Which Kong Is King?

Sizing up the skyscraper-scaling ape
By Devan Coggan
March 08, 2017 at 09:00 AM EST

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Size Kings

Everett Collection; Weta Digital Ltd./Universal; Warner Bros.

King Kong has been scaling skyscrapers and kidnapping blondes for more than eight decades, but one thing that hasn’t remained consistent is his size. Even in Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack’s 1933 original, the ape’s height fluctuates wildly depending on the scene, and in the years since, he’s shifted from roughly 25 feet to almost 150 feet. With Kong: Skull Island in theaters March 10, we got out our tape measure to compare a few of his many incarnations — and finally figure out which Kong is king.

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King Kong, 1933

Everett Collection

24 Feet.

In the original masterpiece, Kong’s size changes noticeably between scenes, especially to make him seem bigger next to the Manhattan skyline.

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King Kong vs. Godzilla, 1962

Everett Collection

Size: 148 Feet.

Initially, Japanese filmmakers wanted to pit a giant Frankenstein against Godzilla. In the end, they picked Kong, scaling him up for more of a fair fight.

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King Kong Escapes, 1967

Everett Collection

Size: 66 Feet

Kong shrank for his second appearance in a kaiju movie. This time he faced off against his evil robot doppelgänger, Mechani-Kong.

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King Kong, 1976

Everett Collection

Size: 55 Feet

The American remake brought Kong back to New York and into the 1970s. Instead of climbing the Empire State Building, he scales the Twin Towers

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King Kong, 2005

Weta Digital Ltd./Universal

SIZE: 25 Feet

Peter Jackson’s faithful homage took a (slightly) more realistic approach, returning Kong to roughly his original size.

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 Kong: Skull Island, 2017

Warner Bros. Pictures/Everett Collection

SIZE: 100 Feet

Talk about a growth spurt. In preparation for 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong, everyone’s favorite ape got another size upgrade.

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