# King Kong (franchise)
The [King Kong](https://www.edgepedia.org/king-kong) franchise is an American monster media franchise built around the giant ape Kong, beginning with the 1933 RKO Radio Pictures film *King Kong* and continuing through sequels, remakes, a Japanese crossover series, animated works, and the shared-universe MonsterVerse films.[1](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/King_Kong_%28franchise%29) There are currently 13 feature-length films in the franchise, 10 live-action and three animated, with an 11th live-action film in production.[2](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/List_of_King_Kong_movies) The character has become one of the most recognizable movie monsters of all time and inspired the creation of other famous giant monsters, most notably Godzilla.[1](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/King_Kong_%28franchise%29)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First film | *King Kong*, released April 7, 1933 by RKO Radio Pictures[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/King-Kong) |
| Film count | 13 feature films: 10 live-action, 3 animated; an 11th live-action film in production[2](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/List_of_King_Kong_movies) |
| Rights | Held by multiple companies; the underlying story was found to be in the public domain in 1975–76 litigation[1](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/King_Kong_%28franchise%29) • [4](https://www.studicata.com/case-briefs/case/universal-city-studios-inc-v-nintendo-co-2) |
| Highest-grossing entry | *Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire* (2024), $572,505,338 worldwide[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/King-Kong) |
| Most expensive entry | *King Kong* (2005), a $207,000,000 production budget[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/King-Kong) |
| Preservation | The 1933 film was added to the National Film Registry in 1991[5](https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/) |
| Next release | *Godzilla x Kong: Supernova*, scheduled March 26, 2027 by Warner Bros.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr910659333/) |
## The original film and its immediate sequel
*King Kong* was conceived by Merian C. Cooper, who wrote, produced, and directed the film with Ernest B. Schoedsack for RKO Radio Pictures.[7](https://time.com/3720513/king-kong-history/) • [8](https://pioneersignings.com/franchises/king-kong/) A film crew travels to the remote Skull Island, where the enormous ape Kong grows fond of the leading lady, Ann Darrow ([Fay Wray](https://www.edgepedia.org/fay-wray)); the men take Kong captive and carry him off to New York, and his final showdown on the [Empire State Building](https://www.edgepedia.org/empire-state-building) there produced one of cinema's most famous images.[8](https://pioneersignings.com/franchises/king-kong/) • [9](https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/all-king-kong-movies-in-order-755053) The film's special effects, chiefly Willis O'Brien's stop-motion animation, were groundbreaking, though 1933 reviewers acknowledged the jerkiness of the stop-motion fight scenes and the character's inconsistent size between scenes.[9](https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/all-king-kong-movies-in-order-755053) • [7](https://time.com/3720513/king-kong-history/)
The film was a box-office success despite opening during the financial collapse that led Franklin Roosevelt to declare an emergency bank holiday, grossing $90,000 in its first four days and about $10,001,781 worldwide on a $672,000 budget.[7](https://time.com/3720513/king-kong-history/) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/King-Kong) Its success spawned a sequel nine months later, *Son of Kong* (1933), in which the director from the first film returns to Skull Island and encounters a smaller ape called "Little Kong."[1](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/King_Kong_%28franchise%29) • [9](https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/all-king-kong-movies-in-order-755053)
## Remakes and the Toho era
For roughly three decades the series lay dormant until *King Kong vs. Godzilla* (1962), produced by Japan's Tōhō studio and directed by [Ishirō Honda](https://www.edgepedia.org/ishiro-honda), who had directed the first two Godzilla films.[9](https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/all-king-kong-movies-in-order-755053) The project began as an American film: animator Willis O'Brien, still working in Hollywood in the late 1950s, wrote a story outline titled *King Kong vs. Frankenstein*, and producer John Beck developed it into a screenplay, *King Kong vs. Prometheus*. Unable to sell it to a US company, Beck turned to Tōhō, which bought the screenplay and substituted Godzilla for the [Frankenstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/frankenstein) monster.[10](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20004214.2026.2718632) The film's American version was significantly reworked by Beck, and a follow-up, *King Kong Escapes* (1967), drew on the Rankin-Bass animated Kong series.[10](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20004214.2026.2718632)
**The De Laurentiis remakes.** [Dino De Laurentiis](https://www.edgepedia.org/dino-de-laurentiis)'s 1976 *[King Kong](https://www.edgepedia.org/king-kong-1976-film)*, directed by John Guillermin, moved the story to a contemporary setting with [Jessica Lange](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessica-lange) as Dwan; it was followed by *King Kong Lives* (1986), one of the franchise's less acclaimed continuations.[11](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10509208.2024.2350302) • [12](https://readingwire.co.uk/entertainment/king-kong-movies-watch-guide/) The 1976 film earned $90,614,445 worldwide on a $23,000,000 budget; *King Kong Lives* grossed only $4,711,220.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/King-Kong)
**Peter Jackson's 2005 remake.** [Universal Pictures](https://www.edgepedia.org/universal-pictures)' *King Kong*, directed by [Peter Jackson](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-jackson), returned the story to its 1930s period roots with [Naomi Watts](https://www.edgepedia.org/naomi-watts), Jack Black, and Adrien Brody.[13](https://www.widescreenings.com/king-kong-movie-franchise.html) • [14](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/5-reasons-why-peter-jacksons-king-kong-is-a-brilliant-example-of-a-remake-done-right/) It scored 87 percent on the Tomatometer, the third best-reviewed wide release of 2005, and won Academy Awards for Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, and Sound Editing.[15](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/critical-consensus-crown-this-kong/) • [13](https://www.widescreenings.com/king-kong-movie-franchise.html) On a $207,000,000 budget it grossed $556,906,378 worldwide.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/King-Kong)
## The MonsterVerse
In 2014, Universal and Legendary began production on *Kong: Skull Island*, conceived as an origin story; Legendary, having rebooted Godzilla, was interested in tying the film to its Godzilla series and setting up a remake of *King Kong vs. Godzilla*.[1](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/King_Kong_%28franchise%29) *Kong: Skull Island* (2017) grossed $570,852,812 worldwide, and the crossover *Godzilla vs. Kong* (2021) earned $470,116,094.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/King-Kong) *Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire* (2024) became the franchise's highest-grossing entry at $572,505,338 worldwide on a $135,000,000 budget.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/King-Kong) The MonsterVerse continues to expand with *Godzilla x Kong: Supernova*, set for a 2027 release, and the Apple TV+ series *[Monarch: Legacy of Monsters](https://www.edgepedia.org/monarch-legacy-of-monsters)*.[16](https://guides.justwatch.com/us/king-kong-franchise-in-order) • [6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr910659333/)
## Rights and legal history
The franchise is unusual in that its films are produced by several different studios, so the rights to the character's filmography are held by multiple companies.[1](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/King_Kong_%28franchise%29) In 1975–76 litigation, a federal court found the underlying King Kong story to be in the public domain and the title lacking trademark secondary meaning; a later judgment vested non-film King Kong rights in creator Merian C. Cooper, who assigned them to Universal for $200,000.[4](https://www.studicata.com/case-briefs/case/universal-city-studios-inc-v-nintendo-co-2) Universal's trademark claim collapsed in its case against Nintendo over *Donkey Kong*, a victory that helped establish Nintendo as a major player in the American video game market.[17](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/king-kong-complicated-rights-wild-character-peter-jackson-monsterverse/) • [18](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1300365433&disposition=inline) • [20](https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/797/797.F2d.70.86-7099.86-7077.1221.1335.html) The fragmented rights have made direct adaptations of the original film difficult to produce, resulting in projects without direct ties to the source material, such as Legendary's Monsterverse and *Kong: The Animated Series*.[1](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/King_Kong_%28franchise%29)
## Influence and legacy
The 1933 film's success inspired Tomoyuki Tanaka's development of Godzilla at Tōhō.[9](https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/all-king-kong-movies-in-order-755053) The 1933 original was named to the [National Film Registry](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-registry) in 1991, which selects films deemed culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant for preservation by the Library of Congress.[5](https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/) • [19](https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/) The character has also extended beyond film into a Broadway musical, a long-running Universal Studios theme park attraction, radio performances, novels, comic books, and video games.[8](https://pioneersignings.com/franchises/king-kong/) • [1](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/King_Kong_%28franchise%29)
## References
1. [King Kong (franchise), Wikizilla](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/King_Kong_%28franchise%29)
2. [List of King Kong movies, Wikizilla](https://wikizilla.org/wiki/List_of_King_Kong_movies)
3. [King Kong Franchise Box Office History, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/franchise/King-Kong)
4. [Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co. – Case Brief Summary, Studicata](https://www.studicata.com/case-briefs/case/universal-city-studios-inc-v-nintendo-co-2)
5. [Complete National Film Registry Listing, Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/)
6. [Franchise: King Kong, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchise/fr910659333/)
7. [How King Kong Gripped Audiences, Despite Ham-Handed Effects, TIME](https://time.com/3720513/king-kong-history/)
8. [King Kong, Pioneer Signings](https://pioneersignings.com/franchises/king-kong/)
9. [All King Kong Movies In Order, Fandango](https://www.fandango.com/movie-news/all-king-kong-movies-in-order-755053)
10. [King Kong vs. Godzilla: how localisation produced "badness", Journal of Aesthetics & Culture](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20004214.2026.2718632)
11. [Full article: Human, or Its Native Other? Peter Jackson’s King Kong (2005) as Tragic Romance](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10509208.2024.2350302)
12. [King Kong – Complete Movie Guide, Reading Wire](https://readingwire.co.uk/entertainment/king-kong-movies-watch-guide/)
13. [List of the King Kong film franchise, Widescreenings](https://www.widescreenings.com/king-kong-movie-franchise.html)
14. [5 Reasons Why Peter Jackson's King Kong Is a Brilliant Example of a Remake Done Right, Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/5-reasons-why-peter-jacksons-king-kong-is-a-brilliant-example-of-a-remake-done-right/)
15. [Critical Consensus: Crown This "Kong", Rotten Tomatoes](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/critical-consensus-crown-this-kong/)
16. [Where To Watch Every King Kong Movie and TV Show in Order, JustWatch](https://guides.justwatch.com/us/king-kong-franchise-in-order)
17. [King Kong's Complicated Rights Issues Explained, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/movies/news/king-kong-complicated-rights-wild-character-peter-jackson-monsterverse/)
18. ["You've Seen the Movie, Now Play the Video Game", OhioLINK ETD](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1300365433&disposition=inline)
19. [Film Registry, National Film Preservation Board, Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/)
20. [797 F.2d 70](https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F2/797/797.F2d.70.86-7099.86-7077.1221.1335.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds › Science fiction and fantasy film characters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license