Since his debute in the 1954 Japanese film Gojira, Godzilla has easily become one of the most widely recognized movie monsters with the likes of Werewolves and Vampires.
The new Godzilla film by Gareth Edwards just had the biggest international opening yet in 2014 and the second biggest domestic opening (behind Winter Soldier), taking the number 1 spot in the U.S. Right out of the gate, Godzilla raked in $9.3 million in Thursday night advance showings, pulling a total of $93 million domestically and $196 worldwide. Godzilla also had the biggest IMAX opening of the year with $14.1 million. Deadline reports that, in response to the promising numbers, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are already developing a Godzilla 2. Making it the only American-made Godzilla film to get the official go ahead for a sequel.
Comparatively speaking, Roland Emmerich’s 1998 Godzilla, grossed $55 million in its Memorial Day opening weekend, and $136 million domestically, and $379 million overall. This one could end up doubling that.
It remains to be seen if Edwards’ reimagining of the King of the Monsters can launch a franchise in Hollywood, like the Toho Company has done with Gojira overseas.
Edwards has already displayed his unique perspective when it comes to monster films his 2010 sci-fi release Monsters only grossed $4 million but became a cult hit among critics. Its sequel, Monsters: Dark Continent is due to hit theaters later this year.
Edwards has not yet commented on whether he will return for the Godzilla sequel. Most likely he’ll wait for the final numbers and that will help his negotiations. The director has talked a bit about what he would do with a sequel however, saying he would use the same kind of restraint that he did for this one. It’s clear that he’s influenced by Spielberg films as the monster was mostly only talked about for the first part of this film.
What do you think about Godzilla 2 officially bring in the works?
Source: Deadline
Nerd Comments