Godzilla Minus Zero is heading for a record $32M U.S. opening, ahead of The Cat in the Hat. See the weekend box office top five and how estimates compare.
"Godzilla Minus Zero" opened at No. 1 in North America this weekend, and the early estimate is a record. As of Nov. 8, 2026, The Hollywood Reporter says the film took in $14.5 million on Friday, Nov. 6, including Thursday previews, and was heading toward about $32 million for the weekend. Final numbers come Sunday and Monday, so treat every figure here as an estimate.
How much did Godzilla Minus Zero make in its opening weekend?
The projection is $30 million to $33 million from 3,254 theaters, according to Deadline's figures as relayed by The Main Street Mouse, and about $31 million per TheWrap. The numbers differ slightly by source. The Hollywood Reporter had $14.5 million for Friday, TheWrap $14.7 million, and Deadline $13.5 million at an earlier Friday-night check. Previews were $6.7 million, per THR.
For scale, the 2023 predecessor, "Godzilla Minus One," opened to $11.4 million in December 2023 and finished with about $57 million domestically, per THR and TheWrap. TheWrap says the sequel nearly triples that opening. TheWrap also gives the earlier film's total as $57.4 million and THR gives $57.1 million. They disagree by a few hundred thousand dollars.
Why is this opening a record?
THR says this is being touted as the biggest opening for a live-action foreign-language film in the U.S., passing 2004's "Hero" at $17.8 million. The Passion of the Christ is not counted because it was an American production, per THR, and last year's anime "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" opened bigger at $70.6 million. TheWrap adds that it is only the fourth non-English film to hit No. 1 at the U.S. box office.
The film comes from distributor GKIDS and Toho. Deadline reports that big-screen formats account for about 74% of the weekend gross, a share it calls unprecedented. That is Deadline's reporting, and the figure may shift in final numbers.
What is the rest of the weekend box office?
Estimates from THR, TheWrap and Deadline put the top five roughly like this:
- 1. Godzilla Minus Zero: about $31 million to $32 million.
- 2. The Cat in the Hat: about $18 million, per THR and TheWrap, from 4,003 theaters. Warner Bros. had projected $20 million, according to THR.
- 3 to 5, a close race: A24's "You Can See Everything" at about $8 million in its fourth weekend, Sony's "Ramayana: Rise of a Legend" at about $8 million over three days (TheWrap puts its four-day opening at $11.5 million), and Angel's "Drummer Boy" at about $7.9 million.
Searchlight's "Wild Horse Nine" is estimated at $5.5 million from 1,100 theaters, per TheWrap.
How are audiences and critics reacting?
Godzilla Minus Zero earned an A CinemaScore, per THR, and TheWrap reports 90% from critics and 96% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Those scores belong to those services. The Cat in the Hat also got an A CinemaScore, though Deadline, via The Main Street Mouse, puts its critics' Rotten Tomatoes score at 48%.
TheWrap says JustWatch reported "Godzilla Minus One" as the most-watched film on streaming across all platforms last week, which suggests newcomers are catching up before they buy a ticket.
Our take
This is analysis, not reporting. A Japanese-language film beating an animated Dr. Seuss movie that played in about 750 more theaters is the story, and word of mouth looks like the reason. An A CinemaScore and strong scores usually mean a longer run than a fan-driven opening, but we cannot say yet whether it will beat the first film's $57 million. A big share of this gross comes from premium screens, which means ticket prices are higher than usual, so the number of people who actually saw it may be smaller than the dollars suggest.
If you plan to go, the film opened in Japan on Nov. 3 and reached North America on Nov. 6, per the franchise's official site. Premium-format showings are the ones that have been selling. Check your local listings for times, since we did not verify showtimes.
What we do not know: final Sunday actuals, the second-weekend drop, and the worldwide total. Those come later.
Related reading
Picture credit: Toho / GKIDS
