By Ryan Parsons | Image property of Universal Pictures
King Kong
I have to admit that the moviegoers of 2005 are, well, an interesting bunch. There have been so many cases of a movie making too little (or too much) in theatres that I have been shocked by the box office numbers repeatedly though out this year. Serenity couldn't hold its own against Flightplan (wha!), bopper films held audiences for multiple weeks, Yours, Mine and Ours held strong in the top 5 on repeat weekends and now King Kong has a less-than-predicted opening weekend.
King Kong Box Office
First off, this isn't a box office report, just a quick look at the estimated numbers for King Kong (expect the full report tomorrow). Though King Kong was able to pull in a respectable $66 million since its release on Wednesday there are many out there, including myself, who will claim that the figure just isn't enough. Vince predicted $75M over the weekend for King Kong and there were others who had sworn that the receipts would prove much higher. So what the heck happened?
The excuse-- a three hour running time. For a film of this magnitude the three hours seem to fit and I disagree with those who thought the first hour was a bit slow. What are you talking about? The entire three hours flew right by! What is a 'slow' hour when Jackson delivers a solid two hours of straight suspense and adventure?
In the end I am at a loss. Sure, King Kong still performed well during its opening weekend at the box office, but it should have performed better. Hopefully a strong word of mouth and more positive reviews will allow King Kong to experience only a minor drop in ticket sales (is an increase in sales possible?) during the following weekends.
King Kong opened in 3,568 theatres with an average take of approximately $14 thousand per theatre. Though the domestic box office receipts were kind of weak (in my opinion), the Peter Jackson film had better success overseas with a box office estimate at $80 million for the opening week.
King Kong is out in theatres now... so go see it dang you.
For more production diaries, the trailers, clips, early reviews, our review, artwork, movie stills, and synopsis, go to
the King Kong
Movie Page.
King Kong 
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