The Monsterverse has earned a tremendous amount of money off the backs of Godzilla and Kong. Kaiju cinema has always been a place for fun blockbusters, but Legendary deserves some credit for expanding its markets and reaching new levels. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire broke records by becoming the most profitable film starring Godzilla and/or Kong. That kind of success, especially as they approach their 70th and 81st birthdays, might have a massive impact on the direction of future Monsterverse outings.
Success can be a trap in the studio system. The death of home media led movie studios to base the success or failure of a blockbuster entirely on their film's performance on two or three weekends. They can only prioritize cheap tactics to draw in audiences and rake in profits before word of mouth kills the growth. The Monsterverse has done well on that tragic battlefield, though usually through unique methods. The future of the franchise seems secure for now, but there will always be questions.
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Godzilla x Kong is the highest-grossing Godzilla movie
Film | Godzilla (2014) | Kong: Skull Island | Godzilla: King of the Monsters | Godzilla vs. Kong | Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Budget | $160 million | $185 million | $170-200 million | $155-200 million | $135-150 million |
Box Office | $529.1 million | $568.6 million | $387.3 million | $470.1 million | $570 million |
In many ways, the Monsterverse takes a page from the Marvel Cinematic Universe playbook. That has been the default operating position for most of Hollywood over the past fifteen years, but the Monsterverse does a much better job with the material. Most major franchises want the success of something like The Avengers without the effort of creating the movies that led up to it. Godzilla vs. Kong was the Monsterverse's Avengers. Legendary Pictures started the project with their 2014 reboot of Godzilla, which felt like it could have been a standalone project. Kong: Skull Island gave their world a new King Kong, setting up the twin stars of the franchise. With both monsters on the field, Legendary wisely pitted them against each other. Godzilla vs. Kong made a considerable profit, but the pandemic took a bite out of its potential. It didn't reach its full potential until its release on HBO Max. Godzilla x Kong was far more successful, guaranteeing a future heavily influenced by Adam Wingard's latest.
The Monsterverse might keep building
Modern film franchises generally only move in one direction. The next film needs to be bigger than the one before it, or else the purse-string holders might get worried. Some sequels manage to lower the scale, tell a more personal story, and explore a restrained narrative. That hasn't been the case in the Monsterverse yet, but other examples find that balance. The Marvel Cinematic Universe dropped Captain America: The Winter Soldier, an action-thriller with the fate of the world at stake and several massive reveals. Its immediate sequel, Captain America: Civil War, tells a more restrained story with interpersonal problems as the primary driving motivation. This seems like a tough trick to pull off in the Monsterverse. Kaiju movies tend to operate in one specific capacity. A team of human characters works on the sidelines while Godzilla or King Kong fight a straightforward battle for the fate of some percentage of the world. They could take things in a new direction, but it seems unlikely. It would be a shock to see a personal sequel about Kong raising his kid or Godzilla facing his personal demons, but that shouldn't put it out of the question.
The Monsterverse could find the Marvel problem
The Monsterverse has a lot in common with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That entertainment empire recently suffered the usual fate. It grew itself to death. After Avengers: Endgame, the escalating scale and ever-growing spectacle just can't keep people entertained anymore. At least, it can't do that with the Marvel branding attached. Deadpool & Wolverine might represent a temporary return to the well, but audiences are sick of superhero movies. It's become a dirty word among audiences. If the Monsterverse knuckles down to repeat Godzilla x Kong's success, it could easily create the same negative response toward kaiju movies. The next Monsterverse entry will ride high off the success of its predecessor. Three sequels from now, sometime around 2028, might not have the same positive reaction.
The Monsterverse perfectly recreated the cinematic universe technique. It did the thing everyone else wanted, and it did it quickly, cheaply, and with excellent results. Every other shared universe tripped over itself to get to the pile of money they saw Marvel rake in for The Avengers. The Monsterverse expedited the process and still found ideal results. Godzilla x Kong is the reward for their excellent work. The only question remaining is how long they can make that gimmick work. How much longer do they have before everyone agrees they're wallowing in their past successes? What will it take for them to reinvent the wheel and create something new? Godzilla x Kong could be a perfect way to kick off the next phase of the Monsterverse, but it could also be the trap that drags it down.
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