NEW YORK (AP) — “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” easily swatted away a pair of challengers to hold on to the top spot at the box office for the second week in a row, according to studio estimates Sunday.
After its above-expectations $80 million launch last weekend, the MonsterVerse mashup brought in $31.7 million over its second weekend, a 60% drop from its debut. The Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures release, directed by Adam Wingard, has thus far outperformed any of the studio’s recent monster films except for 2014’s “Godzilla.”
But with $361.1 million worldwide in two weeks, “Godzilla x Kong” could ultimately leapfrog the $529 million global haul of 2014’s “Godzilla.” The latest installment, in which Godzilla and Kong team up, cost about $135 million to produce.
“Godzilla x Kong” extended its box-office reign as another primate-themed movie arrived in theaters. Dev Patel’s “Monkey Man,” an India-set revenge thriller released by Universal Pictures, opened in 3,029 North American theaters with an estimated $10.1 million.
That marked a strong debut for Patel’s modestly budgeted directorial debut in which he stars in a bloody, politically charged action extravaganza. “Monkey Man,” which cost about $10 million to make, was dropped by its original studio, Netflix, after which Jordan Peele and his Monkeypaw Productions swooped in.
The weekend’s other new wide release, “The First Omen,” from Disney's 20th Century Studios, struggled to make a big impact with moviegoers. It came in fourth with an estimated $8.4 million in ticket sales in 3,375 theaters, while collecting an additional $9.1 million overseas. The R-rated horror film, which cost about $30 million to make, is a prequel to the 1976 Richard Donner-directed original starring Gregory Peck and Lee Remick.
This version, directed by Arkasha Stevenson and starring Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom and Bill Nighy, follows 2006’s “The Omen,” which opened to $16 million and ultimately grossed $119 million.
The tepid opening for “The First Omen” allowed Sony's “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” to take third place with $9 million in its third weekend of release. The sci-fi comedy sequel has collected $88.8 million domestically and $138 million worldwide.
Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part Two” continues to perform strongly. It added $7.2 million in its sixth week, dipping just 37%, to bring its domestic total to $264 million.
One of the week's biggest performers was in China, where Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning “The Boy and the Heron” landed in theaters. The acclaimed Japanese anime is setting records for a non-Chinese animated film. After opening Wednesday, its five-day total surpassed $70 million, a new high mark for Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.
Estimated ticket sales are for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," $31.7 million.
2. “Monkey Man,” $10.1 million.
3. “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire,” $9 million.
4. “The First Omen,” $8.4 million.
5. “Kung Fu Panda 4,” $7.9 million.
6. “Dune: Part Two,” $7.2 million.
7. “Someone Like You,” $3 million.
8. “Wicked Little Letters,” $1.6 million.
9. “Arthur the King,” $1.5 million.
10. “Immaculate,” $1.4 million.
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Bill Nighy arrives at the premiere of "The First Omen" on Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows a scene from the film "Monkey Man." (Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Godzilla, left, and Kong in a scene from "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
DENVER (AP) — The death of a Colorado woman reported missing on Mother's Day nearly four years ago was a homicide, authorities said Monday, revealing new details in a case that at one point led to murder charges against her husband that were later dropped.
Suzanne Morphew died by “undetermined means," according to an autopsy report released by the Chaffee County Attorney’s Office. A cocktail of drugs that are commonly used to tranquilize wildlife was found in one of the 49-year-old woman's bones but there was no indication of trauma, the report said.
Morphew's husband, Barry Morphew, told investigators he last saw his wife in May 2020, on Mother’s Day. Her remains were found in September 2023 in a remote area of central Colorado more than 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of her home.
A tranquilizer gun and accessories were found in the couple’s home, according to investigators, who arrested Barry Morphew in May 2021 on suspicion of first-degree murder, tampering with a human body and other offenses.
The charges were dropped in 2022, just as Barry Morphew was about to go to trial, after a judge barred prosecutors from presenting most of their key witnesses, citing their failure to follow rules for turning over evidence in his favor. The evidence included DNA from an unknown man linked to sexual assault cases in other states, which was found in Suzanne Morphew’s SUV.
Barry Morphew’s lawyers later filed a complaint accusing prosecutors of intentionally withholding evidence and asking that they be disciplined. Barry Morphew also filed a $15 million lawsuit accusing prosecutors and investigators of violating his constitutional rights. The suit is pending in federal court.
Prosecutors, saying they wanted more time to find Suzanne Morphew’s body, left open the possibility of filing charges against him again. In announcing the autopsy findings on Monday, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Schaefer did not say whether that would happen; he said the investigation is ongoing.
An attorney for Barry Morphew and his two adult daughters said Monday that his dart gun to tranquilize wildlife was not working when his wife disappeared, and that he did not possess the tranquilizer that’s used in the darts.
Attorney Iris Eytan told The Associated Press that evidence suggests Suzanne Morphew was abducted, drugged and killed by someone else.
“The Morphews have prayed the authorities would remove their blinders and not only find Suzanne, but find the suspect responsible for her disappearance and murder,” Eytan's firm said in a statement on behalf of the family.
Investigators have said the couple had a troubled marriage. In an affidavit, they alleged that Barry Morphew, an avid hunter and sportsman, was unable to control his wife, so he “resorted to something he has done his entire life — hunt and control Suzanne like he had hunted and controlled animals.”
At the time, Barry Morphew said the last time he had seen his wife, she was in bed asleep. He also told investigators that Suzanne Morphew had recently developed an interest in mountain biking. Deputies found her bike and bike helmet in two separate places, away from where her remains were discovered.
Eytan's firm said authorities have not revealed to the Morphews whether bike clothes found with Suzanne Morphew’s remains have been tested for DNA.
Brown reported from Billings, Montana. Hanson reported from Helena, Montana.
FILE - Barry Morphew leaves a Fremont County court building in Canon City, Colo., with his daughters, Macy, left, and Mallory, after charges against him in the presumed death of his wife were dismissed, Tuesday, April 19, 2022. The death of Suzanne Morphew, whose disappearance nearly four years led to murder charges against her husband that were later dropped, has been ruled a homicide authorities said Monday, April 29, 2024. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette via AP, File)
