Godzilla vs. Kong registers biggest HBO Max audience yet, data shows

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Godzilla Vs. Kong was the king of the box office over the weekend with a five-day domestic gross of $48.1 million but it appears that the Monsterverse grudge match was also a big hit at home according to third-party streaming ratings film Samba TV. 

Samba TV reported Monday that 3.6 million households watched at least five minutes of Godzilla Vs. Kong on HBO Max in its first five days on service from March 31-April 4. Even though these are only third-party numbers, this still gives Godzilla Vs. Kong the distinction of having the biggest audience for HBO Max to date. For comparison's sake, the Christmas weekend launch of Wonder Woman 1984 registered 2.2 million households (for at least five minutes) while Zack Snyder's Justice League scored 1.8 million HBO Max households for at least five minutes.

It should be noted that, like most streaming services, HBO Max did not provide any official viewership data for Godzilla Vs. Kong and Samba TV only polls viewers from terrestrial smart TVs. The good news for WarnerMedia is that the Samba TV figures are very impressive and if we did have official data, we'd likely see that the film did remarkably well on the platform. On Sunday, WarnerMedia Direct-to-Consumer EVP and General Manager Andy Forssell said that the movie "had a larger viewing audience than any other film or show on HBO Max since launch." Forssell didn't back this up with tangible data but this has been the name of the game for most streaming services and we just have to take their word for it.

The success of Godzilla Vs. Kong in at home and in theaters is pretty impressive for a few reasons. Only 55% of the U.S.-Canada exhibition market is up and running so its $48.1 million five-day opening is great in this pandemic era of moviegoing where movie theaters are still operating at limited capacity. This is also a feat worthy of kudos because the HBO Max option does cut into the theatrical business but that's still a robust opening for a movie that is available to watch at home. Godzilla Vs. Kong's success across both of its viewing options makes WarnerMedia's decision to do the simultaneous launch of its 2021 film slate via HBO Max and theatrical seem like a wise idea. Granted, we're only one event film in on this but I'm sure this bodes well for their next big launch with Mortal Kombat on April 23.

Did YOU watch Godzilla Vs. Kong on HBO Max or did YOU catch it at your local movie theater? Should this be considered a win for moviegoing moving forward?