Godzilla vs Kong an exclusive product of Japanese cinema

Years ago, the kids in my neighborhood jumped from their seats when Godzilla began to distribute wafers to other critters in the middle of Japanese cities

This week I have accepted the challenge of my children and my nephews to watch the Godzilla Vs Kong movie together, but only for the fact of recalling the past times of the Sunday movies that we saw in the now defunct "Cine Concha" (which now It is the closed Goya Celebration Hall).

While the previous refurbishment of the Velasco cinema lasted, the boys and girls of my neighborhood would go to that nearby cinema to see "the movie of the week", whatever it was. And they gave them a marathon with almost every movie of that nuclear-powered mutated lizard that was Godzilla. We jumped from the seat when he began to distribute wafers to other critters in the middle of Japanese cities made of papier-mache, and we freaked out with the choreographed movements of the actors that he had put inside those rubber suits (it would be because they also reminded The Power Rangers).

In 1954 there was the first appearance of Godzilla, an exclusive product of Japanese cinema, followed by 33 other films. In 1998 the North American cinema made its version, with many special effects but with little repercussion.

After several years, in 2014 a co-production was created between the United States and Japan entitled “Godzilla”, and the sequel “Godzilla: King of the Monster. I recommend you watch these last two before seeing the one that I am commenting on.

I met Kong later thanks to reruns of old films on television: the first and that I like the most dates from the year 1933, and it tells us the story of a film director who wants to shoot a movie on an island that does not appear in maps and inhabited by prehistoric monsters. This island is called Calavera. Thanks to the enormous success of the film, that same year they released "Kong's Son".

In 1962, the Japanese create "King Kong Vs Godzilla", in which Kong is used to kill the lizard that is terrorizing the population.

The 1976 American version won the Oscar for best special effects.

In 2005 Peter Jackson (director of the trilogies of The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, Braindead, Bad Taste, etc ...) creates the longest version and receives 3 Oscars that I suppose would be in sections graphics, sound and others.

"Kong: Skull Island" (2017) was the ape's last foray into cinema and it is the one that I recommend that you see before this one that I am commenting on.

And after this pedagogical little bit we are going to gut the movie that you are all waiting for: Kong and Godzilla are the last titans on the face of the earth, they have killed all their enemies and as if it were a fighting video game, now it's their turn to them the final fight.

After the events that occurred in "Kong: Skull Island", the ape is controlled in a giant dome-shaped facility that simulates its habitat. They decide to take him to the Hollow Earth, a kind of territory from which the Titans come out and that reminds us of what Jules Verne described to us in his "Journey to the Center of the Earth." On the way, the first confrontation between the two colossi takes place in the middle of the ocean.

Conspiracies between companies, spectacular fights, great special effects and a lot of action is what I can tell you to summarize this article.

"Godzilla vs. Kong, ”one of the few big-budget films to be released during the COVID era , is on its way to breaking a new box office record during the pandemic. It won't be the kind of blockbuster a mega-production like this would normally achieve, but experts predict it will gross at least $ 25 million.

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On Wednesday, the first day of ticket sales for “Godzilla vs. Kong ”in the United States, $ 9.6 million was billed, Warner Bros. said Thursday. It was a record for one day during the pandemic and more than most 2020-2021 movies have grossed on their opening weekend. Last weekend, the monster battle raised an impressive $ 123.1 million internationally. In China, where movie attendance is close to reaching pre-pandemic levels, the film grossed $ 70 million, double that of 2014's "Godzilla."

For the first time in a long time there is a glimmer of success at the box office.

"It bodes well that consumer tastes haven't changed so much that we can't restart the movie business," said Joshua Grode, CEO of Legendary Entertainment, which produced "Godzilla vs. Kong ”. "This says that the movie business is here and yes, it could be different after the pandemic, but there is a viable industry here."

There are still great challenges to revive the habit of going to the movies. With so many cinemas closed for almost a whole year, many viewers have lost the habit. Some are unlikely to sit in closed rooms with strangers again unless they are vaccinated or the pandemic is over. And even those who have been convinced that it is safe to go to the movies with sanitation protocols now have more options at home. The same "Godzilla vs. Kong ”is available for streaming on HBO Max in the United States.

But few clamor for a big screen as much as King Kong and Godzilla. To help boost attendance and bring some roar to the movies, the industry is banking on two of the cinema's oldest and most iconic giants. Destroying another metropolis could help rebuild cinemas.

"The problem is not so much convincing consumers to go to the movies, but convincing studios to show their films," said Rich Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “Hollywood studios have been hesitant to release movies to theaters because they are not convinced there is demand. I really hope that this weekend shows that there is a lot of demand there and they convince themselves to release many films that have been in the drawer ”.

Since the premiere of "Tenet" failed last August and cases of coronavirus soared, most studios have postponed or destined their biggest releases to streaming services. But with the arrival of the vaccine and the easing of restrictions, more cinemas have opened. About 60% of theaters will be open this weekend, according to the specialized firm Comscore. On Monday, Los Angeles County will expand the capacity of theaters from 25% to 50%. For the first time since last winter, a wide release will mean showing a film in more than 3,000 theaters. The figure is still 1,200 theaters less than it used to be with a movie like “Godzilla vs. Kong ”.

Recently, ticket sales, although still well below normal levels, have been on the rise. The best premiere so far in 2021 has been "Tom & Jerry" ("Tom and Jerry"), with 13.7 million dollars at the end of February. The record during the pandemic is "Wonder Woman 1984," which grossed 16.7 million when it premiered in December. Both were Warner Bros. premieres that came simultaneously to HBO Max, an initially controversial scheme that has helped theaters stay afloat and proved to be an interesting experiment in how viewers prefer to watch, and pay for, a movie.

However, The Walt Disney Co. postponed the release of “Black Widow” until July and directed some of its titles to its Disney + streaming platform. Part of what's holding back the blockbusters is the need for a global release to recoup its considerable production costs and marketing expenses. ("Godzilla vs. Kong" cost about $ 160 million). Although people in Asia are returning to theaters, the increase in COVID cases in Europe and countries like Brazil has made a full global rollout impossible for the time being.

Paul Dergarabedian, a senior analyst at Comscore, believes that “Godzilla vs. Kong ”will be“ another pillar in our education on the direction the industry is taking ”.

"The cinematic experience will prove to be viable and resilient as it always has," said Dergarabedian. “But it will be a different world, without a doubt. I think it will be a leaner and more stingy business from now on. "

Some of the old practices that have ruled big-budget movies will not return. Studios such as Warner Bros. and Universal Pictures have reached agreements to reduce the exclusive exhibition windows. Next year, Warner Bros. will hold movies in theaters for a minimum of 45 days, or half the traditional time, before bringing its releases to home platforms. These new models involve recalibrating which films are approved and how much they are worth.

"The value of those streaming and pay TV rights is higher now because you are getting access to them much, much earlier," Grode said. "So somehow you have to go back over the model of how a movie will perform over time."

This has also meant some tense negotiations over profit sharing. When Warner Bros. stunned with its 2021 hybrid release plan, Legendary - whose anticipated "Dune" will be released later this year by Warner Bros. - considered taking legal action before reaching a deal.

"Obviously we didn't like the way they advertised what they were doing in 2021, and I think they would admit that they didn't handle it perfectly," Grode said. "But when you look at how the world is, the facts that we all knew at the time, his decision made a lot of sense."

"You get over it quickly and go back to work," he added.

To help cinemas get back on track, Gelfond believes, are large screens that "differ as much as possible from the sofa." IMAX accounted for 14% of the Chinese box office of “Godzilla vs. Kong ”. This weekend, the film will be shown on 1,170 IMAX screens worldwide. The shows in New York and Los Angeles, Gelfond said, are already sold out, albeit at less capacity.

The box office may not be roaring like it used to this weekend, but “Godzilla vs. Kong ”will show that he has some power left. As Grode put it: “In a few years, when people write about going back to the movies, I'll be very proud that 'Godzilla vs. Kong 'be part of that story. "

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