By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — “Godzilla Minus Zero” stomped into movie theaters with a chart-topping $31.6 million over the weekend, scoring a record debut for a foreign-language film at the North American box office.
Takashi Yamazaki‘s sequel to 2023’s Oscar-winning “Godzilla Minus One” easily thrashed Warner Bros.’ animated “The Cat in the Hat” movie. That film, featuring the voice of Bill Hader, opened with $20.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, plus $10 million overseas.
While Godzilla recently celebrated his 72nd birthday, Yamazaki has revived one of the longest running franchises in movies by bringing the series back to its Japanese roots. The film, produced by Toho and distributed in North America by GKids, is set in post-WWII Japan.
No live-action foreign language film has had a bigger opening weekend, unless you count 2004’s “Passion of the Christ,” which opened with $83.8 million despite its largely Aramaic dialogue. Last year, the anime “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” debuted with $70.6 million.
But “Godzilla Minus Zero” bested the mark for live-action previously held by 2004’s “Hero” (a $17.9 million launch) and added to the trend of international, non-English productions drawing American audiences to cinemas.
Japanese and Indian films score in North America
The weekend also saw the widest North American release for an Indian film. “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, is a Hindi-language epic of Indian mythology that, as part one of two, is the most expensive Indian film ever made. Distributed by Sony Pictures in North America, it launched with $8.7 million domestically and $32 million in India.
“Godzilla Minus Zero” and “Ramayana” were both given global releases, debuting in their home countries at the same time as they reached American audiences. In Japan, “Godzilla Minus Zero” grossed about $17 million over the weekend.
“This historic opening shows how deeply audiences around the world connect with Godzilla and with Takashi Yamazaki’s vision,” said Koji Ueda, president of Toho Global, in a statement. “Our first near-simultaneous global release was built on that belief.”
“Godzilla Minus One,” which won the Oscar for best visual effects, was the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film ever in U.S. and Canada despite a modest budget under $15 million.
“Godzilla Minus Zero,” carrying a budget of less than $20 million, is sure to blow past its predecessor’s record haul of $57.1 million. Since first premiering last month at the New York Film Festival, the film has scored well with critics (90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (an “A” CinemaScore).
“Godzilla” and “Ramayana” were each filmed for IMAX, with Yamazaki’s film receiving an early IMAX-only release on Tuesday. Both benefited greatly from large-format screens. “Godzilla Minus Zero” generated $21.3 million globally, or 34% of its box-office take, from IMAX.
The big result for “Godzilla Minus Zero” will either whet audiences’ appetites or pose an awkward comparison for the next Hollywood, English-language Godzilla movie. In March, Warner Bros. and Legendary will release “Godzilla x Kong: Supernova.”
‘The Cat in the Hat’ disappoints, ‘Drummer Boy’ overperforms
“The Cat in the Hat” was the latest attempt to revive the Dr. Seuss classic on the big screen, following the Mike Myers-led 2003 live-action film. But the animated “Cat in the Hat,” made for $86 million, drummed up only modest interest from moviegoers. Reviews (44% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) were bad.
Not helping “The Cat in the Hat”: Laika’s acclaimed stop motion animated fantasy “Wildwood” has held well with audiences, even briefly leading all films at the box office early in the week.
“Wildwood” dipped just 22% in its third weekend, with $7 million. With a cumulative total of $39.8 million domestically, it’s fared well, even if Travis Knight’s pricey passion project, with a budget of at least $100 million, is all but certain to lose tens of millions.
Third place went to Angel Studios’ “Drummer Boy,” with $9.3 million on its opening weekend. The Revolutionary War-set musical also saw its music top the iTunes chart.
Led by ‘Wild Horse Nine,’ Oscar contenders surge
One of the weekend’s biggest successes was “Wild Horse Nine,” Martin McDonagh’s dark comedy about a pair of CIA officers ( John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell) on Easter Island. It opened with $6 million domestic and $6.6 million internationally, a stellar result for an awards movie and a personal best for McDonagh.
Since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, “Wild Horse Nine” has been seen as a top Oscar contender, and its reception from audiences will boost that cause. The film, a Searchlight Pictures release, launched in 1,100 domestic theaters, a number that will roughly double next weekend.
Another pair of potential Oscar contenders got off to good starts in limited release. Jordan Firstman’s “Club Kid,” about a gay New York party boy who finds out he has a son, debuted with a $65,097 theater average from six screens for A24. “I Play Rocky,” Peter Farrelly’s comic telling of the making of “Rocky,” launched with a $49,200 per-screen average from seven theaters for Amazon MGM Studios.
Meanwhile, Nathan Fiedler and Lance Oppenheim’s “You Can See Everything” continued its sensational run, grossing $8.9 million in its fourth weekend of release. The A24 documentary about Elizabeth Holmes has so far collected $79.8 million in North America.
After a sleepy Halloween weekend at the box office, overall ticket sales were up a whopping 96.8% from the previous weekend, according to Rentrak.
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak:
1. “Godzilla Minus Zero,” $31.6 million.
2. “The Cat in the Hat,” $20.5 million.
3. “Drummer Boy,” $9.3 million.
4. “You Can See Everything,” $8.9 million.
5. “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend,” $8.7 million.
6. “Wildwood,” $7 million.
7. “Clayface,” $6.7 million.
8. “Wild Horse Nine,” $6 million.
9. Stray Kids live viewing, $3.7 million.
10. “Wicker,” $3.4 million.