BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- The latest edition of Legendary Pictures' lucrative Monsterverse franchise, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," is set to generate even bigger box office revenue in China with the domestic movie market scheduled to enter the three-day Qingming Festival holiday from Thursday this week.
Since its release on March 29, the movie has maintained a daily domestic box office lead, grossing 352 million yuan (about 49.61 million U.S. dollars) as of Tuesday morning.
It has become this year's top-earning imported title thus far, overtaking "Dune: Part Two" which has made 336 million yuan since its March 8 debut.
Box office tracker Maoyan has forecast the total earnings of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" to surpass 840 million yuan in China.
A sequel to "Godzilla vs. Kong," which premiered in China in the same month back in 2021 and which grossed 1.23 billion yuan, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" sees the mighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla facing a colossal and previously undiscovered threat hidden within the world.
With a story revolving around two iconic movie monsters, originating from Japan and the United States, these Monsterverse films have proved very popular with Chinese audiences.
The Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday that falls on the 15th day after the Spring Equinox. While it is a time to enjoy the greenery of springtime and to visit the graves of ancestors, the holiday has also become a busy period for cultural and tourism activities in China, including trips to the cinema. ■
