Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is stomping its way to an estimated $48 million debut from 4,108 North American locations.
The follow-up to 2014’s “Godzilla” took in $19.6 million on Friday. The latest projection is slightly below earlier tracking estimates, which had placed it in the $50 million to $55 million range. In any case, it’s likely to debut far behind its predecessor, which took in $93 million in its opening weekend and wound up with $200 million domestically and $529 million from overseas territories. However, “King of the Monsters” will come somewhat closer to “Kong: Skull Island,” the second installment in the Dark Universe franchise. That film took in $61 million in its 2017 debut.
Michael Dougherty directed “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” which centers on the legendary lizard battling other kaiju who have been awakened, including Mothra, King Ghidorah and Rodan. The film stars Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, Kyle Chandler and Bradley Whitford. The 35th Godzilla movie and third in Legendary’s Dark Universe franchise, the monster pic holds a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes along with a B+ CinemaScore.
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“King of the Monsters” has released in 75 markets overseas and generated roughly $31.4 million on Friday, bringing its international cume to $48.2 million. Top Friday debuts include China with $18 million, Japan with $2.2 million, Mexico with $1.2 million and India with $543,000. China is estimated to bring in another $30 million on Saturday.
Launching at 3,610 sites in third place is Paramount’s highly anticipated Elton John biopic “Rocketman,” with an estimated $22 million. The musical earned $9.2 million on Friday.
Taron Egerton stars as the British pop star alongside Jamie Bell as lyricist Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as John’s manager John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheila Eileen. The film, which debuted at Cannes, is well-reviewed, with a 90% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and A- CinemaScore. Dexter Fletcher directed from Lee Hall’s script.
Universal-Blumhouse horror pic “Ma” is debuting just behind “Rocketman” with roughly $18 million from 2,808 domestic sites after generating $7.24 million on Friday.
Starring Octavia Spencer as a mysterious woman who holds parties for teenagers on her property that soon head in a bloody direction, “Ma” has a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes and B- CinemaScore. Tate Taylor directed the thriller from Scotty Landes’ script.
Meanwhile, a few holdovers will fill out the top five spots, with Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” remake at No. 2 with an estimated $42 million. That number marks a 53% decline from its release last weekend, which tallied $116 million over the four-day Memorial Day holiday. The musical should finish the weekend with more than $180 million.
The third frame of “John Wick: Chapter 3” will likely land in fifth with $10.75 million, resulting in $125.4 million domestically through the weekend.
Annapurna’s “Booksmart,” which was the subject of much industry encouragement after its lukewarm debut last weekend with $6.9 million, should tack on another $3.7 million, bringing its domestic total to $14.74 million. United Artists Releasing handled distribution of the coming-of-age comedy, which is Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut.
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