Following the success of Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One, for which he won an Oscar for the astounding VFX of the movie, Adam Wingard’s Monsterverse, flick Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hits theaters with high anticipation. However, the Rotten Tomatoes debut of the movie was quite contrasting to Yamazaki’s movie which many consider, one of the greatest Monsterverse movies ever made.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Dwells On Critics vs Audience Ratings
Godzilla x Kong The New Empire. Image Credit: Toho Co., Ltd., Warner Bros
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire began on a promising note creating the necessary hype to maintain the buzz before the release of the movie. The hype was further extended after Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki gave a shout-out to Adam Wingard’s movie on X.
“I was able to watch the [movie early]. It’s a super fun and gorgeous movie. Be sure to watch it on the big screen!!!” his post on X translates.
Now that Wingard’s movie hit the theaters, it has divided fans and critics. While fans were thoroughly entertained by Godzilla and Kong’s unification in the action-packed narrative, critics were not so pleased with the new addition to the Monsterverse movie. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire now sits on 55% Rotten Tomatoes score out of 163 critics’ reviews while the movie impressed over 1000 verified audiences helping the movie earn an astonishing 92% audience score on the platform.
Top Reviews From The Critics
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Image Credit: Toho Co., Ltd., Warner Bros
Here are some top reviews from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes—
“Godzilla x Kong is as big and loud as expected, but when the dust is settled, there’s nothing to hold onto. The kaiju clash is a crushing bore.”
— Adam Graham, Detroit News.
“Being in Hollow Earth takes some of the fun out of things… That also leaves Godzilla x Kong residing in a purely CGI arena without even tenuous connections to reality. It’s a empty chamber for movie spectacle and nothing else.”
— Jake Coyle, Associated Press
“The live-action and motion capture performances are mostly marvelous, despite the bum dialogue and Wingard’s tendency to rush through sequences and whole relationships that might’ve been extraordinary had they been presented with patience and elegance.”
— Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com
“Terrible in every other conventional way…”
— Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central
“Where GODZILLA MINUS ONE made the kaiju a metaphor that was arch and moving, thereby raising the emotional stakes as Tokyo crumbles, here that mayhem is the point, with the story just filling (made with artificial color & flavorings) to hold it together.”
— Andrea Chase, Killer Movie Reviews.
Notably, Yamazaki’s 2023 Monsterverse movie Godzilla Minus One claimed a stunning 98% Rotten Tomatoes score both from audience and critics.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Box Office Debut
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Image Credit: Toho Co., Ltd., Warner Bros
Despite the average critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire made a stunning case at the box office and the audience heard the roar of two iconic monsters. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the sci-fi action movie collected a whopping $37 million on Friday and was on the fastest track to hit $75 million at the North American box office.
The box-office opening of the movie was far too impressive considering the projection of $45 million to $55 million debut. As per the report from THR, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is also roaring high overseas and expected to hit $200 million with ease as on Friday, the movie earned $47.1 million outside the domestic box office, collecting $13.7 million so far from China alone. So, the craze for the movie is still high and it might just be the next big box office smasher from Monsterverse.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is now showing in theaters.
