'Godzilla Minus Zero' achieved a record opening and exceeded expectations at the box office

Other notable openings and box office results

• Drummer Boy: grossed 9.3 million dollars and came in third place.

• Ramayana: Rise of a Legend: earned 8.6 million over the weekend and 12.1 million in its first four days. Its global opening reached 55.7 million.

• You Can See Everything: added 8.8 million in its fourth weekend and reached 79.8 million in North America.

• Wild Horse Nine: debuted in eighth place with 6 million dollars.

The total gross for the weekend was 114 million dollars, an 86% increase compared to the same period last year. The cumulative revenue for 2026 reached 8.6 billion dollars, 20% above the 2025 record.

Godzilla Minus Zero topped the North American box office with a gross of 31.6 million dollars on its opening weekend. In contrast, the animated film The Cat in the Hat debuted with 20 million dollars, below expectations.

The new Japanese production achieved the best opening for a live-action foreign language film in North America. Meanwhile, the film based on the classic by Dr. Seuss is struggling to recoup its budget of 92 million dollars.

Godzilla Minus Zero achieved a record opening

The film grossed 31.6 million dollars in 3,254 theaters and surpassed the previous record of Hero, which earned 17.8 million in 2002. The performance was driven by positive reviews, audience response, and interest in premium format theaters.

IMAX theaters contributed 12.7 million dollars, accounting for 40% of the North American gross. In total, premium formats represented 74% of ticket sales.

The sequel continues the success of Godzilla Minus One, released in 2023, which grossed 57 million dollars in North America and 113 million globally, in addition to winning an Oscar for visual effects.

The Cat in the Hat had an opening below expectations

The animated film earned 20 million dollars in 4,003 North American theaters and added another 10 million in 60 international markets. Its global opening reached 30.5 million dollars.

The film received an “A” rating on CinemaScore, although reviews were less favorable: it scored 45% on Rotten Tomatoes. With a budget of 92 million dollars, it will need to improve its performance in the coming weeks.

Analyst David A. Gross noted that family animated films often recover a significant portion of their costs through digital sales, rentals, streaming, and television licensing.