It isn’t a surprise that Godzilla is doing well at the box office, but the amount it’s earned over the weekend tops all initial estimates. With $93 million made over the three-day period, it’s safe to call this the first blockbuster of the summer season.

Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
The critics weren't particularly impressed by Godzilla, but that din't stop it from having a killer opening weekend.

 

The monster hit, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen and Bryan Cranston broke, smashed, stomped on and bit off all industry analyst’s predictions. The highest estimates pegged Godzilla’s weekend earnings at around 70 million, according to USA Today. The actual box office earnings, as reported by Box Office Mojo, bring it close to the 100 million mark on its very first weekend -  and that’s just from domestic earnings. The film did even better internationally, bringing in $103 million from foreign markets.

The film's profits were probably helped some by its great trailers.

 

While Godzilla may be the highest grossing monster movie of all time, as Box Office Mojo claims, it can’t claim the biggest opening weekend of the year. So far, that goes to Captain America: The Winter Soldier with a record-breaking $95 million opening weekend back in April. Maybe this reincarnation of the iconic Japanese monster might finally help Warner Bros. launch the franchise that Sony failed to start with their own Godzilla movie starring Matthew Broderick back in 1998.

More: Godzilla Predicted To Smash Its Way Into The Box Office With $70 Million Opening

More: Five Reasons The New Godzilla Will Succeed

Godzilla Poster
Warner's agressive marketing campaign probably had something to do with it.