Box Office: ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Dominates With $14.5 Million on Friday as ‘Cat in the Hat’ Follows With $6 Million

Sorry, Dr. Seuss — “The Cat in the Hat” was no match for “Godzilla Minus Zero,” which thrashed its way to the top of the box office on Friday. “Godzilla Minus Zero,” the highly anticipated sequel to 2023’s “Godzilla Minus One,” generated $14.5 million from 3,254 North American theaters on Friday, easily taking the No. 1 spot. It’s a strong start for the Kaiju film, which looks to pull in $32 million by Sunday. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the movie takes place two years after the prior installment as Godzilla regenerates and resurfaces to combat a new monster that’s tormenting postwar Japan. The film has enjoyed glowing word-of-mouth and reviews thus far, with Variety’s Owen Gleiberman writing that the film is “destined to connect with a huge international audience.” “It’s already clear that this won’t be the last of Yamazaki’s kaiju epics,” he continued. “That’s because the movie proves that when you do it right, what seemed old can become timeless.” The sci-fi epic is produced by Japan’s Toho and distributed in the U.S. by GKids. Warner Bros. Animation’s “The Cat in the Hat” landed in second place on Friday, grossing $6 million from 4,003 North American theaters. The new release is expected to gross $18.7 million by Sunday, slightly under early projections of a $20 to $25 million opening weekend. Bill Hader voices the titular character in this cartooned version, directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja. This iteration of the beloved children’s book revolves around the shenanigans that occur after a mischievous hat-wearing cat arrives to cheer up two siblings who move to a new town. This version of “The Cat in the Hat” is the second adaptation of the Seuss classic following 2003’s live-action Mike Myers-led flick, which opened to $38 million. Angel Studios’ “Drummer Boy” took the No. 3 spot with $3.39 million from 2,850 North American theaters. The patriotic, Christian musical is eyeing $7.9 million by its first Sunday in theaters. Directed by brothers Ben and Joel David Smallbone, the film stars the latter and third Smallbone brother, Luke, who comprise the Christian music act For King + Country. According to the film’s official description, “Drummer Boy” follows a young drummer boy, an enslaved woman and a divided family as they search for freedom during America’s fight for independence. Variety’s review wrote that the film “provides a confident, mostly pleasing throwback to original screen musicals of yore.” A24’s “You Can See Everything” held strong with $2.55 million on its fourth Friday from 2,473 North American theaters, good enough for a fourth-place finish just over Searchlight’s dark buddy comedy “Wild Horse Nine,” and should earn $8 million by Sunday, per rival estimates. That’s on top of the cumulative $73.49 million the buzzy Elizabeth Holmes doc already pulled in across North America since it opened in theaters on Oct. 16. “Wild Horse Nine” followed in fifth place with $2.47 million from 1,100 locations per rival estimates, which expect the Martin McDonagh-directed film to bring in $5.5 million by Sunday. “Wild Horse Nine” follows two CIA officers (John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell) who are dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island shortly before a Chilean military coup. Trailing behind was the Indian epic “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend,” which made $2.4 million on Friday from 1,433 locations and looks to pull in $7.3 million by Sunday.