Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “Godzilla vs. Kong” has been pushed eight months from March 13, 2020 to November 20, 2020, multiple insiders told TheWrap.
The film was previously supposed to open in May of 2020, before it was moved up in February to March. Adam Wingard is directing, while Terry Rossio wrote the screenplay. Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown will star alongside Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Jessica Henwick, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler and Demián Bichir.
Kong and Godzilla previously appeared together in the 1962 Japanese kaiju film “King Kong vs. Godzilla,” which was produced by Godzilla-owning studio Toho. The film became a massive hit and still stands as the top “Godzilla” film in terms of tickets sold in Japan.
This clash between the two icons will be the culmination of Legendary’s MonsterVerse, which is combining the worlds of King Kong and Godzilla into a single universe. The series began in earnest in 2017 with “Kong: Skull Island,” and continued with this summer’s “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” before the two finally clash next year.
But “King of the Monsters” did not perform as well as Warner Bros. had hoped, grossing $110 million domestically and $385.9 million worldwide from its release in late May/early June. By comparison, “Kong: Skull Island” grossed $168 million domestic and $566 million worldwide from its spring 2017 release, while the 2014 “Godzilla” film that served as the precursor to the MonsterVerse grossed $200 million domestic and $524.9 million worldwide.
Because of these underwhelming numbers, Warner Bros. hinted several months ago that another release date push for “Godzilla vs. Kong” would be coming. During a panel at the annual Produced By Conference held a week after “King of the Monsters” was released, WB Chairman Toby Emmerich suggested that the studio might slow down post-production on the upcoming monster crossover, which finished principal photography back in April.
“I think that ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ will deliver for fans in a way they were looking for with ‘King of the Monsters,'” Emmerich said. “But it might come out later in the year, so we can deliver an A+ movie.”
“Godzilla vs. Kong” will now be coming out two weeks after the Marvel Cinematic Universe film “Eternals,” which is set for a release on November 6. The two titans will also be sharing theaters with another oversized animal: “Clifford the Big Red Dog,” which will be released by Paramount on November 13. Other films coming out the same weekend as “Godzilla vs. Kong” include the TriStar romantic comedy “Happiest Season” starring Kristen Stewart and the MGM thriller “Samaritan” starring Sylvester Stallone.
Top 10 Highest-Grossing Monster Movies, From 'Godzilla' to 'King Kong' (Photos)
This weekend, Paramount is releasing "Crawl," a creature feature about a flooded town besieged by hordes of alligators. It's the latest addition to the collection of creature features that have come out over the decades, the most successful of which have featured kaijus, giant apes, and dinosaurs.
10.) "Kong: Skull Island" (2017) $165 million
Before Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson teamed up in "Captain Marvel," they appeared together in this MonsterVerse film that marked Kong's return to the big screen after 12 years. With $566 million grossed globally, the film ensured the success of the MonsterVerse and set the stage for "King of the Monsters" and "Godzilla vs. Kong"
9.) Jurassic Park III (2001) $181M
The "Jurassic Park" movies have ranged in quality over the years, but the desire to see dinosaurs chase humans who are too stupid to realize that resurrecting them is a bad idea has always been a hot ticket. Despite lukewarm reviews, "JP III" made $369 million worldwide.
8.) Godzilla (2014) $200M
Made 16 years after Roland Emmerich's version, Gareth Edwards restores Godzilla to a form more resembling his classic Toho appearance. The film was better received by critics and audiences and has now spawned a cinematic universe that will lead to Godzilla doing battle with King Kong in a 2020 crossover.
7.) King Kong (2005) $218M
Speaking of Kong, here he is in Peter Jackson's remake which was released 72 years after the original. Jackson's version went far over budget, with the cost ballooning to $207 million. But the gamble paid off, as "Kong" made $550 million worldwide
6.) Signs (2002) $227M
M. Night Shyamalan was riding at the peak of his "Sixth Sense" popularity when he made this alien film in which the invaders' biggest weakness is -- SPOILER ALERT! -- water. While it was a box office success, "Signs" marked the start of a long series of critical pans for Shyamalan that ended with his 2015 thriller "Split."
5.) The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) $229M
In the classic style of sequels raising the stakes, "The Lost World" featured a grand finale in which a T-Rex escaped its confinement and began destroying San Diego. Since such destruction would permanently kill the idea of a dinosaur theme park, "Jurassic World" decides to just ignore this movie.
4.) Jaws (1975) $260M
Spielberg's legendary movie about a giant killer shark remains to this day one of the most important movies ever made, creating the blueprint for the modern blockbuster as we know it. Then, 18 years later, Spielberg changed the movie biz again with...
3.) Jurassic Park (1993) $402M
A powerful testament to the sense of wonder and terror movies can instill in their audience. "Jurassic Park" wowed audiences around the world, pushed the boundaries of what could be done with computer-generated imagery, and for over two decades, was the most successful creature feature ever made...until...
2.) Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) $417M
The pedigree of the "Jurassic Park" franchise, combined with the immense popularity of leading man Chris Pratt, has made "Jurassic World" into a potent franchise for Universal. The latest installment of the series grossed $1.3 billion worldwide, and the only creature feature that has grossed more is...
1.) Jurassic World (2015) $652M
...its 2015 predecessor, which stands as one of the top 10 highest-grossing films on the domestic charts and the highest-grossing film in Universal history with $1.67 billion. Combined, the two "Jurassic World" films have grossed $3 billion at the box office. To quote the greedy Donald Gennaro in the original "Jurassic Park,": "We're gonna make a fortune with this place."
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Godzilla may be King of the Monsters, but another group of reptiles have the advantage at the box office
This weekend, Paramount is releasing "Crawl," a creature feature about a flooded town besieged by hordes of alligators. It's the latest addition to the collection of creature features that have come out over the decades, the most successful of which have featured kaijus, giant apes, and dinosaurs.
