Godzilla Minus Zero leads U.S. box office in opening weekend
The sequel "Godzilla Minus Zero" earned an estimated $32 million in its opening weekend, surpassing the debut of Warner Bros.' "The Cat in the Hat" and other new releases.
Godzilla Minus Zero opened in 3,254 North American theaters and generated about $14.5 million on Friday, including Thursday previews, on its way to an estimated $32 million for the weekend. The figure would make it the highest-grossing live-action foreign-language opening since 2004, according to industry tracking. The film, directed by Takashi Yamazaki and starring Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe and Min Tanaka, received an A CinemaScore and holds a 90 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's adaptation of Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat" opened in 4,003 locations, earning $6 million on Friday and projected to reach around $18 million for the weekend, below the studio's $20 million forecast. The film, directed by Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni and featuring Bill Hader among the voice cast, received a 45 percent Rotten Tomatoes score.
Other new releases included Sony Pictures' "Ramayana: Rise of a Legend" in 1,433 theaters, which made $2.4 million on Friday and is expected to total about $7.3 million for the weekend, and Angel Studios' "Drummer Boy" in 2,850 theaters, with a Friday gross of $3.5 million and a projected $7.9 million weekend total. Both titles earned A CinemaScore ratings.
Searchlight Pictures' "Wild Horse Nine" opened in 1,100 theaters, posting $2.4 million on Friday and an estimated $5.5 million weekend, while Burns & Co's biopic "Jimmy" and A24's limited-release "Club Kid" also debuted, earning $832,000 and $175,398 respectively.
Among holdovers, the documentary "You Can See Everything" continued to draw audiences, with an estimated $8 million weekend total and a domestic cumulative gross of $73.4 million.