“Godzilla vs. Kong” shattered expectations each in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service, providing some hope for the hard-hit movie business that audiences will return to theaters.

“I believe folks actually miss going out and having enjoyable,” stated Joshua Grode, CEO of movie manufacturing firm Legendary Entertainment on CNBC’s “The Exchange” on Tuesday. Legendary partnered with Warner Bros. Pictures to provide the epic monster film.

“People now can go outdoors. They’re selecting what to do to entertain themselves and the ability of going to motion pictures has been established by way of this terrifically enjoyable film that has been launched this previous weekend,” he stated.

“Godzilla vs. Kong” opened final Wednesday and gathered mass audiences throughout the nation, making it the best opening weekend for any movie released in the U.S. since the pandemic. The film tallied $32.2 million at the field workplace from Friday to Sunday and now has revamped $48.5 million in gross sales in the U.S. and Canada. It grossed $48.5 million domestically, the place about 55% of film theaters had been open, and $285 million worldwide.

Notably, these robust field workplace receipts got here even because the movie was additionally launched for streaming on HBO Max for no extra price for its subscribers. It was essentially the most seen film on the platform since its launch, in line with Deadline. Both Warner Bros. and HBO Max are items of AT&T.

“I believe a whole lot of the misunderstanding could also be that should you see it on HBO Max, you are not gonna see in the theaters, and I do not actually suppose that is a one-for-one commerce off,” Grode stated.

Although he did not have particular numbers, Grode stated the movie was the biggest sign-up occasion HBO Max has had because the service launched final May.

He expects the developments will be repeated with different films in the longer term.

“You have to search out motion pictures which might be going to be buzzy, which might be going to be made for the large display screen expertise” he stated. “‘Godzilla vs Kong’ has two enormous monsters going at it. This film was designed to be enjoyable. It’s designed to have folks cheering for Team Kong or Team Godzilla.”