'Godzilla' smashes box office competition
| LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK
Monster movie remake "Godzilla" crushed its competitors at U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, stomping its way to the top of box office charts with an estimated $93.2 million in ticket sales for the year's second-biggest debut.
The giant lizard trounced second-place finisher, adult comedy "Neighbors" which led sales a week ago and earned $26 million from Friday through Sunday, ahead of superhero sequel "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" with $16.8 million, according to estimates from tracking firm Rentrak.
"Godzilla" added $103 million in international markets where it opened on Wednesday for a global total of $195 million, said Warner Bros., which produced it along with Legendary Pictures.
The $160 million production is the latest Hollywood remake of the classic 1954 Japanese film about a mutant monster created when U.S. nuclear weapons testing goes awry.
The new film stars聽Aaron Taylor-Johnson聽as a naval officer who battles the rampaging beast from聽Hawaii聽to聽San Francisco.
"Godzilla" roared past industry forecasts which called for an opening of about $70 million. Its $93.2 million nipped at April's $95 million debut for "Captain America: The Winter Soldier".
Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution for Warner Brothers, said the film played well in all markets, which boded well for more聽Godzilla聽films down the line.
"We have a franchise in the making, and we're looking at sequels as we speak," Fellman said.
Tough Competition
Legendary Pictures's President聽Jon Jashni聽said the film's fortunes were boosted by female and more mature audiences.
"Those who thought a聽Godzilla聽movie might not necessarily be for them ... and that feeds on itself," he said.
"Godzilla" will face formidable competition next weekend from another big-budget action movie, mutant superhero sequel "X-Men: Days of Future Past".
"Neighbors" stars聽Seth Rogen聽as a former party guy who moves in next to a frat house and spars with its president, played by聽Zac Efron. After two weekends, total sales for the movie from聽Comcast聽Corp's Universal Pictures reached $92 million.
"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" stars聽Andrew Garfield聽and its worldwide sales reached $633 million through Sunday, according to distributor聽Sony聽Pictures, a unit of聽Sony聽Corp.
New Walt Disney Co movie "Million Dollar Arm" debuted in fourth with $10.5 million.
"Mad Men" star聽Jon Hamm聽plays a real-life sports agent who seeks to turn Indian cricket players into U.S. baseball stars in the $25 million film.
Comedy "The Other Woman" earned $6.3 million for fifth place. It stars聽Cameron Diaz,Kate Upton聽and聽Leslie Mann聽as women who seek revenge on a cheating husband and was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox.
