, Wingard is collaborating with director of photography Ben Seresin (Godzilla vs. Kong, World War Z), production designer Tom Hammock (Godzilla vs. Kong, X, The Guest), editor Josh Schaeffer (Godzilla vs. Kong, Molly’s Game), costume designer Emily Seresin (The Invisible Man, Top of the Lake). The composers are Tom Holkenborg (Godzilla vs. Kong, Mad Max: Fury Road) and Antonio Di Iorio (additional music on Godzilla vs. Kong, the Sonic the Hedgehog films).

Special Features and Technical Specs:

• DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
• DOLBY ATMOS AUDIO TRACK
• GxK: Day of Reckoning
• Evolution of the Titans: Godzilla Evolved
• Evolution of the Titans: From Lonely God to King
• Into the Hollow Earth: Visualizing Hollow Earth
• Into the Hollow Earth: Monsters of Hollow Earth
• The Battles Royale: A Titanic Fight Among the Pyramids
• The Battles Royale: The Zero Gravity Battle
• The Battles Royale: The Titans Trash Rio
• The Intrepid Director: Adam Wingard: Big Kid
• The Intrepid Director: Adam Wingard: Set Tour
• The Imagination Department
• The Monarch Island Base: Portal to Another World
• The Evolution of Jia: From Orphan to Warrior
• Bernie’s World: Behind the Triple Locked Door
• Commentary by Director Adam Wingard, Visual Effects Supervisor Alessandro Ongaro, Production Designer Tom Hammock and Editor Josh Schaeffer

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Apple TV+ announced today that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has been renewed for season 2. Not only that, but Apple has struck a new multi-series deal with Legendary Entertainment to develop multiple spin-off shows based on the MonsterVerse franchise.

“‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ has left an indelible imprint on the hearts, minds and imaginations of audiences around the world, led by the brilliance of Chris, Matt, Kurt, Wyatt and the incredibly gifted talented cast and creative team,” said Morgan Wandell, head of international development for Apple TV+. “We couldn’t be more excited for viewers to not only have the chance to experience even more thrills in season two, but to embark on epic, new journeys in the franchise, as we expand Legendary’s Monsterverse.“

“Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch,” reads the official synopsis of the first season. “Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows. The dramatic saga — spanning three generations — reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.” You can check out a review of the series from our own Alex Maidy right here.

The first season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which can be found streaming globally on Apple TV+, wrapped up back in January, but showrunner Chris Black was very optimistic that they’d be back. Looks like that optimism paid off. It’s hard to believe that the MonsterVerse is ten years old already, beginning with Godzilla in 2014 and continuing with Kong: Skull Island in 2017, Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019, Godzilla vs Kong in 2021, and this year’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which is still playing in theaters.

Are you glad that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will be back for season 2? And what type of spin-off series would you like to see?

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The mighty Titans – Godzilla and Kong – will likely lose their spot at the top of the box office heap this weekend, with Alex Garland’s Civil War aiming to replace it in the top spot. Alex Garland’s provocative and timely work of speculative fiction has got amazing buzz (check out my review here) and looks to become one of A24’s biggest openings ever. It seems like it’s on track to open with $20 million, which would be a solid opening for the $50 million movie. It’s the kind of film that could have solid legs at the box office, and it will get a nice boost by playing premium format IMAX screens. 

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire should slip to second place, and I’m predicting a $15 million finish. Some folks think a $12 million weekend is more likely, but I’ve noticed the film constantly outperforms expectations, so I’m willing to gamble on it having a less steep fall in week three than people think. 

Monkey Man will likely slip to third place with a $6 million second weekend, which is decent for a movie Universal only bought for $10 million. In fourth place, it’ll be interesting to see whether Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire will be able to hold off The First Omen. The horror prequel opened poorly last weekend and seems poised to lose a significant chunk of its audience (which is too bad as we liked it), but Frozen Empire also seems like it’s losing screens so it could be a tight race between the two. I think Frozen Empire will take fourth place with about $5.5 million, while The First Omen will be in fifth with $5 million, as it starts to make its way to an inevitable launch on Hulu.

Here are my predictions:

1. Civil War: $20 million
2. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire: $15 million
3. Monkey Man: $7 million
4. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: $5.5 million
5. The First Omen: $5 million

Are you going to see Civil War this weekend? Let us know in the comments!

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A decade ago, Legendary Pictures secured the rights to Godzilla and other characters owned and created by the Japanese company Toho so they could launch a cinematic universe they call the MonsterVerse – and they also secured the rights to the King Kong character so he could be part of their MonsterVerse as well. Things got started with Godzilla in 2014, and since then the universe has expanded with Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong, the animated series Skull Island, and the live-action series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Director Adam Wingard‘s Godzilla vs. Kong sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is in theatres now and surpassing expectations, with its opening box office numbers being almost double what had been predicted for it. So it’s understandable that Legendary is telling The Hollywood Reporter they’re feeling good about the future of the MonsterVerse.

Legendary isn’t ready to make any sequel announcements just yet, but when The Hollywood Reporter asked what’s next, Mary Parent, the company’s chairman of worldwide production, told them, “This (box office) is certainly an exciting result. We are in a good position to continue the journey, but let’s see how Godzilla x Kong unfolds. These are early days, but we are certainly feeling good.“

Wingard previously told the trade, “There’s always the seduction of making a trilogy out of it, and I think that there’s some untapped areas to go into. There’s also ways to continue to innovate the stylized approach to the MonsterVerse, and what’s great about the MonsterVerse is that it’s allowed so many different directors to approach it with their unique style and color palette.“

Godzilla remains the top-grossing MonsterVerse film at the domestic box office, having pulled in $200.6 million during its theatrical run – but Godzilla x Kong has already passed $136 million domestically and is expected to knock Godzilla out of the top spot by the time it reaches the end of its run. When it comes to worldwide numbers, Kong: Skull Island is at #1, having made $568 million. Godzilla x Kong is closing in on $363 million worldwide, so it still has a way to go before it can catch (or surpass) that one.

What would you like to see from the MonsterVerse? Do you want a third Godzilla & Kong movie from Adam Wingard? Share your thoughts on this franchise by leaving a comment below.

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Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire easily took the top spot this weekend at the box office, posting a much stronger-than-expected $31.7 million second weekend. We predicted about $25 million, so this is a significantly more extensive haul than expected for the MonsterVerse sequel, with it falling about 60% in week 2. That’s decent for a tentpole blockbuster like this. Everyone assumed the movie would be front-loaded, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, with it now on its way to at least a $200 million domestic haul – maybe more. 

However, Godzilla and Kong’s good fortune at the multiplex spelled doom for two new genre titles – Monkey Man and The First Omen, both of which were gunning for some of that movie’s audience. Of the two, Monkey Man’s $10.1 million haul isn’t half bad if you consider that Universal picked it up for only about $10 million after Netflix opted to dump it. The film ended up getting a theatrical makeover courtesy of new exec producer Jordan Peele, and I’ve got to say, I liked Dev Patel’s debut as an action auteur and star. This flick should make a nice profit for Universal, and it will likely play very well on streaming and home video, where it could become a cult fave.

But, The First Omen really underperformed, with the Disney/ 20th Century Studios would-be restart for the Omen franchise whiffing with an $8.36 million opening. It was open on 300 more screens than Monkey Man and had the full might of Disney’s marketing muscle behind it. What happened? Despite good reviews (including ours) it could be that horror audiences found the movie looked too similar to the recently released Immaculate, or are maybe burned-out by unnecessary prequels. Whatever the case, I think it’s well worth watching.

Notably, it was beaten this weekend at the box office by Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which, in its third week, is starting to show signs of life at the box office. While it can’t be denied that the film has underperformed for Sony and may have doomed the franchise, at least now, it will likely finish over $100 million domestically. Whether or not that’s enough for Sony to kick the can again with another entry remains to be seen, but if the franchise continues, it will likely be on streaming.

Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two also continued to hold up well in fifth and sixth place, respectively, with both earning over $7 million. Panda’s domestic total is at $166 million now (it’s already the second-highest-grossing film in the franchise), while Dune 2 is at an impressive $264 million, on its way to potentially $300 million.

In seventh place is a specialty title, Someone Like You, a faith-based film by Fathom. It managed to make $3 million despite not having any recognizable stars. In contrast, the arthouse comedy Wicked Little Letters, with Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, made about $1.56 million in a semi-wide release (just over 1000 screens). 

Rounding out the chart is Mark Wahlberg’s family movie, Arthur the King, which has struggled to find an audience and is on the verge of ending its run with $1.54 million for the weekend and a $22 million total. Finally, Neon’s horror flick Immaculate made $1.4 million for $14.1 million. It’s actually Neon’s fourth highest-grossing movie ever and has become a modest arthouse hit, even if it never entirely capitalized on star Sydney Sweeney’s mainstream appeal.

Next weekend sees the release of Alex Garland’s controversial (but excellent) Civil War, which is booting Godzilla x Kong from its IMAX run. Do you think it will be able to take first place? Let us know in the comments!

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As everyone expected, Godzilla x Kong is stomping all over the competition this weekend. Deadline reports that the WB/Legendary MonsterVerse sequel is on track for a better-than-expected $30 million haul. Industry estimates (and ours) saw the film making $25 million, but word-of-mouth has proven stronger than expected, with the movie again beating expectations. Could a $200 million domestic finish be in sight for this? It’s possible, and certainly, the MonsterVerse, which has always been a bigger draw overseas, has proven to be a serious moneymaker for the studio in North America.

However, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’s good fortune means the weekend’s other two new releases, Monkey Man and The First Omen, are opening softer than expected. Dev Patel’s passion project, Monkey Man, should make in the $10 million-ish range, which is a decent number considering Universal bought the rights from Netflix for $10 million. When all is said and done, the film will likely be a decent money-maker for the studio, especially once it hits home media. 

The outlook is less rosy for The First Omen, which seems stuck with an unholy $8 million finish. Considering the Disney marketing muscle behind it and the decent reviews, that’s a pretty modest opening. Word has it this Omen prequel was originally designed as a streaming film, and certainly, that’s going to be where the film winds up seen the most. We quite liked it here on JoBlo, and you can check out where it falls in our Omen movie rankings right here. 

While it’s possible either Monkey Man or The First Omen could end the weekend on a better note, it seems likely neither will be able to put up much of a fight next to Godzilla and Kong’s star power.

Did you see either movie this weekend? Let us know what you think in the comments!

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Easter Weekend proved to be absolutely gigantic for WB and Legendary’s MonsterVerse, with the fifth film in the franchise (which we ranked here), Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, grossing a massive $80 million domestically. While it was no doubt propelled by the holiday weekend (tomorrow’s grosses should be huge), it can’t be denied that the movie opened way beyond even the most optimistic expectations. Industry estimates (ours included) expected the film to open in the $50 million-ish range, but despite mixed reviews, the movie grossed about $30 million more than anyone expected. 

While this is only the second largest MonsterVerse opening weekend (Godzilla made $93 million in 2014), this is considered a massive win for Warner Bros. To compare things, the last MonsterVerse movie, Godzilla Vs Kong, only opened to $30 million. Granted, that was at the height of the pandemic, and the movie was on the day and date on HBO Max, but no one expected this to do these kinds of numbers. Its opening is in the Dune: Part Two range. Wow.

So far, the CinemaScore rating is a solid A-minus, so it should have decent legs at the box office. It will likely be easy for it to hold on to first place next weekend unless The First Omen and Monkey Man massively overperform. Meanwhile, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire saw its business completely collapse, with it falling a massive 65% following its underwhelming opening. With a $15.7 million weekend, it seems like this entry into the franchise may be its last on the big screen for a while. 

However, one movie that rallied unexpectedly this weekend was Dune: Part Two, which pulled in ahead of Kung Fu Panda 4 to make $11.1 million compared to Panda’s $10.2 million. This was a surprise; many thought family audiences would boost the animated four-quel. Dune 2 has now made over $252 million domestically, with a $300 million finish not out of the question. 

The horror title Immaculate also showed signs of life this weekend. While its opening last weekend was Neon’s biggest, many assumed it would collapse at the box office this weekend. Yet, Neon’s marketing team has been working overtime to play up some of the more controversial aspects of the flick, and it seemed to have worked. The movie only fell 39% this weekend to post a $3.265 weekend, which is good for horror titles (they nearly always fall over 50%). 

Mark Wahlberg’s family title, Arthur the King, has struggled to find an audience, with ComScore revealing it lost 478 screens this weekend, only grossing $2.4 million in 6th place. Perhaps this should have joined other Wahlberg movies like The Family Plan on streaming. Late Night With the Devil, which is IFC/Shudder’s biggest movie ever, continued to perform well, grossing over $2.2 million, with a very small 22% week-to-week decline. The movie hits Shudder in three weeks and might break $10 million domestically, which is quite a coup for a microbudget horror indie. 

Eighth and ninth place belonged to two Indian movies, with the Telugu language rom-com Tillu Square opening to $1.8 million, posting the second-highest per-screen average of the weekend (after Kong). Next up was the female-led Bollywood flick Crew, with a $1.49 million opening. These Indian films are really starting to clean up at the North American box office, with Indian audiences flocking to them. Watching these movies with an audience is a lot of fun, as the screenings tend to be quite raucous. 

Finally, in tenth place is the Blumhose horror flick Imaginary, which is starting to wrap up its theatrical run with $1.4 million for a $26 million gross. 

Next weekend sees the release of the well-received prequel, The First Omen, and Dev Patel’s awesome-looking action flick, Monkey Man. Do you think either has a chance to take out Godzilla x Kong in first place? Let us know in the comments!

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It looks like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is roaring its way to a much better opening weekend than expected. The industry was predicting a $50 million opening (including us), but audiences are turning out in droves to this MonsterVerse epic. Deadline is reporting that the film is tracking towards a $75 million opening, with a good A- CinemaScore. It’s an interesting turnaround for a series that, before the pandemic, seemed to be totally running out of steam. Yet, when everything closed down, one of the few movies released theatrically was Godzilla Vs Kong, which also went day and date on HBO Max, and proved to be a big hit, grossing around $100 million domestically. While that sounds low, theatres were closed everywhere, so this was considered a big number (and overseas, it was a blockbuster).

Certainly, Adam Wingard’s movie won the series a whole lot of fans. This potential $75 million opening can’t be considered anything other than a triumph for a series that’s always made most of its money overseas. 

However, the downside of Godzilla x Kong sucking up all the family audiences over Easter Weekend is the utter collapse of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire at the box office. Deadline is predicting a ghastly 68% drop, with it likely only to make about $14 million this weekend. This is a disaster for the franchise (read our rankings here). It’s not making all that much more than Kung Fu Panda 4 in its fourth weekend and Dune: Part Two in its fifth weekend, with both looking at grosses in the $10 million-ish range. In the end, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire may have a hard time even reaching $100 million domestically, which could well spell the end of this franchise on the big screen. 

If you liked Godzilla x Kong, make sure to check out our MonsterVerse movie rankings right here!

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This weekend sees the release of the fifth film in WB/Legendary’s MonsterVerse saga, Godzilla x Kong: The New Era. These films have attempted to somewhat reinvent the traditional Kaiju film for Western audiences, with our mighty monster heroes being called Titans. While the franchise arguably stumbled out of the gate with director Gareth Edwards’ coolly received Godzilla, the saga has steadily grown in popularity, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is looking like a big hit. But how do the films stack up against each other? Let’s take a look with our MonsterVerse Movies Ranked List!

Godzilla (2014)

Audiences were pretty hyped for Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla reboot, with awesome early trailers that used Ligeti’s Requiem II from 2001: A Space Odyssey, promising the most intense Kaiju movie to date. It didn’t really work out that way, with many complaining about how dull the film was, with Godzilla himself off-screen for endless patches of time. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who’s since proved himself a solid leading man, made for a bland hero, and the fact that two of the best actors in the film, Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche, were killed off early on, didn’t endear it to anyone.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Luckily, the sequel (which was actually the third film in the franchise), which replaced Edwards with director Michael Dougherty (Trick or Treat), was more entertaining, with it packed with more monster action. However, it proved to be a costly box office disappointment, earning initially poor reviews because Legendary was trying to set up a complicated shared universe no one seemed all that interested in – yet. The box office results were disasterous, and had they not already started shooting the next film in the franchise, the MonsterVerse might have ended right here. Still, the movie is a bit underrated, with Kyle Chandler cast against type as our family man hero.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

The newest addition to the MonsterVerse saga is stripped down as far as its human characters go. Millie Bobby Brown’s Madison Russell was initially supposed to be the franchise’s anchor, but she sits out this entry. Instead, Rebecca Hall’s Dr. Ilene Andrews and her adopted daughter, Kaylee Hottle Jia, seem to be the new anchors, with Brian Tyree Henry also carrying over from 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong for comic relief. One thing this movie does is double down on the monsters, especially Kong, with many extended sequences focusing only on the Titans themselves rather than the humans. Meanwhile, Dan Stevens brings some welcome energy to the film as a cool new character named Trapper, who’s basically a veterinarian for Kaiju.

Godzilla vs Kong (2021)

One of the smartest things Legendary and WB did for this installment was bring in genre director Adam Wingard to take over the franchise. Reinventing the saga from the perspective of an action director, he made Kong our underdog hero protagonist and doubled down on the carnage as the Titan went on an adventure into the Hollow Earth. Audiences loved it, and this fun flick was a bright spot for all during the early dark days of the pandemic.

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

As good as Adam Wingard’s additions to the franchise are, I have a soft spot for the Vietnam War-set prequel, Kong: Skull Island. For one thing, it has the best cast, even if the two heroes, played by Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston, are dull. There’s Samuel L. Jackson, Shea Wigham, John Goodman, and best of all, John C. Reilly, who delivers an acclaimed performance as a long-lost soldier from WW2 still fighting the war twenty-nine years later. Of all the movies in the franchise, this is the one with the most heart and style (from director Jordan Vogt-Roberts) and the one I judge all MonsterVerse movies against.

Do you agree with my rankings? Let us know how your list of MonsterVerse movies ranked would look in the comments!

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