'Kong' outmuscles 'Logan' with $61M at the box office

LOS ANGELES — It was a battle of the beasts at the box office this weekend, and King Kong emerged as the definitive victor over Wolverine.

According to studio estimates Sunday, Kong: Skull Island amassed $61 million in its first weekend in theaters, surpassing expectations and easily beating out Logan, now in its second weekend.

Skull Island, starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson, is the second movie in Warner Bros.' "MonsterVerse," following the latest Godzilla, which grossed $529.1 million worldwide in 2014.

Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' head of domestic distribution, says the weekend "far exceeded everyone's expectations," and he predicts final figures might come in higher. The film, which earned a B from moviegoers on CinemaScore, was graded stronger by younger audiences, many of whom will have extra days off soon for spring break.

"The world of mouth is really kicking in," Goldstein says.

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Costing a reported $185 million to produce, Kong still has work to be done, however, to reach profitability (the movie cost a reported $185 million to produce), and much of that will depend on international earnings.

"They had a solid weekend. But they're going to be looking for a half-billion worldwide to make it a certifiable hit," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office tracker comScore.

The Wolverine installment Logan took second place, down 58% from its first weekend with $37.9 million. The R-rated movie, which sees Hugh Jackman reprising his role as the X-Men character Wolverine, has earned $152.7 million total.

In third place, Get Out, the hot horror movie directed by Jordan Peele, added $21.1 million, pushing its sum to $111 million in just three weeks.

With a price tag of only $4.5 million, the movie is a certifiable hit for Blumhouse and Universal and remains prominent in the conversation up against films with much larger production and marketing budgets behind them.

Rounding out the top five are the faith-based movieThe Shack, with $10.1 million, and The Lego Batman Movie with $7.8 million.

The strong weekend nudged the year to date out of the red, too, and even at this early date, Dergarabedian thinks the box office might be headed for yet another record year based on the number of releases.

Next week shows no sign of slowing, either, with Disney's Beauty and the Beast poised to earn far more than $100 million out of the gate.

"It's a March of beasts for sure," Dergarabedian says.

Final figures are expected Monday.