NEW YORK – “Godzilla Minus Zero” dominated the weekend box office, earning $31.6 million in North America and setting a new record for the biggest opening by a foreign-language film in the region.
The sequel from Takashi Yamazaki, director of 2023’s Oscar-winning “Godzilla Minus One,” comfortably outperformed Warner Bros.’ animated “The Cat in the Hat.” The film, which features Bill Hader’s voice, opened to $20.5 million domestically and added $10 million internationally, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
Godzilla recently marked his 72nd birthday, and Yamazaki has breathed new life into one of cinema’s longest-running franchises by returning it to its Japanese origins. Produced by Toho and distributed in North America by GKids, the film is set in Japan after World War II.
No live-action foreign-language movie has opened bigger in North America, unless 2004’s “The Passion of the Christ” is included. That film earned $83.8 million in its debut despite featuring largely Aramaic dialogue. The anime “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” opened to $70.6 million last year.
“Godzilla Minus Zero” also surpassed the previous live-action record held by 2004’s “Hero,” which opened with $17.9 million. Its performance further underscores the growing appeal of international, non-English-language films among American moviegoers.
Japanese and Indian films make their mark in North America
The weekend also delivered the widest North American release ever for an Indian film. “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend” is a Hindi-language epic drawn from Indian mythology and the first installment of a two-part story. It is also the most expensive Indian film ever produced. Distributed in North America by Sony Pictures, it opened with $8.7 million domestically and $32 million in India.
Both “Godzilla Minus Zero” and “Ramayana” received worldwide releases, arriving in their home markets at roughly the same time as they reached North American theaters. “Godzilla Minus Zero” earned approximately $17 million in Japan over the weekend.
“This historic opening shows how deeply audiences around the world connect with Godzilla and with Takashi Yamazaki’s vision,” Koji Ueda, president of Toho Global, said 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, became the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film ever in the United States and Canada, despite being made on a relatively modest budget of less than $15 million.
With a budget below $20 million, “Godzilla Minus Zero” is expected to quickly surpass its predecessor’s $57.1 million North American total. Since premiering last month at the New York Film Festival, the film has earned strong reviews, including a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, along with an “A” CinemaScore from audiences.
Both “Godzilla” and “Ramayana” were shot for IMAX, and Yamazaki’s film received an early IMAX-exclusive release on Tuesday. Large-format presentations proved especially valuable: “Godzilla Minus Zero” collected $21.3 million globally, representing 34% of its worldwide box-office revenue, from IMAX screenings.
The film’s impressive performance could build anticipation—or create an uncomfortable comparison—for Hollywood’s next English-language Godzilla installment. Warner Bros. and Legendary are scheduled to release “Godzilla x Kong: Supernova” in March.
‘The Cat in the Hat’ stumbles as ‘Drummer Boy’ exceeds expectations
“The Cat in the Hat” represents the latest effort to bring the Dr. Seuss favorite to the big screen, following the 2003 live-action version starring Mike Myers. However, the $86 million animated production attracted only moderate interest, opening with $20.5 million. Critics were also unimpressed, giving it a 44% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film faced additional competition from Laika’s acclaimed stop-motion fantasy “Wildwood,” which has continued to perform steadily and even briefly topped the box office earlier in the week.
“Wildwood” fell only 22% in its third weekend, earning $7 million. Its domestic total has reached $39.8 million—a solid showing, although Travis Knight’s expensive passion project, made for at least $100 million, is still expected to lose tens of millions.
Angel Studios’ “Drummer Boy” claimed third place with a $9.3 million opening. The musical, set during the Revolutionary War, also saw its soundtrack reach the top of the iTunes chart.
Led by ‘Wild Horse Nine,’ Oscar hopefuls gain momentum
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Among the weekend’s strongest performers was “Wild Horse Nine,” Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy about two CIA officers, played by John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, on Easter Island. The film opened with $6 million in North America and $6.6 million internationally, an excellent result for an awards-season release and a personal best for McDonagh.
Since its debut at the Venice Film Festival, “Wild Horse Nine” has been viewed as a leading Oscar contender. Its favorable audience response could strengthen that position. The Searchlight Pictures release opened in 1,100 domestic theaters, with that total expected to approximately double next weekend.
Two other potential Oscar contenders also made promising limited-release debuts. Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid,” about a gay New York partygoer who discovers he has a son, averaged $65,097 per theater across six screens for A24. Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky,” a comic account of the making of “Rocky,” averaged $49,200 across seven theaters for Amazon MGM Studios.
Nathan Fiedler and Lance Oppenheim’s “You Can See Everything” continued its remarkable run, taking in $8.9 million during its fourth weekend. The A24 documentary about Elizabeth Holmes has now earned $79.8 million in North America.
Following a sluggish Halloween weekend, overall box-office ticket sales jumped 96.8% from the previous weekend, according to Rentrak.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
Because final domestic figures will be released Monday, the rankings below reflect estimated Friday-through-Sunday ticket sales at theaters in the United States and Canada, 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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