The Highest Grossing MonsterVerse Movies, And Why The Next Film Is So Important

Quick Links

• Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (2019)

• Godzilla vs Kong (2021)

• Godzilla (2014)

• Kong: Skull Island - Rise Of The King (2017)

• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Highlights

• King Kong and Godzilla are iconic characters in the MonsterVerse franchise, with the first movies in their respective series being released in 1933 and 1954.
• The MonsterVerse franchise, which brings together these two iconic characters, began in 2014 and has since released four movies, with a fifth highly anticipated entry scheduled for release in 2024.
• Despite mixed reviews, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) performed well at the box office, earning $387.3 million and $470.1 million worldwide, respectively.
• The upcoming Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is expected to break previous records and have a significant impact on the future of the franchise.

Not everyone knows that King Kong – a gigantic Gorilla, and the eighth wonder of the world according to the movie's plot – first appeared nine decades ago in King Kong (1933) by RKO Pictures.

It marked the first time the world was introduced to the giant King Kong (his penchant for creating havoc in the city) on the silver screen.

In 1933, King Kong was a huge success, earning $5.3 million and becoming the highest-grossing movie of 1933, with an estimated overall total profit of $10 million.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) inflation calculator, $5 million in December 1933 was equivalent to $116.5 million in October 2023 (when the calculator was most recently updated).

Likewise, $10 million in December 1933 was equivalent to $233 million in late 2023.

The second main character in the "MonsterVerse," Godzilla, was introduced in the Japanese movie Gojira or Godzilla (1954).

This was a Japanese "Kaiju movie," where Kaiju means "monster," and in the film, an unbelievably massive, dinosaur-like creature rises due to American nuclear weapons testing.

Both King Kong and Godzilla enraptured audiences as novel movie monsters, and after their first appearances, several lucrative sequels and spin-offs quickly followed.

At the end of the twentieth century, King Kong and Godzilla had been enshrined as significant pop culture phenomena.

There were 13 movies in the King Kong franchise overall, including three animated movies.

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The Godzilla franchise includes 38 movies overall, with 33 Japanese productions and 5 American productions.

In 2005, the King Kong of 1933 was revisited by Universal Pictures, this time with all the advancements of modern film at the studio's disposal.

People were mesmerized by the modern King Kong, who had fallen in love with character Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), a girl who looked tiny even in his palm.

Darrow was originally portrayed by Fay Raye, and Raye was alluded to in an easter egg in the 2005 remake of King Kong .

King Kong and Godzilla were, as characters, fleshed out across several productions, and their existence was introduced under different banners; they rarely came together on screen as avowed enemies.

After the 2010s, Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, and Japanese Toho Co Ltd. (the creator of Godzilla) collaborated to create the "MonsterVerse," and to bring those typically separate characters under one umbrella.

The MonsterVerse of today began in 2014, with four pictures released under the banner of MonsterVerse, and the fifth MonsterVerse movie, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, slated for an April 2024 release.

Let’s look at how the MonsterVerse created an impact at the box office, and why the fifth MonsterVerse movie is so important for the MonsterVerse.

5 Godzilla: King Of The Monsters (2019)

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters' Worldwide Box Office Take: $387.3 Million

The monster-studded third movie in the new MonsterVerse summoned many ancient cinematic Kaijus like Mothra, Ghidorah, and Rodan to battle Godzilla.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters rampaged their way to a grand opening of $47.7 million, which means Godzilla and other monsters succeeded in generating audience curiosity.

This third entry in the MonsterVerse received mixed reviews; some appreciated the CGI in Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, while others lamented poor screenwriting.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters received a rating of six on IMDB, and on Rotten Tomatoes, its "Tomatometer" score stands at 42 percent, with an audience score of 83 percent.

The Tomatometer aggregates review ratings from formal film critics, while the audience score is based on ratings provided by moviegoers.

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Michael Dougherty directed Godzilla: King of the Monsters, earning an impressive $387.3 million.

Despite a massive $217.3 million profit, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is the lowest-grossing movie of the new MonsterVerse.

In other words, the fact that the least profitable film profited so significantly demonstrates the money-making power of the MonsterVerse.

4 Godzilla vs Kong (2021)

Godzilla vs Kong's Worldwide Box Office Take: $470.1 Million

The two largest monsters of cinema, King Kong and Godzilla, starred in the fourth edition in the new MonsterVerse – set to battle one another in one of the most highly anticipated movies of 2021.

Godzilla vs Kong was released during the Covid-19 pandemic, which itself wrought havoc on the film industry, and disrupted long-planned theatrical runs.

Despite ongoing challenges related to the pandemic, King Kong and Godzilla pulled in a massive audience in its opening week and earned $31.6 million.

Adam Wingard directed Godzilla vs. Kong – created on a budget of $200 million – and it profited $270.1 million, despite facing massive, pandemic-related headwinds.

Godzilla vs. Kong received favorable reviews, and scored a sturdy 6.3 rating on IMDb.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the Tomatometer registered an impressive 76 percent critical rating, with the audience score coming in at an impressive 91 percent.

The domestic profit of the movie came in at around $100 million, whereas the movie grossed $369.2 million internationally.

Based on its positive ratings by both critics and audiences the movie almost certainly would have netted more, had its release not unfortunately coincided with a global pandemic.

3 Godzilla (2014)

Godzilla's Worldwide Box Office Take: $524.9 Million

In the first film of the fledgling franchise, Godzilla set the stage for and ushered in the eventual MonsterVerse.

Godzilla (the character) originated as the unintended consequence of atomic bomb testing, and was often picturized as an anti-hero – but in this iteration, Godzilla sided with humans to defeat bigger monsters.

Yes, Godzilla was the main hero of the film.

Godzilla's new avatar was embraced by the audience, and in its opening week, Godzilla grossed $93.1 million – which remains the highest opening week in the MonsterVerse to date.

On IMDb, Godzilla – the first movie of the MonsterVerse – has a rating of just 6.4.

For Godzilla, the Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes has a 76 percent rating from reviewers (out of 100), and in an unusual reversal, its audience score is just 66 percent.

Gareth Edwards directed Godzilla on a budget of $160 million, and it grossed $524.9 million worldwide, placing the estimated profit of the movie at around $364.9 million.

2 Kong: Skull Island - Rise Of The King (2017)

Kong: Skull Island's Worldwide Box Office Take: $568.6 Million

Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and John C. Reilly starred in this second entry in the MonsterVerse.

Kong: Skull Island became the highest-grossing movie of the franchise.

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A roster of Hollywood stars and King Kong together piqued the interest of the audience, and the movie raked in $61 million in just the first three days of its opening week.

The second edition of the movie still holds the highest IMDb rating of the MonsterVerse, at 6.7.

Not only is Kong: Skull Island ahead in ratings, it is also leading in profits, ranking as the most profitable movie of the MonsterVerse franchise.

Due to Jordan Vogt-Roberts' keen directorial abilities, producers kept $383.6 million in the vault, allocating just $185 million to the film's budget.

In all, the four movies comprising the MonsterVerse have raked in around $1.95 billion, close to $2 billion so far,

1 Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Godzilla x Kong Release Date (Scheduled): April 12th, 2024

Audiences have seen Godzilla and King Kong portrayed as fierce enemies in several movies.

In the trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, it appears Godzilla and King Kong will team up to save humanity:

The fifth entry in the MonsterVerse is among the most anticipated movies of 2024, and is expected to be the biggest movie of the MonsterVerse, given the level of anticipation it is receiving already.

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) director Adam Wingard will direct the upcoming MonsterVerse film.

Godzilla vs. Kong did extraordinarily well during the pandemic, and in the post-pandemic era, the MonsterVerse's fifth edition is expected to break all previous records in terms of earnings.

Also, Godzilla vs. Kong is a crucial iteration in the MonsterVerse, one that has the ability make or break this franchise; MonsterVerse producers are likely aware of the film's implications for the future of the franchise, and appear to be marketing accordingly.

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