Godzilla vs. Kong has set a new pandemic box office record, scoring the biggest US opening weekend in over a year.

The blockbuster film was released in the US on Wednesday (March 31) and arrived in the UK the following day as a home Premium VOD rental.

• READ MORE: Godzilla vs. Kong review: monster mash ’em up is mighty good fun

According to Variety, the movie took $48.5million (£35m) this weekend, beating the record by tens of millions of dollars. Previously, Wonder Woman 1984 held the record with $16.7million (£12m).

Godzilla vs. Kong bringing in that much money is made even more notable thanks to Warners’ late pandemic-era strategy of simultaneously releasing movies in cinemas and on HBO Max. That was the case with the monster movie, as it was with WW1984 too.

Overseas, the film took $236million (£171m), with more than $110million (£80m) coming from ticket sales in China.

Godzilla vs. Kong is a direct sequel to both Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Kong: Skull Island, and marks the fourth entry in Legendary’s MonsterVerse. It stars the likes of Millie Bobby Brown, Alexander Skarsgård, Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry.

The film was directed by Adam Wingard, who is best known for his work on horror films such as Death Note and 2016’s Blair Witch.

According to a synopsis, it “pits two of the greatest icons in motion picture history against one another – the fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong – with humanity caught in the balance”.

Critics gave their first impressions of the film last month, with its “giant fights” and “expertly choreographed battles” being singled out for praise. In a four-star review, NME said: “Godzilla vs. Kong might not be perfect, but there’s no better way to signal the return of big, silly, expensive thrills than watching history’s greatest giant monsters body slam each other through a city for two hours.”