In anticipation of the release of Godzilla vs Kong, fans across the United States have booked over 10,000 private watch parties at local theaters. 2020 was a rough year for the exhibition industry, with theaters remaining closed for most of the year. When they did reopen, studios had already pushed nearly all of their major blockbusters into 2021, hoping that, by then, the box office would be in a much better state. Instead of risking further delays, Warner Bros. decided to release their 2021 slate on HBO Max and in theaters the same day, including Godzilla vs Kong.
The highly anticipated battle of the Titans will see the last six years of Legendary's MonsterVerse story come to a head on March 31. Godzilla, who has appeared in both 2014's Godzilla and 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, will go up against Kong, introduced in Kong: Skull Island. The film, which has already premiered internationally, broke records as the largest international opening for a blockbuster during the pandemic, and all eyes will be watching to see how it performs at the US box office over the Easter weekend.
The unpredictability of the US box office makes it hard to gauge just how well Godzilla vs Kong will perform, but THR reports that analysts are estimating a $30 million haul over the five day period. The film will be playing on over 3,000 screens starting Wednesday before it expands to more than 6,000 on the weekend, another pandemic record. It sounds like many of those screens will be for private showings, with Warner Bros. telling THR that fans have booked over 10,000 private screenings of Godzilla vs Kong.
The private screenings trend began in response to the pandemic. As theaters began to reopen their doors, they hoped to entice moviegoers back into seats by offering private showings that fans could book on their websites. Typically, theaters would offer a back catalog of classic movies for fans to choose from at a lower rate, with new releases costing a little bit more. There's still a capacity limit on these private screenings, but theaters are able to charge a flat fee for the showing, guaranteeing a certain amount of money would be coming in.
Wonder Woman 1984 also had over 10,000 private screenings scheduled prior to its debut, proving that, despite both films releasing on HBO Max, many fans are still interested in seeing these films on the biggest screen possible. How much that factors into a film's box office take remains to be seen, but things are looking up for Godzilla vs Kong. Not only is the film being released at a time when there are more screens available than ever before in the last year, but many people are vaccinated now, too. Godzilla vs Kong's international take also shows that anticipation for the film is extremely high, and that, coupled with positive reviews, has the film entering theaters with a strong wind behind it.
Source: THR
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