Deadline has shared some data from streaming ratings firm Samba TV which reveals that an estimated 3.6 million households tuned in to at least five minutes of Godzilla vs. Kong during its first five days on HBO Max. They only poll viewers who have the app on their smart TVs, so it's possible that the actual numbers are much higher when you take smartphones and tablets into account.
Regardless, these numbers easily surpass the figures Samba TV reported for both Wonder Woman 1984 (2.2 million households) and Zack Snyder's Justice League (1.8 million households).
On Sunday, WarnerMedia Direct-to-Consumer EVP and General Manager Andy Forssell said that Godzilla vs. Kong "had a larger viewing audience than any other film or show on HBO Max since launch."
That backs this data up, but was it a smart business decision on the company's part?
Many analysts feel that Warner Bros. would have benefited most from having the movie play solely in theaters, especially as those box office numbers far exceeded expectations. Had the option to watch Godzilla vs. Kong at home (for free, essentially) not been there, then that opening weekend could have been even higher; as it stands, there's no denying that it still did pretty damn well.
In the UK, where Godzilla vs. Kong was only available on PVOD platforms, 225,000 households reportedly paid to tune into the crossover event when it was released digitally on April 1st.
You can check out one of our reviews of the movie by clicking here.
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