Godzilla Minus Zero Sets Record with $31.6 Million Opening as The Cat in the Hat Debuts to $20.5 Million

Sharad Jaiswal

November 9, 2026

Godzilla Minus Zero dominated the North American box office during the November 6–8 weekend, opening with an estimated $31.6 million and setting a new record for a live-action foreign-language film in the market. The Japanese production comfortably secured the top position, ahead of Warner Bros.’ animated release The Cat in the Hat, which debuted with $20.5 million. Meanwhile, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend made a notable entry into the North American market, earning $8.65 million during its three-day opening weekend.

The weekend also saw strong performances from Drummer Boy and You Can See Everything, while Wild Horse Nine began its theatrical run with a $6 million opening. The latest figures highlighted the growing presence of international productions in the North American market, with both Godzilla Minus Zero and Ramayana: Rise of a Legend making significant contributions to the weekend’s box office.

Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, Godzilla Minus Zero opened in 3,254 theatres, collecting $31.61 million over its first three days. The result marks the biggest North American opening for a live-action foreign-language film, surpassing the previous record held by the Chinese film Hero, which opened to $17.8 million in 2002. The performance also places the sequel well ahead of its predecessor, Godzilla Minus One, which debuted with $11.4 million in 2023 before going on to collect approximately $57 million domestically and $113 million worldwide.

The opening represents a significant result for distributor GKIDS and the Japanese franchise. According to the reported figures, Godzilla Minus Zero has collected approximately $63 million worldwide, including around $31.4 million from international markets outside North America. Japan contributed approximately $17 million to the film’s opening performance.

Premium-format screenings played an important role in the film’s North American debut. IMAX contributed approximately $12.7 million, accounting for around 40% of its domestic opening weekend. Premium large-format screens collectively represented approximately 74% of ticket sales. The film is also notable for being the first Japanese production filmed for IMAX, adding another milestone to its theatrical release.

The film’s audience response has been encouraging. Godzilla Minus Zero received an A CinemaScore, while its Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score stood at approximately 90% around the opening weekend. The combination of strong audience ratings, premium-format demand and its record-setting debut gives the film a substantial starting point for its theatrical run.

Warner Bros.’ The Cat in the Hat, meanwhile, opened in second place with $20.5 million from 4,003 theatres. The animated film, featuring Bill Hader as the voice of the titular character, collected an additional $10 million internationally, taking its worldwide opening weekend to approximately $30.5 million. Although it secured an A CinemaScore from audiences, its critics’ response was considerably less favourable, with its Rotten Tomatoes score standing at around 45%.

The domestic opening is below the launch figures recorded by earlier Dr. Seuss adaptations, including The Lorax, The Grinch and Horton Hears a Who!. With a reported production budget of approximately $86 million to $92 million, the film will need a sustained theatrical run and continued international business to build on its opening. Its audience score offers some encouragement, but the initial domestic performance places greater importance on its performance over the coming weeks.

Another significant release of the weekend was Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, which collected $8.65 million in North America during its three-day opening weekend. The Sony Pictures release played in 1,433 theatres, marking the widest North American theatrical release for an Indian film. Including its Wednesday previews and opening-day business, the film’s North American total reached approximately $12.1 million over four days.

The film’s international performance has been equally notable. According to reported worldwide figures, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend collected approximately $55.7 million globally, with around $32 million coming from India. The United Kingdom contributed approximately $3 million, while North America emerged as another important market with its four-day total of around $12.1 million. The film’s opening demonstrates the commercial reach that a large-scale Indian production can achieve through a wide international theatrical distribution strategy.

Among the other releases, Drummer Boy opened in third place with $9.31 million from 2,850 theatres. The Angel Studios release delivered one of the distributor’s strongest opening weekends for a live-action film, following Sound of Freedom and Young Washington. Its debut placed it ahead of several established releases and made it one of the weekend’s notable new entries.

A strong hold came from You Can See Everything, which collected $8.86 million in its fourth weekend. The A24 documentary declined by approximately 22.6% despite losing 770 theatres, taking its domestic cumulative total to nearly $79.8 million. The film has continued to maintain its audience following and is now approaching the $100 million milestone domestically.

Clayface added $6.67 million in its third weekend, taking its domestic total to approximately $56.6 million. The film recorded a decline of around 39% from the previous weekend. Laika’s Wildwood collected approximately $6.6 million, bringing its domestic cumulative total to around $39.8 million. Meanwhile, Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine, starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, opened with $6 million from 1,100 theatres. The film also earned approximately $6.6 million internationally, taking its worldwide opening to around $12.6 million.

The weekend’s remaining top 10 positions were occupied by Wicker, which collected approximately $3.3 million, and Jimmy, which opened with around $2.2 million. Street Fighter, with $2.15 million, narrowly missed the top 10.

The overall North American box office benefited from the strong openings of several new releases. The weekend’s combined collections were reported at approximately $114 million, representing a substantial improvement over the corresponding weekend last year. Year-to-date domestic box office revenue was estimated at approximately $8.6 billion, around 20% ahead of the same point in 2025.

The November 6–8 weekend was led by Godzilla Minus Zero, but the results also highlighted the expanding international footprint of theatrical releases. With a record-setting Japanese production at the top and Ramayana: Rise of a Legend securing a significant North American opening, the weekend offered two prominent examples of non-English-language films finding substantial audiences in the market.

North American Box Office: November 6–8, 2026