King Kong is a 2005 epic monster adventure film co-written, produced, and directed by Peter Jackson. A remake of the 1933 film of the same name, the film stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, and, through motion capture, Andy Serkis as the title character. Set in 1933, King Kong tells the story of an ambitious filmmaker who coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to the mysterious Skull Island. There they encounter Kong, a legendary giant gorilla, whom they capture and take to New York City.
Filming for King Kong took place in New Zealand from September 2004 to March 2005. The project's budget climbed from an initial $150 million to a then-record-breaking $207 million. It was released on December 14, 2005 in Germany and on December 16 in the United States, and made an opening of $50.1 million. While it performed lower than expected, King Kong made domestic and worldwide grosses that eventually added up to $550 million, becoming the fourth-highest-grossing film in Universal Pictures history at the time and the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2005. It also generated $100 million in DVD sales upon its home video release. The film garnered positive reviews from critics and appeared on several top ten lists for 2005. It was praised for its special effects, performances, sense of spectacle and comparison to the 1933 original. It won three Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects.