Everyone expected 'Godzilla' to take the number one spot at the box office this weekend, but few people saw it doing business that rivals 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' and 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2.' 'Godzilla' didn't just win the box office this weekend, it conquered it, proving that after all of these years, the king of the monsters is still a massive draw.

FilmWeekendPer Screen
1Godzilla$93,205,000$23,584$93,205,000
2Neighbors$25,991,000 (-47.0)$7,850$91,517,000
3The Amazing Spider-Man 2$16,800,000 (-52.7)$4,209$172,170,000
4Million Dollar Arm$10,511,000$3,482$10,511,000
5The Other Woman$6,300,000 (-34.4)
$2,063$71,664,000
6Heaven Is for Real$4,400,000 (-41.2)$1,521$82,249,000
7Rio 2$3,800,000 (-24.4)$1,603$118,051,000
8Captain America: The Winter Soldier$3,759,000 (-34.6)$1,655$250,627,000
9Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return$1,952,000 (-47.9)$757$6,559,000
10Moms' Night Out$1,900,000 (-55.9)$1,816$7,327,000

 

With an opening weekend of $93 million, 'Godzilla' is already well on its way to being one of the bigger hits of the summer. Unless it gets overwhelmed by new releases in the next few weeks, it should be an easy enough road to $200 million, with $250 or $300 million being definite possibilities if audiences keep coming back for more. Big openings mean nothing if that film doesn't have strong legs, but have you actually seen Godzilla's legs? They're huge! Literally!

However, the massive success of 'Godzilla' spelled doom for 'Million Dollar Arm,' which opened in fourth place with $10 million. That's a rough debut for Jon Hamm's leading man career, but it could have been much worse. This film wasn't particularly expensive and it has a strong chance of breaking even when all is said and done. Just don't expect Hamm to get flooded with too many blockbuster parts quite yet.

Of all the films in the top 10, 'Neighbors' stood up to 'Godzilla' the best, grossing $25 million in its second weekend for a $91 million total. The modestly budgeted comedy would be a huge hit if it stopped making money right now, but it's going to break $100 million in a few days and the sky is the limit. Does it have a shot at joining 'The Hangover' and becoming the rare R-rated comedy to cross the $200 million mark? It's a definite possibility at this point.

Less successful in the 'Godzilla' onslaught was 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2,' which is currently limping to the $200 million mark. With a $16 million weekend and a $172 million total, the sequel is proving to be a major financial disappointment and will gross significantly less than its predecessor. If it fails to reach $200 million (which is a very real possibility with a new 'X-Men' movie on the way to kill its business), Sony is going to have to think long and hard about what they want to do with this franchise.

In fifth place, 'The Other Woman' continued to showcase strong legs, collecting $6 million for a $71 million total. That's not 'Neighbors' business, but it's really good for a smaller studio film like this. Even more successful is 'Heaven Is for Real' in sixth place, which grossed $4 million for an $82 million total. At this rate, $100 million is a big possibility -- all it has to do is survive X-Men week.

The rest of the top 10 fell as predicted. 'Rio 2' looks like it'll end its run soon as a minor success, 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' crossed $250 million just in time for the next big superhero movie to kick it out of theaters, 'Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return' continued to die a quiet death, and 'Moms' Night Out' continued to barely exist.

More From Kool 107.9