The ape takes over

Universal's $200 mil 'Kong' stomps into theaters

By BEN FRITZ, DAVE MCNARY

Will 'Kong' prove to be king of the box office?

The domestic box office for 2005 now rests on a very broad pair of shoulders.

In the last mega-launch of the year, "King Kong" hits 3,568 theaters domestically today and more than 6,000 in 56 territories overseas.

With a $200 million-plus budget, a three-hour-plus running time and 72-year-old source material, "Kong" at one time seemed like a risk. And by opening the pic day and date in most major territories, Universal is going all in with what it thinks is a very strong hand.

Pic will undoubtedly draw fanboys who would line up for anything Peter Jackson directs, as well as young males drawn by spectacular action sequences and visual effects. Real question for "Kong's" playability is whether word of mouth and positive reviews will draw in femmes.

Industryites expect Friday-Sunday take of "Kong" to fall just slightly behind last weekend's boffo $65.6 million bow for "The Chronicles of Narnia."

Teens are likely to be the primary aud at hundreds of midnight screenings Tuesday across the country. Those should help "Kong" post a king-size gross today but depress its weekend somewhat compared with pics that have bowed on a Friday.

Domestically, "Kong" makes for an easy comparison to Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" films, all of which also opened on the Wednesday the week before Christmas.

Pic should be able to cross the $75 million five-day mark set by 2001's "Fellowship of the Ring."

But with the benefit of ticket-price inflation and the helmer's celebrity, U execs are likely gunning for the $102 million bow of 2002's "The Two Towers." Anything close to the $124 million five-day debut of "Return of the King" in 2003 would likely induce tears of joy throughout Universal.

Release comes at the end of the year with only one $100 million-plus hit -- low-budget comedy "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" -- along with some early-year spillover for last December's "Meet the Fockers" boosting Universal's bottom line.

Box office watchers also are counting on "Kong" to provide a second boost to the domestic B.O. haul following "Narnia" that will bring the year's deficit compared with 2004, currently 5%, down to just a few percentage points.

"It's always great when you have a playdate to yourself with no competition," U domestic distrib topper Nikki Rocco noted. "We believe we have a huge, successful film, and the business certainly needs the jolt."

"Kong" is the only Wednesday opener, and Fox bows comedy "The Family Stone" on Friday.

After hitting most major markets today, "Kong" swings into Blighty, Portugal and Israel on Thursday, followed by Turkey and South Korea on Friday and Japan on that country's traditional opening day of Saturday.

On a global basis, "Kong" is shaping up to compete for one of the biggest day-and-date bows ever. Current record holders for a five-day frame are "Star Wars: Episode III-- Revenge of the Sith" with $303 million, followed by "Return of the King" at $253 million" and "The Two Towers" at $205 million.

"We went day and date because this is a worldwide event for a film that's going to play in every single market," said David Kosse, U's prexy of international marketing and distribution. "So we wanted to capitalize on the media hype and the audience anticipation."

Studio has attempted to build global buzz via a world tour that started with the Dec. 5 preem in New York and was followed by premieres in Berlin, London, Paris, Tokyo and Wellington, New Zealand.