‘Godzilla x Kong’ Will Bunny Hop To $135M Global Opening As Legendary Monsterverse Franchise Roars To $2 Billion+ – Box Office Preview

Hot on the heels of the success of their Monsterverse series, “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” Apple TV+ announced that the acclaimed show has been renewed for a second season. Produced by Legendary Entertainment, who is also behind the Monsterverse films like the recent “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” Apple also announced a deal they made with the company to create multiple spin-offs from the TV Monsterverse and based on ‘Monarch’ series.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Hong Kong government has licensed the broadcast rights to the Summer Olympic Games in Paris. It intends to relicense the rights to four TV broadcasters in the city – TVB, ViuTV, HOY TV and government-owned RTHK.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Snow in Midsummer,” which quietly probes the 1969 massacre of Malaysian Chinese during post-election turmoil, was named the winner of the best film for young cinema competition (Chinese-language) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Liang Ming was named best director for “Carefree Days,” while the film’s female lead Lyu Xingchen collected the best actress award.

ESPN EVP of Production Norby Williamson, who helped build SportsCenter into a signature franchise but recently had a public clash with Pat McAfee, is departing after nearly 40 years at the network.

Naman Ramachandran Kung Fu superstar Sammo Hung will deliver a masterclass on May 4 as part of the 12th Singapore Chinese Film Festival. He will also attend a mini-retrospective of his films.

NME also previously spotted social media accounts for a potential Waterbomb Festival Singapore back in March.

Selena Kuznikov Although Fala Chen teams up with the massive Kong to battle against a humongous hidden creature in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” a minuscule monster snuck up on her at the premiere. “I got stung by a bee, but it’s okay,” Chen said. “I saw it on the carpet and was like ‘Oh there’s a bee, I should try to get rid of it,’ and then it stung me.” The TCL Chinese Theater and a portion of Hollywood Boulevard was transformed into a jungle wonderland on Monday for the premiere of the film.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter After three days of release, “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” stands as the third-highest-grossing movie of the year. It has collected a mighty $194 million globally in its opening weekend, ranking behind only “Dune: Part Two” ($626 million after five weeks of release) and “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($347 million after four weeks of release) in terms of overall ticket sales. The monster mashup, from Warner Bros.

Warner Bros/Legendary Entertainment’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is out and roaring at the international box office, generating $15.9M from 49 markets through its first two days overseas (Wed/Thurs). Not included in that total is the strong China opening day today which came in at an estimated RMB 96.9M ($13.4M).

Prince Harry and Prince William could reunite for a mutual wedding this summer as they've both reportedly received invites to the Duke of Westminster's big day in June. Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster is set to marry gourmet food company boss, Olivia Henson this summer.The wedding will be held at Chester Cathedral and attended by much of the British aristocracy.

In the wake of Dune: Part Two, Kung Fu Panda 4 and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Legendary/Warner Bros‘ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire continues to provide momentum to the box office following a lack of event titles in Q1 due to the strikes. Tonight, sources tell us that the Adam Wingard directed monster mash movie is seeing $8M from previews that began at 3PM Thursday in roughly 3,400 locations. That’s arguably the second-best previews ever for a Legendary’s Monsterverse movie following the first 2014 Godzilla which posted $9.3M. That Gareth Edwards directed lizard movie went on to make $38.4M on its first Friday with a 3-day of $93.1M.

There is a twist with the latest offering from the now-decade-old Monsterverse, a franchise that has featured Kong and Godzilla in their own movies and then in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong battling each other to the death. (These monsters never really die. But you knew that). The twist this time is there an even greater threat for these iconic giant creatures to each other and the world, so instead of being on opposite sides of the ring, they team up against an evil new villain, a batshit-crazy ape on steroids named Skar King, in order to save not just Hollow Earth — where most of the action takes place in a dense rainforest — but just about everyone else.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming edition of the Festival of Far East Film in Italy’s Udine (April 24 – May 2). The lineup will include three films by Zhang: his 2023 political thriller “Under the Light” in its competition section; as well as “To Live” and “Raise the Red Lantern” in its restored classics section. The festival’s total lineup includes 74 films in total – 47 in competition and 28 out of competition) from 11 countries.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Professional prankster and stunt performer Johnny Knoxville is getting behind the podcast mic for “Pretty Sure I Can Fly” — a show that “explores and celebrates the remarkable and slightly unhinged people who have pushed history forward and redefined the limits of human potential,” per the podcast’s producers. “Pretty Sure I Can Fly,” co-hosted by Knoxville and comedian and writer Elna Baker, will have an exclusive one-week window on Amazon Music and the Wondery+ subscription service before going wide.

Strictly Come Dancing star Layton Williams has clapped back as he continued to be trolled for his viral appearance on Celebrity Big Brother's spin-off show. The actor and West End star was recently a 'Celebrity House Guest' on Celebrity Big Brother's Late and Live.

The world premiere of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is here!

John Ortiz has been cast in Will Trent!

Willow Smith has released her new single, “Symptom of Life.” The song came accompanied with a music video, which she also directed, and explores complex topics. She shared some of them in an Instagram post. Jada Pinkett Smith reflects on her Wicked Wisdom metal days and the backlashWillow and Jaden Smith’s fashion evolution through the yearsA post shared by ∴ W ∴ (@willowsmith)The photo is a screenshot of a text related to esotericism, a concept that relates to the secret knowledge that a small group of people hold.

Shares of Paramount Global popped in afternoon trade on a report that Apollo Global has made an $11 billion bid for the company’s film and TV studio. The private equity giant has been in and out of the mix of suitors, which also include David Ellison‘s Skydance Media and Byron Allen.

Sony’s $100M sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife— Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire— is looking at an opening at $45M, give or take. The previous installment, released during the pandemic in 2021, which was directed by Jason Reitman and produced by the late Ghostbusters filmmaker Ivan Reitman, opened to $44M and legged out to $129M domestic. Currently through four movies the Ghostbusters franchise stands at $945.2M; the fifth title will easily put the brand past the $1 billion mark if not this weekend, shortly thereafter.