One of cinema’s biggest legends roared back into theaters this weekend. Powered by premium formats like IMAX, Godzilla Minus Zero won over critics, earned an "A" CinemaScore from audiences, and all those higher-priced premium tickets gave the box office tally an extra boost. By Monday, the final numbers confirmed what Sunday’s estimates had already pointed to: a new North American record for foreign-language live-action cinema.
What’s next for Godzilla? Prediction markets see more records coming.
Godzilla Minus Zero Opens to $31.6 Million, a North American Record for a Foreign-Language Film
Godzilla Minus Zero was estimated at $31.6 million over its opening weekend; Monday’s final count settled slightly lower, at $30.5 million from 3,254 theaters. Either way, it’s the biggest North American opening ever for a live-action foreign-language film, beating the $17.8 million record set by Zhang Yimou’s Hero. With a reported budget of less than $20 million, the film is already a clear win for GKIDS after just one weekend.
Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel also topped the $11.4 million domestic debut of 2023’s Godzilla Minus One by close to three times over, and it earned an “A” CinemaScore alongside a 90%Rotten Tomatoes score. Box office analyst David A. Gross, who publishes the newsletter FranchiseRe, pointed to the reviews and audience scores as further proof the franchise keeps connecting. Minus Zero is now the first Japanese Godzilla film to win a full North American weekend outright.
Weekend Box Office Top 10: The Cat in the Hat Debuts at $20.5 Million
Warner Bros.’ animated The Cat in the Hat, with Bill Hader voicing the mischievous Dr. Seuss character, had been estimated at $20.5 million; Monday’s final tally landed at an even $20 million from 4,003 theaters. That’s a soft debut for a movie that cost $92 million to make, especially with no family competition on the calendar since September. Here’s how the rest of the weekend’s top movies landed, per Monday’s final figures:
| Movie | Weekend Gross | Theaters |
| Godzilla Minus Zero | $30.5M | 3,254 |
| The Cat in the Hat | $20M | 4,003 |
| Drummer Boy | $9.3M | 2,850 |
| You Can See Everything | $8.8M | 2,473 |
| Ramayana: Rise of a Legend | $8.6M | 1,300 |
| Wildwood | $7M | 2,693 |
| Wild Horse Nine | $6M | 1,100 |
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By the Numbers: Previews, IMAX Share and the Global Start
Premium formats carried the weekend. Within North America, IMAX alone brought in $12.7 million for Minus Zero, about 40% of its domestic total, and premium large formats overall, including Dolby, made up 74% of its ticket sales. An earlier estimate had put IMAX’s global contribution at $21.3 million, roughly 34% of the film’s worldwide haul, before Monday’s revisions.
International markets chipped in $31.4 million across 77 countries, Japan’s roughly $17 million opening among them, timed to mark Godzilla’s 72nd anniversary on Nov. 3. That pushes the film’s worldwide run to $62 million so far: already more than half of what Godzilla Minus One managed over its entire theatrical life.
Rotten Tomatoes: Where Godzilla Minus Zero and the Cat in the Hat Finished
Both films had their Rotten Tomatoes scores tracked through Kalshi contracts set to resolve Nov. 9. Godzilla Minus Zero settled at 90% on the Tomatometer, in line with the acclaim it picked up at its New York Film Festival premiere.
The Cat in the Hat: weekend coverage put it in the 44-45% range while reviews were still coming in, but Kalshi’s prediction market, which resolves against the official, final Tomatometer reading, closed with the score settled at 47%. Reviews split critics into two camps, with some praising the animation’s visual range even where the story didn’t fully land.
You Can See Everything Dips 23%: The Documentary’s Path to $100 Million
A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything, from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, remains one of the fall’s quieter success stories. The film added $8.8 million in its fourth weekend from 2,473 theaters, pushing its domestic total to $79.8 million. A24 spent just $7 million on a film that runs almost three hours, which makes the box office return genuinely remarkable. With the film on track to leave theaters as one of the biggest documentaries in decades, and an international release still ahead, a $100 million domestic total looks well within reach. A24 has also submitted it for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress consideration at the Oscars.
What Monday’s Actuals and Next Weekend Could Change
Monday’s final counts pulled both Godzilla Minus Zero and The Cat in the Hat down slightly from their Sunday estimates: a routine adjustment once hard ticket data comes in. Looking further out, a Polymarket contract tracking Minus Zero’s total domestic gross through Dec. 15 currently gives the under-$100 million outcome a 56% chance, suggesting traders expect the specialty hit to cool.
Still, with a reported budget under $20 million, even a $200 million worldwide total would mark a clear win for GKIDS and Toho. The window to hold those premium screens won’t stay open long, though: Ebenezer, starring Johnny Depp, and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping are both set to open before the month is out.
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