In 1933, during the Great Depression, vaudeville actress Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts) is unemployed and hungry living in New York City. When she steals an apple, filmmaker Carl Denham (Jack Black) comes to her aid and pays the vendor a nickel. Carl is about to leave that night on a tramp steamer to finish his movie in Singapore, and he has been looking for an actress to replace the one who had dropped out. He convinces Darrow to take the part. Denham has a map of the mysterious Skull Island, and he pays the captain to sail to the island before going to Singapore. On the ship is the screen writer Jack Driscoll who falls in love with Darrow. The ship actually hits the island, and they go ashore, where they discover the ruins of an old civilization and encounter the natives. Darrow is captured and given to Kong, an enormous ape, as a sacrifice.

The film crew and some of the shipmates go into the jungle to rescue Darrow. The jungle however is a dangerous place and several from the rescue party dies when they are attacked by dinosaurs or insects. Darrow's attempts to escape are futile but she quickly takes a liking to the ape. The two watch the sun set from top of a mountain and after the ape has fallen asleep, Driscoll finds them and escape back to the ruins where the rest of the party have gathered to try to capture Kong.

Upset that the woman escaped, a furious Kong comes back to the ruins to take her back. The film crew have brought chloroform with them and after a lengthy struggle, Kong is captured and taken back to New York.

In New York, Kong is billed as "The Eighth Wonder of the World" at the Alhambra Theater where Denham and his producers show the big ape for money. Although secured with chains, the flashes from the press cameras infuriates Kong and he manages to break his chains. The audience panics and Kong manages to leave the theater and gets out on the wintry streets of New York. As the general public screams and runs for cover around him, Kong takes an interest in young blonde women, apparently looking for Ann Darrow. Working at the The De Luxe Theater, Darrow hears the police sirens and people screaming as the ape creates havoc on the streets.

When the ape finally finds Darrow he picks her up and head for Central Park where they have a few minutes to themselves playing on a frozen lake. When artillery shells hits the park, Kong climbs up on the top of Empire State Building. When the airforce attacks, Darrow screams to them to stop but finally the big ape falls to his death. Around the dead body of Kong a large crowd have gathered when director Carl Denham shows up. "The airplanes got him", says a man. "It wasn't the airplanes", says Denham. "It was beauty killed the beast".

Written by: Fran Walsh, Phillipa Boyens, Peter Jackson
Based on the original script by: Merian C. Cooper & Edgar Wallace
Directed by: Peter Jackson

Naomi Watts . . . Ann Darrow
Adrien Brody . . . Jack Driscoll
Jack Black . . . Carl Denham
Andy Serkis . . . Kong/Lumpy
Colin Hanks . . . Preston
Jamie Bell . . . Jimmy
Evan Parke . . . Hayes
Thomas Kretschmann . . . Captain Englehorn
Kyle Chandler . . . Bruce Baxter