Godzilla Minus Zero Tops Box Office While The Cat in the Hat Lags
Japanese kaiju sequel "Godzilla Minus Zero" opened with $31.6 million, setting a record for foreign-language live-action films, while the animated "The Cat in the Hat" earned $20 million in its debut.
Japanese kaiju sequel "Godzilla Minus Zero" led the North American box office this weekend, earning $31.6 million from 3,254 theaters. The opening marks the largest debut for a live-action foreign-language film in the region, surpassing the $17.8 million record set by China’s "Hero" in 2002. The R-rated film benefited from strong critical reception, holding a 90 % Rotten Tomatoes rating and an "A" CinemaScore, and attracted a high share of premium-large-format screenings, with IMAX contributing $12.7 million (40 % of domestic grosses) and other premium formats accounting for 74 % of tickets.
"We’re so happy to see audiences embrace ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ at an unprecedented scale for an international film," said Chance Huskey, vice president of distribution for Gkids, the U.S. distributor.
The movie follows the 2023 sequel "Godzilla Minus One," which earned $11.4 million on opening and later grossed $57 million domestically and $113 million worldwide, also winning a visual-effects Oscar. Director Takashi Yamazaki’s new installment continues the story two years later, depicting Godzilla’s resurgence against a fresh monster threatening post-war Japan.
In contrast, the animated adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s "The Cat in the Hat" opened to $20 million from 4,003 locations, a weaker start for a family film. While audiences gave it an "A" CinemaScore, critics rated it 45 % on Rotten Tomatoes. The film, voiced by Bill Hader, has earned $30.5 million globally, including $10 million from 60 overseas markets. Industry observers note that family animation often recoups costs through digital sales, rentals, streaming and TV licensing rather than theatrical performance.
Overall weekend box-office revenue reached $114 million, an 86 % increase over the same period a year earlier, and year-to-date grosses climbed to $8.6 billion, 20 % above the 2025 figure, according to Rentrak. Rentrak’s head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian, described the results as an encouraging sign ahead of the holiday season.
Other notable releases included Searchlight’s documentary "You Can See Everything," which earned $8.8 million in its fourth weekend, and the Indian epic "Ramayana: Rise of a Legend," which opened with $8.6 million, marking the widest North American release for an Indian film. The weekend also saw limited-release titles such as A24’s "Wild Horse Nine" and Amazon MGM’s "I Play Rocky" perform strongly in select markets.