LOS ANGELES, Calif. - "Godzilla" has smashed its way to the top of the box office.
The 3-D monster movie from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures had the second-largest debut of the year this weekend with $93.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Godzilla" trails Disney-Marvel's "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," which opened with $95 million in April, and sits just above "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," which debuted with $91.6 million this month.
Paying homage to the 60-year-old franchise in tone and spectacle, the latest iteration continues the legend of 1954 Japanese original — Ishiro Honda's "Gojira." Reviews of the film were positive — it earned a "fresh" rating from review aggregator RottenTomatoes.com, with 72 per cent of film critics responding positively.
Legendary Pictures President Jon Jashni said the film did better than expected partly because it was "starting to get sampled even by those who didn't think it would necessarily be for them. They didn't have nostalgic feelings for it." He said friends or family members likely recommended the movie to those viewers.
Jashni added that the success of "Godzilla" is "validating" after last year's "Pacific Rim" and "Jack the Giant Slayer" performed below expectations for the Warner-Legendary team.
The film, directed by Gareth Edwards, also helped eliminate the bad memory of another of the franchise's remakes, Roland Emmerich's "Godzilla," released in 1998 and starring Matthew Broderick. Backed by Sony, the film opened with $44 million.
Two other reboots — "Godzilla 1985" and "Godzilla 2000" — also flopped.
May is prime real estate for studios looking to launch or advance franchises. The top two opening weekends of all time in North America occurred in May — "The Avengers" opened with $207.4 million in 2012 and "Iron Man 3" debuted with $174.1 million in 2013.
"Godzilla," starring Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen, marks the largest May opening ever for Warner.
It's also the year's biggest opening for Imax globally. It generated $103 million and 14.35 million admissions from 16,946 screens in 64 markets outside the U.S. and Canada.
"Godzilla" knocked last weekend's No. 1 hit, Universal Pictures "Neighbors," down to No. 2 in its second weekend.
The raunchy Seth Rogen and Zac Efron-led comedy earned $26 million, bringing its domestic total to $91.5 million.
Rounding out the top three was "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," with $17 million. So far it's earned a total of $172 million domestically.
Also opening this weekend was Disney's feel-good sports drama "Million Dollar Arm," starring Jon Hamm, which landed at No. 4 with $11 million.
"The summer is about having a diverse lineup, and this film will have legs," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak. "If superheroes and monsters aren't your pleasure, you can go see a more character-driven sports movie."
In its fourth weekend, Fox's femme-fueled comedy "The Other Woman," starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton, gained $6.3 million, bringing its domestic total to $72 million.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Rentrak. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.
1. "Godzilla," $93.2 million ($103 million international).
2. "Neighbours," $26 million ($13.5 million international).
3. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," $17 million ($32 million international).
4. "Million Dollar Arm," $11 million.
5. "The Other Woman," $6.3 million ($8.2 million international).
6. "Heaven Is for Real," $4.4 million.
7. "Rio 2," $4 million ($7.6 million international).
8. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," $3.8 million ($1.3 million international).
9. "Legend of Oz," $2 million.
10. "Mom's Night Out," $1.9 million.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Rentrak:
1."Godzilla," $103 million.
2."The Amazing Spider-Man 2," $32 million.
3."Neighbours," $13.5 million.
4."The Other Woman," $8.2 million.
5."Frozen," $7.8 million.
6."Rio 2," $7.6 million.
7."Obsessed," $4.7 million.
8."Transcendence," $4.6 million.
9."Qu'est ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu?!," $4.2 million.
10."The Target," $2.5 million.
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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.