Relative to industry and media expectations, Universal Pictures' King Kong was a big softy on opening day, grabbing $9.8 million from around 7,500 screens at 3,567 playdates.
"We think the numbers are fine," countered Nikki Rocco, Universal's head of distribution. "We think we had a great kickoff to a film that we known has great playability. Based on word-of-mouth we're confident it only gets better from here."
Director Peter Jackson's $207 million remake of the 1933 monster movie notched the 21st biggest Wednesday opening on record, significantly less than the $18.2 million start of Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Prior to the debut, Universal had suggested Fellowship as a benchmark.
"Kong didn't break any records," Rocco said. "But I think exhibition is thrilled. There were no kids out of school, and there were terrible weather conditions. Kong's not a built-in franchise. It's not a geeky kind of thing. It wasn't a record breaker, but it's a solid start. A million and half people [from opening day] will be spreading word-of-mouth. I think we're going to have a fabulous weekend."