“King Kong” remake of 1933 classic directed by Peter Jackson for Universal Pictures became the largest grosser last weekend by raking in $50.1 million.
However, many film analysts expected the film's debut to bring in $65.6 million.
In fact, its opening was much smaller than that of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” that released a week earlier.
The film has a long way to go before it can to recover its $207 million budget.
Though, the film had a sluggish opening at $9.8 million on Wednesday, its tickets sales increased by 40% in the weekend. The movie starring Naomi Watts and Jack Black is expecting a pick-up with positive reviews, aggressive marketing and the holiday season.
According to boxofficeguru.com editor, Gitesh Pandya, the Kong movie could make over $200 million in US box office sales alone.
King Kong released in 3,568 theatres across North America on December 14th is Universal Pictures largest bet this year. It was shot completely in New Zealand at Mr. Jackson's studio
Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations said: “The initial reaction was, 'Wow, we thought the box office would be more' There were high expectations placed on this movie. The bottom line is, it's going to do more, but it's going to take longer.”
