Godzilla Minus Zero tops the domestic box office with a $31.6 million opening weekend. The sequel opens to nearly triple the debut of Godzilla Minus One. Warner Bros.’ The Cat in the Hat follows with $20.5 million.
Godzilla Sets a GKids Record
GKids and Toho launched Godzilla Minus Zero in 3,254 North American theaters. The sequel gives GKids its biggest opening weekend ever. It tops the $13 million debut of 2023’s Oscar-winning The Boy and the Heron.
The distributors tout it as the biggest live-action foreign-language opening since 2004’s Hero. That film opened with $17.8 million. Last year’s animated Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle debuted with $70.6 million. The category excludes 2004’s American-produced The Passion of the Christ, which opened with $83.8 million.
Godzilla Minus Zero is the first Japanese production filmed for Imax. The format brought in $12 million domestically, roughly 40 percent of the opening haul. The sequel added $31.4 million internationally, including $17 million in Japan. It earned an A CinemaScore and beat GKids’ domestic projection in the mid-$20 millions.
“This landmark release is the result of a thoughtful campaign by GKids and Toho that emphasized the ‘must see’ intensity of the theatrical experience and director Takashi Yamazaki’s vision,” GKids vice president of distribution Chance Huskey said in a statement. “We’re so happy to see audiences embrace Godzilla Minus Zero at an unprecedented scale for an international film.”
Yamazaki’s Sequel Outpaces the Original
Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe and Min Tanaka star in Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel. The film carries a reported budget in the mid-teens. Postwar Japan faces attacks from the three-headed Ghidorah and the possibility of Godzilla’s return.
The sequel holds a 90 percent critics’ score and 96 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Hollywood Reporter chief film critic David Rooney calls it a “thrilling jolt of marauding monster action.”
Godzilla Minus One opened with $11.4 million domestically in December 2023. It finished with $57.1 million domestically and $56.9 million internationally. The breakout became the first Japanese feature to win the Oscar for best visual effects.
“A huge thank you to everyone who ran to the theaters the moment the film opened!” Yamazaki said. “I grew up in awe of Hollywood movies and have spent my career chasing after them, so seeing our Godzilla welcomed with so much warmth and excitement by people all over the world, and watched by so many of you, honestly feels like a dream.”
The Cat in the Hat Opens at $20.5 Million
Warner Bros.’ animated Dr. Seuss adaptation earned $20.5 million across 4,003 North American locations. The debut matches the studio’s projection. Universal’s two previous animated Seuss adaptations opened considerably higher. The Grinch debuted with $67.5 million in 2018, while The Lorax opened with $70.2 million in 2012.
The Cat in the Hat cost $92 million and earned an A CinemaScore. Warner Bros. is counting on word of mouth to carry it through Thanksgiving and into December. Disney’s Hexed arrives Nov. 25.
Club Kid Leads the Weekend in Per-Screen Sales
A24 opened its Oscar hopeful Club Kid on six screens. The Cannes standout grossed $390,583 and led the weekend with a $65,097 per-screen average. Jordan Firstman makes his feature directing debut and stars as a party promoter. His character discovers he has a 10-year-old son.
A24 plans to expand the release into Thanksgiving. The film holds a 100 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Hollywood Reporter critic Richard Lawson calls it “winning and clever.”
Amazon MGM Studios opened I Play Rocky in seven locations. It grossed about $345,000, averaging $49,200 per screen. Anthony Ippolito plays Sylvester Stallone in Peter Farrelly’s film about making the 1976 classic Rocky. The film holds an 88 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes. Rooney writes that it creates “a wave of warm nostalgia.”
Burns & Co and Fathom Entertainment opened the Jimmy Stewart biopic Jimmy in 1,470 North American theaters. The film earned an estimated $2 million and looks set to finish just outside the top 10. In his review, Scheck calls star KJ Apa “top-notch” and director Aaron Burns’ film “heartfelt to a fault.”
Holdovers Compete for the Top Five
A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything looks to earn about $8.8 million this weekend. It’s vying with Ramayana and Drummer Boy for the remaining top-five spots. Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s documentary has grossed $79.7 million domestically.
Black Bear’s Wicker looks likely to round out the top 10. The romantic fantasy fell just 23 percent in its third weekend, earning $3.3 million. Its domestic total stands at $19.8 million, with another $9.1 million internationally.
Olivia Colman and Alexander Skarsgard star in the film from directors Eleanor Wilson and Alex Huston Fischer. The film continues to build on strong word of mouth. It holds a 94 percent critics’ score and 92 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Box Office Rebounds After Halloween
Weekend ticket sales reached $121.7 million, according to Rentrak. That’s about 98 percent above the previous weekend, when studios held back new releases for Halloween. Sales rose roughly 45 percent from the comparable 2025 weekend. 20th Century’s Predator: Badlands debuted in that frame.
The 2026 domestic box office stands at $8.625 billion, up 20.6 percent from the same point last year. October struggled to produce hits with enough staying power to play deep into the fall.
