Weekend Box Office: ‘Kong: Skull Island’ Beats ‘Logan’ Friday With $20.2M

Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Kong: Skull Island is winning the North American box office race ahead of Logan, grossing $20.2 million on Friday from 3,846 theaters for a projected $52 million-$54 million debut.

That wouldn’t be the most spectacular start considering the tentpole boasts a hefty production budget of at least $185 million before marketing costs, or that Kong will far from match Logan‘s $88.4 million domestic opening a week ago.

The good news: Heading into the weekend, some thought Logan could beat Kong in what would have been a bruising blow for Legendary and Warners.

From 20th Century Fox, Logan earned an estimated $10.5 million Friday for a projected $36 million-$37 million weekend and global total approaching or crossing $350 million through Sunday.

Legendary and Warners likely didn’t count on Logan having such a sharp bite. And the situation won’t improve next weekend when Disney’s Beauty and the Beast opens. Kong hopes to have a long run despite the competition, thanks to strong reviews. Audiences gave the film a B+ CinemaScore.

Like Logan, Kong is skewing male (56 percent).

Overseas, Skull Island is setting sail in 61 foreign markets, minus China, where it rolls out March 24, for a projected international debut in the low- to mid-$80 million range. Kong grossed $12 million on Wednesday and Thursday from its first 43 markets.

Kong: Skull Island is the second title in Legendary and Warners’ monster universe after Godzilla, the 2014 summer tentpole that opened to $94 million after earning $9 million in previews, and is the first movie featuring the iconic ape since Peter Jackson’s 2005 King Kong. (Jackson’s film was infamous for costing north of $200 million.)

This time out, the story is set entirely on the island where the animal resides alongside a bevy of other oversized creatures. Skull Island, directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts in his first studio assignment, is set in 1973 at the end of the Vietnam War, when a government agent assembles a team to investigate the mysterious, fog-shrouded locale. The ensemble cast includes Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson and John Goodman.

Kong: Skull Island is the only movie launching nationwide this weekend.

March 10, 12:15 p.m. Updated with revised weekend projections.

March 11, 7:15 a.m. Updated with revised weekend projections.