'Godzilla Minus Zero' Is Eyeing a Weekend Box Office Crown, and 'The Cat in the Hat' Is in Trouble

Japanese imports have been having a banner year at the North American box office, and the biggest monster of all has now stomped into theaters. ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ is the sequel to ‘Godzilla Minus One’, the 2023 sleeper hit that went on to give the franchise its first Oscar. Takashi Yamazaki returns as director, and the film opened in Japan on November 3, 3 days before reaching American screens.

The release strategy is unusual, and so is the competition. ‘Godzilla Minus One‘ opened to $11.4M in 2023 and built its reputation on word of mouth, while the new film arrives with a 95% Rotten Tomatoes score, a first for a Japan-produced Godzilla movie shot for IMAX. Tracking ahead of the weekend had it landing somewhere between $23M and $35M, depending on who was counting.

An early projection for the November 6-8 frame now suggests the monster could do even better. The estimate has ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ taking the top spot with $32M, well ahead of Warner Bros.’ ‘The Cat in the Hat’ at $18M. ‘Drummer Boy’ follows with $8M, then ‘You Can See Everything’ with $7.6M and ‘Wildwood’ with $7.5M.

If that holds, the milestone is a big one. SlashFilm noted that a win would make ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ the first Japanese Godzilla film to top the box office over a full weekend, and its opening would be the biggest ever in North America for a Japanese entry in the series. The franchise’s all-time leader remains 2024’s ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’, which earned $572M worldwide.

Box Office Watch pegged the film at $25M to $35M for the weekend, with a domestic total between $70M and $110M. Another tracker had it winning the weekend outright, which would also make it the first foreign-language film to reach No. 1 in the US since the ‘Chainsaw Man’ movie.

The Cat’s weekend is the real surprise. Projections ahead of release were all over the map, from $40M to $50M at Box Office Pro to $30M to $40M at Box Office Watch, while one tracker saw it opening at just $17M to $22M. The early number of $18M sits at the bottom of that range.

Reviews did not help. The animated film, with Bill Hader voicing the Cat, debuted with roughly 45% on Rotten Tomatoes and 47 on Metacritic. It is the first animated Seuss feature since ‘The Grinch’, and it has a reported budget close to $100M, though budget figures vary by outlet.

Warner Bros. has had a rough year, and this was supposed to be a turning point. ‘Clayface’ opened at No. 1 with $24M, and ‘Digger’ managed only $8M. A weak start for the Cat would add to that pressure, even with the family lane to itself until ‘Hexed’ arrives at Thanksgiving.

The new trailer for ‘GODZILLA MINUS ZERO’ has been released. In theaters on November 6. https://t.co/sgaEXweerd
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 8, 2026

The rest of the chart is a story of staying power. ‘You Can See Everything’, A24’s documentary about Elizabeth Holmes from Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, took first place last weekend with $10.6M in its third frame, bringing its domestic total to $63.9M. A drop to $7.6M would be roughly 28% from there, a fairly gentle fall for a film that has been in theaters for a month.

‘Wildwood’ may be the most encouraging result of all. Laika’s stop-motion fantasy fell just 39% in its second weekend to $7.5M after a $12.3M debut, and it earned an A CinemaScore. An estimate of $7.5M for this weekend would mean it essentially matches last weekend, and it even took the top spot on a Tuesday earlier this week.

‘Drummer Boy’ rounds out the top 3 at $8M, ahead of its tracking range of $4M to $6M. The overall market is also in good shape, with the domestic box office running more than 17% ahead of last year.

New trailer for ‘The Cat In The Hat’, in theaters on November 6th. The trailer features Hilary Duff’s new song “CATastrophe.” https://t.co/Vk0fmjOf9y
— Cartoon History (@Cartoonhistory2) October 4, 2026

It is worth remembering that this is an early projection, so the actual numbers could shift when final figures post on Monday. Friday-based estimates can swing in either direction, especially for a film like ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ that depends on premium screens and fan turnout. If the film does top the chart, though, it will cap a remarkable run for Japanese cinema in North America.