King Kong (1933) Turns 90

It was on this date in 1933 that King Kong opened at Radio City Music Hall and the RKO Roxy Theatre in New York City. The movie proved to be a smash hit. It grossed $89,931 in its first four days (the equivalent of $2,087,232.56 in 2023), a remarkable achievement when one considers the ticket prices ranged from 35 to 75 cents. King Kong opened in Baltimore on March 15 1933 and it would have its official premiere in Hollywood on March 23 1933 at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. It went into wide release on April 7 1933. It ultimately grossed  $1,856,000 in its initial release.

I wrote a detailed post on the 80th anniversary of King Kong ten years ago. You can read it here, "The 80th Anniversary of King Kong (1933)."