GODZILLA VS. KONG opened well in USA as it collected $9.6m on its opening day which was a Wednesday. This is the best start in USA post the Coronavirus pandemic beating the $7.5m of WONDER WOMAN 1984 but now around 90% of the properties are open in USA though Canada is still mainly shut. Crucially New York and California are open which was not the case at the time of WONDER WOMAN 1984'S release.

Obviously the number is nothing for the US market but like Hindi releases, in this situation it becomes about going a little further than the previous best. Today the interest in our film industry is more about where the numbers of the Covid-19 infections are going rather than the box office collections in India let alone USA but this number does hold importance for India also.

The release calendar of Hindi films is going to get pushed but when a Hollywood film surpasses the expectations in its domestic market, it means that their calendar can hold up and there will not be postponements which means at least Hollywood content will come to India. Obviously its how the studios see the number but when a film expected to open to $7-8m opens near the $10 million mark, it is probably a positive sign. But this is relative as to how studios see it and some may not be impressed. When a TENET last year could not get the desired numbers in the domestic market it ensured all the major films were postponed.

Outside the US market, GODZILLA VS. KONG scored a strong $123 million over its extended five day weekend driven by China and it should be somewhere in the $200 million region by the end of this weekend. But after this weekend, its likely that China will be giving a limited contribution and so the international contributions will slow. Then it will be down to USA to drive the film. TENET did $365m worldwide and if GODZILLA VS. KONG can get there, it will be seen as a very good result as it will be coming without Europe. But a lot will depend on how well it fares in USA and what Japan can do when it releases there in May.