King Kong (2005)
The eighth wonder of the world.
In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with the leading lady.
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 12 December 2005 |
| Genre | Adventure, Drama, Action |
| Director | Peter Jackson |
| Starring | Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody and Jack Black |
| Runtime | 188 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 7.7/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 84% · Metacritic 81/100 · IMDb 7.2/10 · TMDB users 6.9/10 |
| Budget | $207 million |
| Box office | $551 million worldwide |
Where to watch King Kong
King Kong is streaming on Netflix ($19.99 a month) in the US. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Netflix is $19.99 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 25 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent or buy King Kong on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch King Kong in 60 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Andorra | Prime Video |
| Australia | Disney+ $17.99 AUD |
| Austria | Disney+ €10.99, Max €11.99 |
| Belgium | Disney+ €10.99, Max €10.99 |
| Bulgaria | Disney+ €9.99 |
| Burkina Faso | Prime Video |
| Cameroon | Prime Video |
| Canada | Prime Video $9.99 CAD, Disney+ $15.99 CAD |
| Cape Verde | Prime Video |
| Chad | Prime Video |
| Congo - Kinshasa | Prime Video |
| Czechia | Disney+ 219 Kč |
| Côte d’Ivoire | Prime Video |
| Denmark | Disney+ 119 kr DKK |
| Equatorial Guinea | Prime Video |
| Finland | Disney+ €11.99 |
| France | Prime Video €6.99, Disney+ €10.99, Max €10.99 |
| French Guiana | Prime Video |
| French Polynesia | Prime Video |
| Germany | Disney+ €10.99, Max €11.99 |
| Ghana | Prime Video |
| Gibraltar | Prime Video |
| Greece | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Guernsey | Prime Video |
| Hungary | Disney+ 2990 Ft |
| India | Prime Video ₹299 |
| Ireland | Prime Video €6.99, Disney+ €11.99 |
| Italy | Disney+ €10.99, Skygo, Now TV |
| Japan | Prime Video ¥600 JPY, U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| Kenya | Prime Video KSh560 |
| Liechtenstein | Disney+, Max |
| Luxembourg | Prime Video €8.99, Disney+ €10.99, Max |
| Madagascar | Prime Video |
| Malawi | Prime Video |
| Mali | Prime Video |
| Monaco | Prime Video, Max |
| Mozambique | Prime Video |
| Netherlands | Disney+ €10.99 |
| New Zealand | Disney+ $18.99 NZD |
| Niger | Prime Video |
| Nigeria | Prime Video ₦2300 |
| Norway | Disney+ 129 kr NOK |
| Poland | Disney+ 34.99 zł |
| Portugal | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Romania | Disney+ 34.99 lei |
| San Marino | Disney+ |
| Senegal | Prime Video |
| Seychelles | Prime Video |
| Slovakia | Disney+ €9.99 |
| South Africa | Prime Video R79 ZAR |
| South Korea | Wavve ₩10900, Watcha |
| Spain | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Sweden | Disney+ 129 kr SEK |
| Switzerland | Disney+ CHF16.90, Max CHF16.90 |
| Tanzania | Prime Video |
| Türkiye | Disney+ ₺449.90 |
| Uganda | Prime Video |
| United Kingdom | Prime Video £8.99 GBP, Disney+ £11.99 GBP |
| Zambia | Prime Video |
| Zimbabwe | Prime Video |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Peter Jackson’s 2005 film is a 188-minute epic that treats its monster with surprising tenderness. It leans into the absurdity of a film crew dragged to a mysterious island by an overly ambitious producer, only to find the true star is a giant ape who is immediately smitten with the leading lady. The tone balances brutal action with a quiet, tragic romance that feels oddly earned. It is a long haul, but the scale makes the stakes feel huge. The tagline calls it the eighth wonder of the world, which is a fair assessment for a beast who just wants to hold a hand.
What the critics said
Critics largely embraced the spectacle. Rotten Tomatoes reports an 84% approval rating as of July 2024, while Metacritic sits at 81 out of 100 as of July 2025. Both scores land in the "universal acclaim" or "generally favorable" zone, suggesting the CGI gorilla did more for the film's reputation than the script did. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian argued it "certainly equals, and even exceeds, anything Jackson did in Lord of the Rings." That comparison does a lot of heavy lifting for a monster movie.
Not everyone was impressed by the scale. Charlie Brooker, also writing for The Guardian, called it "sixteen times more overblown and histrionic than necessary." He wasn't the only one to find the volume a bit loud. Some critics noted the film retained certain stereotypes from the 1933 original, though they agreed Jackson didn't do so intentionally.
How it did with audiences
It cost $207 million and took in $551 million worldwide. That margin is thin enough to make accountants wince, but enough to keep the studio breathing. Audiences, however, are less thrilled. The TMDB user score sits at 6.9, a polite shrug for a giant ape. On IMDb, it holds a 7.2/10 as of February 2026. People liked the spectacle, then moved on to something smaller.
What came next for the cast
Andy Serkis moved from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to Avengers: Age of Ultron and Black Panther. Jack Black pivoted from The School of Rock to Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Naomi Watts went from The Ring to Birdman, while Adrien Brody stepped from The Pianist into The Grand Budapest Hotel. The sequence of credits does not prove this film caused these shifts, but it sits comfortably in the middle of them.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched King Kong.
Sources
- King Kong on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q160215 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “King Kong (2005 film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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