‘Godzilla x Kong’ still towers over box office

Image: godzillaxkong/Instagram

LOS ANGELES – “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” kept its spot atop the North American box office this weekend, taking in $31.7 million one week after opening with $80 million, according to industry estimates released Sunday.

The latest mash-up of the long-running monster franchises beat out “Monkey Man,” the directorial debut of actor Dev Patel, which opened with $10.1 million, Comscore reported.

“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” 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.

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” was third with $9 million Friday through Sunday in its third week in theaters.

“The First Omen” opened in fourth place with $8.3 million, followed by “Kung Fu Panda 4,” which grossed $7.8 million in its fifth week.

Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases were “Dune: Part Two” ($7.2 million), “Someone Like You” ($3 million), “Wicked Little Letters” ($1.55 million), “Arthur the King” ($1.54 million) and “Immaculate” ($1.4 million).

Both “Monkey Man” and “The First Omen” were destined for streaming — and not the big screen. With “Monkey Man,” originally set at Netflix, Universal Pictures landed rights for $10 million after filmmaker Jordan Peele saw the movie and felt it deserved a theatrical release, according to Variety.

“Monkey Man” has been well received by audiences and critics. Inspired by the legend of Hanuman, “Monkey Man” stars Dev Patel as an unnamed fighter named ‘Kid’ in the credits. In the ring, he wears a gorilla mask and fights for money from a sleazy promoter.

“The First Omen” didn’t get much of a boost at the international box office, where it launched with $9.1 million for a global start of $17.5 million.

The prequel story follows an American woman who is sent to work at a church in Rome and discovers a sinister conspiracy to bring about the birth of the Antichrist.

In third place, Sony’s “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” added $9 million from 3,835 theaters. After three weekends of release, the sci-fi comedy sequel has generated $88.8 million at the domestic box office and $138 million worldwide.

Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” rounded out the top five with $8 million from 3,398 venues. The  animated family film has grossed $166 million in North America and a solid $410 million globally.

“Dune: Part Two” dropped to sixth place with $7.2 million in its sixth weekend of release. The sci-fi epic has amassed $264 million in North America and $660 million globally, strengthening its standing as the year’s highest-grossing movie.

This weekend’s overall three-day box office haul was estimated at $86.1 million. The year-to-date total is $1.785 billion – down 10 percent from the figure at this time last year, according to Comscore.