'Godzilla Minus Zero' stomps to a record-setting $31.6 debut, clobbering
'The Cat in the Hat'
[November 09, 2026]
By JAKE COYLE
NEW YORK (AP) — “Godzilla Minus Zero” stomped into movie theaters with a
chart-topping $31.6 million over the weekend, scoring a record debut for
a foreign-language film at the North American box office.
Takashi Yamazaki‘s sequel to 2023’s Oscar-winning “Godzilla Minus One”
easily thrashed Warner Bros.' animated “The Cat in the Hat” movie. That
film, featuring the voice of Bill Hader, opened with $20.5 million,
according to studio estimates Sunday, plus $10 million overseas.
While Godzilla recently celebrated his 72nd birthday, Yamazaki has
revived one of the longest running franchises in movies by bringing the
series back to its Japanese roots. The film, produced by Toho and
distributed in North America by GKids, is set in post-WWII Japan.
No live-action foreign language film has had a bigger opening weekend,
unless you count 2004’s “Passion of the Christ,” which opened with $83.8
million despite its largely Aramaic dialogue. Last year, the anime
“Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” debuted with $70.6 million.
But “Godzilla Minus Zero” bested the mark for live-action previously
held by 2004’s “Hero” (a $17.9 million launch) and added to the trend of
international, non-English productions drawing American audiences to
cinemas.
Japanese and Indian films score in North America
The weekend also saw the widest North American release for an Indian
film. “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, is a Hindi-language epic of Indian
mythology that, as part one of two, is the most expensive Indian film
ever made. Distributed by Sony Pictures in North America, it launched
with $8.7 million domestically and $32 million in India.
“Godzilla Minus Zero” and “Ramayana” were both given global releases,
debuting in their home countries at the same time as they reached
American audiences. In Japan, “Godzilla Minus Zero” grossed about $17
million over the weekend.
“This historic opening shows how deeply audiences around the world
connect with Godzilla and with Takashi Yamazaki’s vision,” said Koji
Ueda, president of Toho Global, in a statement. “Our first
near-simultaneous global release was built on that belief.”
“Godzilla Minus One,” which won the Oscar for best visual effects, was
the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film ever in U.S. and Canada
despite a modest budget under $15 million.
“Godzilla Minus Zero,” carrying a budget of less than $20 million, is
sure to blow past its predecessor’s record haul of $57.1 million. Since
first premiering last month at the New York Film Festival, the film has
scored well with critics (90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences
(an “A” CinemaScore).
“Godzilla” and “Ramayana” were each filmed for IMAX, with Yamazaki’s
film receiving an early IMAX-only release on Tuesday. Both benefited
greatly from large-format screens. “Godzilla Minus Zero” generated $21.3
million globally, or 34% of its box-office take, from IMAX.
The big result for “Godzilla Minus Zero” will either whet audiences'
appetites or pose an awkward comparison for the next Hollywood,
English-language Godzilla movie. In March, Warner Bros. and Legendary
will release “Godzilla x Kong: Supernova.”
‘The Cat in the Hat’ disappoints, ‘Drummer Boy’ overperforms
“The Cat in the Hat” was the latest attempt to revive the Dr. Seuss
classic on the big screen, following the Mike Myers-led 2003 live-action
film. But the animated “Cat in the Hat,” made for $86 million, drummed
up only modest interest from moviegoers. Reviews (44% fresh on Rotten
Tomatoes) were bad.
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This image released by GKIDS shows a scene from "Godzilla Minus
Zero." (GKIDS via AP)
 Not helping “The Cat in the Hat”:
Laika’s acclaimed stop motion animated fantasy “Wildwood” has held
well with audiences, even briefly leading all films at the box
office early in the week.
“Wildwood” dipped just 22% in its third weekend, with $7 million.
With a cumulative total of $39.8 million domestically, it’s fared
well, even if Travis Knight’s pricey passion project, with a budget
of at least $100 million, is all but certain to lose tens of
millions.
Third place went to Angel Studios’ “Drummer Boy,” with $9.3 million
on its opening weekend. The Revolutionary War-set musical also saw
its music top the iTunes chart.
Led by ‘Wild Horse Nine,’ Oscar contenders surge
One of the weekend’s biggest successes was “Wild Horse Nine,” Martin
McDonagh’s dark comedy about a pair of CIA officers ( John Malkovich,
Sam Rockwell) on Easter Island. It opened with $6 million domestic
and $6.6 million internationally, a stellar result for an awards
movie and a personal best for McDonagh.
Since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, “Wild Horse Nine”
has been seen as a top Oscar contender, and its reception from
audiences will boost that cause. The film, a Searchlight Pictures
release, launched in 1,100 domestic theaters, a number that will
roughly double next weekend.
Another pair of potential Oscar contenders got off to good starts in
limited release. Jordan Firstman's “Club Kid,” about a gay New York
party boy who finds out he has a son, debuted with a $65,097 theater
average from six screens for A24. “I Play Rocky,” Peter Farrelly’s
comic telling of the making of “Rocky,” launched with a $49,200
per-screen average from seven theaters for Amazon MGM Studios.
Meanwhile, Nathan Fiedler and Lance Oppenheim’s “You Can See
Everything” continued its sensational run, grossing $8.9 million in
its fourth weekend of release. The A24 documentary about Elizabeth
Holmes has so far collected $79.8 million in North America.
After a sleepy Halloween weekend at the box office, overall ticket
sales were up a whopping 96.8% from the previous weekend, according
to Rentrak.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors
in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and
Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:
1. “Godzilla Minus Zero,” $31.6 million.
2. “The Cat in the Hat,” $20.5 million.
3. “Drummer Boy,” $9.3 million.
4. “You Can See Everything,” $8.9 million.
5. “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend,” $8.7 million.
6. “Wildwood,” $7 million.
7. “Clayface,” $6.7 million.
8. “Wild Horse Nine,” $6 million.
9. Stray Kids live viewing, $3.7 million.
10. “Wicker,” $3.4 million.
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