"Kong" Is King At The Box Office

December 19, 2005 9:07 AM | Comments:

Jack According to The Hollywood Reporter, the highly anticipated box office debut of Peter Jackson's "King Kong" captured an estimated $50.1 million this weekend, and $66.2 million since its Wednesday release. The $207 million remake, starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody, grossed a company-best $80 million overseas, bringing the worldwide total to $146.2 million.

Among domestic December debuts, the 3 hour and seven minutes long "Kong" proved to be the fourth highest-grossing on record. Three other pictures rank higher: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" ($65.6 million) and Jackson's last two "The Lord of the Rings" films - "The Return of the King" ($72.6 million) and "The Two Towers" ($62 million).

However, Hollywood analysts generally expected "Kong" to have a debut weekend at least in the $60 million range.

Remarking on the opening for the film, Universal Pictures vice chairman Marc Shmuger told the Associated Press, "We are so proud of this movie. We started off slower then we expected on Wednesday and Thursday, but we're building stronger then we could have ever hoped for on Friday and Saturday. For a blockbuster studio movie to grow 40% from Friday to Saturday on its opening weekend is almost unheard of. This movie is gaining incredible momentum."

Shmuger, dismissing concerns of low returns, also said "The expectation or the guessing or the hypothesizing of what it was going to do is based on a lot of understanding and ignorance over how a three-hour movie plays that doesn't come with legions of fans. This is not Tolkien. This is not the 'Harry Potter' fan base."

To round out the top five movies this weekend, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" came in second place with $31.1 million, "The Family Stone" debuted in third place with $12.7 million, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" was in fourth with $5.9 million, and Syriana was fifth with $5.4 million. -- Shannon Nolley

\n $\"Jack\"$ According to The Hollywood Reporter, the highly anticipated box office debut of Peter Jackson's \"King Kong\" captured an estimated \$50.1 million this weekend, and \$66.2 million since its Wednesday release. The \$207 million remake, starring Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody, grossed a company-best \$80 million overseas, bringing the worldwide total to \$146.2 million.\n\nAmong domestic December debuts, the 3 hour and seven minutes long \"Kong\" proved to be the fourth highest-grossing on record. Three other pictures rank higher: \"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe\" (\$65.6 million) and Jackson's last two \"The Lord of the Rings\" films - \"The Return of the King\" (\$72.6 million) and \"The Two Towers\" (\$62 million).\n\nHowever, Hollywood analysts generally expected \"Kong\" to have a debut weekend at least in the \$60 million range. \n\nRemarking on the opening for the film, Universal Pictures vice chairman Marc Shmuger told the Associated Press, \"We are so proud of this movie. We started off slower then we expected on Wednesday and Thursday, but we're building stronger then we could have ever hoped for on Friday and Saturday. For a blockbuster studio movie to grow 40% from Friday to Saturday on its opening weekend is almost unheard of. This movie is gaining incredible momentum.\" \n\nShmuger, dismissing concerns of low returns, also said \"The expectation or the guessing or the hypothesizing of what it was going to do is based on a lot of understanding and ignorance over how a three-hour movie plays that doesn't come with legions of fans. This is not Tolkien. This is not the 'Harry Potter' fan base.\"\n\nTo round out the top five movies this weekend, \"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe\" came in second place with \$31.1 million, \"The Family Stone\" debuted in third place with \$12.7 million, \"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire\" was in fourth with \$5.9 million, and Syriana was fifth with \$5.4 million. -- Shannon Nolley

"Kong" Is King At The Box Office

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