Predicting The 20 Highest Grossing Movies Of 2017
18. Kong: Skull Island
Prediction: £575m
The latest big screen fascination with monster movies sees another silly expedition heading to Kong Island to find the secret of the biggest monkey in Hollywood.
Why It's Golden
This is officially the second movie in the Kong/Godzilla shared universe franchise, and if Godzilla's success at the box office is anything to go by, we can expect a $500-600m spread for Kong: Skull Island. The last King Kong movie (Peter Jackson's in 2005) also did similar money, so it looks like there's a fairly strong trend.
The cast has the benefit of Tom Hiddleston in there, who sells movies no matter what, but it's all about the ape, and audiences still love a good monster movie.
Will It Be Any Good?
Let's hope so: the studios MUST have seen something to inspire the shared universe idea (and not just dollar signs), and the talent on show should assure some quality. It's not all that difficult to make a monster movie really: it's all about the principles of bait and slow-burn reveal and the right commitment to the art of concealment and spectacle. Manage those and it'll have a good head start.