“Godzilla” is king of the box office once again. The iconic movie monster roared into theaters earning $38.5 million on Friday for what should be a $90 million plus weekend. The Gareth Edwards directed reboot benefited from an exquisite marketing campaign from distributor Warner Bros. Reviews were mixed to positive from major critics (62 on Metacritic, 73% on Rotten Tomatoes), but the trailers and TV spots sold it as a must-see movie. “Godzilla” earned just an OK B+ Cinemascore, however (the same as “Amazing Spider-Man 2”), which means a big fall next weekend is likely. Still, financier Legendary Pictures has to be thrilled with the results and expect word on a sequel soon.
Dropping to no. 2 is Seth Rogen and Zac Efron's hit comedy “Neighbors.” The Universal Pictures release pulled in another $8.4 million on Friday for $73.9 million in just 8 days. “Neighbors” should end up with over $90 million by Sunday and could hit $100 million before next Friday. The picture is also turning into one of the biggest hits of Rogen's career and is a game changer for Efron who is solidifying his status as a Hollywood leading man.
“The Amazing Spider-Man 2” took third with just $4.5 million and $159.8 million to date. Sony Pictures' big summer release is looking at $170 million plus by end of day Sunday and a finally tally around $230 million domestically. That would actually be around $30 million less than the original “Amazing” and a disappointment domestically for the Culver City studio.
Debuting in just 2,100 theaters, Disney's “Million Dollar Arm” took in $3.4 million for what should be a $10 million gross over the three-day frame. “Dollar Arm” only cost $25 million, but the studio probably made a mistake not holding the picture until later in the summer or in September when there was less competition. Disney will hope word of mouth keeps “Arm” on the mound long enough for the drama to at least break even.
Finally slowing down a bit, 20th Century Fox's “The Other Woman” earned $2 million for $67.4 million to date. The Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann farce should end up with over $80 million when all is said an done which makes it a very solid double “hit.”
Look for complete weekend estimates on Sunday.