As hoped for, the international launch of GODZILLA VS KONG at the end of March drove a number of international markets to hit new recovery goals. The primary beneficiaries were the Latin American and Asia Pacific regions.
The Latin American region’s biggest box office market, Mexico, finally achieved its Stage 3 target in the March 26 play-week (see Mexico Growth Trackers below). The Stage 3 target is measured as a weekly box office equivalent to the lowest grossing week of 2018-2019. Ecuador, which like Mexico had achieved its Stage 2 target – the single day equivalent to Stage 3 – way back in September, also finally made the progression to Stage 3 in the March 26 play-week.
In contrast, Argentina’s progress through the recovery process has been far swifter. Although cinemas in some regions had been able to re-open since December, the key city and province of Buenos Aires was finally able to re-open its cinemas at the beginning of March. The result was clear and instantaneous. Argentina hit its Stage 2 target on Thursday March 4. The following, March 11, play-week saw it become the first market in Latin America to achieve its Stage 3 target.
This was then further boosted in the opening week (March 25 play-week) of GODZILLA VS KONG by achievement of the Stage 4 target – a weekly box office equivalent to a median box office week of the last two pre-pandemic years (2018-2019). Once again, Argentina was the first Latin American market to hit this goal. In doing so it also delivered 85% of its Stage 5 target – a weekly box office equivalent to a top quartile box office week of 2018-2019 (see Argentina Growth Trackers below).
Outside Latin America, Malaysia also managed to hit its Stage 3 target in the March 25 play-week; while Hong Kong has hit Stage 4 for the first time in the current (April 1) play-week, doing so on Tuesday (April 6) with a day to spare.
The film’s success and the arrival of more titles alongside holidays in some markets could drive further new targets to be hit. It also scored repeats of Stage 4 levels in Russia and Taiwan.
To date only China, Japan and Russia have hit all 5 Stages on their Blueprint To Recovery. Growth Trackers for 30 global markets, covering all regions, as well as all 50 US states and 12 Canadian provinces are featured every week in Gower Street’s Road To Recovery reports.
