Do you think Hollywood will get the message?
You would think that after a disastrous 2023 filled with films more focused on social justice messaging than plot, Hollywood would start to put entertainment first.
“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” which debuted March 29, could give Hollywood yet another nudge towards that realization.
And that’s because, let’s face it, the actual premise for “The New Empire” is brainless fun. A giant ape and a giant lizard have to team up to save the planet from an evil race of subterranean apes.
The plot is just dressing to give an excuse to skyscraper-sized monsters to turn major metropolitan areas into a UFC arena.
(And yes, this writer is a huge, massive fan of the franchise. It rules.)
It’s mindless action where you often have to turn your brain off to appreciate the spectacle and awe of it all — not unlike the massively popular and successful “Fast & Furious” franchise.
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Because of that, however, the film received middling reviews from a variety of sources.
Have you been to a theater this year?
Yes: 13% (2 Votes)
No: 87% (14 Votes)
IGN called the film just “okay” and gave it a six out of 10.
The New York Times accused the film of having an “anemic imagination.”
And on Rotten Tomatoes, the critic score sits at a rotten 55 percent.
But interesting caveat about Rotten Tomatoes: The audience score sits at a sterling 92 percent.
More importantly for Warner Bros. Pictures, however, is that the audience also spoke with their wallets.
In its opening weekend, “The New Empire” drew $80 million in just North America, a figure impressive enough that The Hollywood Reporter calls it “close enough” to doubling the dampened box office predictions.
Throw in its ongoing global haul of $361.1 million, and the film looks like it’ll be a surefire hit.
“This is certainly an exciting result,” says Legendary Entertainment chairman of worldwide production Mary Parent, per THR.
“We are in a good position to continue the journey, but let’s see how Godzilla x Kong unfolds,” Parent says. “These are early days, but we are certainly feeling good.”
Per THR, the runaway success of the film has all but assured a sequel film coming out.
Again, it’s a pretty senseless action movie — but it’s also not trying to insult your intelligence with some hamfisted messaging.
And, to be clear, there’s obviously room in this new post-activism world of filmmaking for more serious, thought-provoking fares. Even within the same monster movie genre, things don’t have to go as brainless as they do with “New Empire.”
“Godzilla Minus One,” for example, is completely and tonally different from “New Empire,” and is inarguably the better movie… but both can easily coexist within the kaiju genre.
