“Godzilla Minus Zero” should stomp to the top of box office charts, with the Kaiju sequel on track to earn a strong $30 million from 3,254 North American theaters in its opening weekend. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the action adventure takes place two years after the prior installment as Godzilla regenerates and resurfaces to combat a new monster tormenting postwar Japan.
Produced by Japan’s Toho and distributed in the U.S. by GKids, the film is expected to overindex on premium large formats as it is the first Japanese production ever filmed for Imax. The sequel builds on the success of 2023’s “Godzilla Minus One,” a sci-fi epic that earned $11.4 million domestically to start. That previous film eventually powered to $57 million to become the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film in North America, earning $113 million globally and winning a visual effects Oscar. Variety’s chief film critic Owen Gleiberman called the new sequel an “even grander follow-up to ‘Godzilla Minus One.'”
Warner Bros. Animation’s “The Cat in the Hat” is aiming for second place with a target of $20 million to $25 million from 4,000 domestic venues. The studio hopes the film performs similarly to Sony’s 2024 adventure “Garfield,” which opened to $23 million and reached $257 million globally. To justify its $92 million production budget, the film will rely on word-of-mouth and overseas audiences. It is the second adaptation of the Seuss classic, following the 2003 live-action comedy starring Mike Myers, which opened to $38 million and finished with $134 million. Bill Hader voices the titular character in this version, directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja.
Searchlight’s dark buddy comedy “Wild Horse Nine,” starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell and directed by Martin McDonagh, is targeting $5 million to $7 million from 1,000 screens. The film, which hopes to find itself in the Oscar race, follows two CIA officers dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island shortly before a Chilean military coup. This is a larger initial footprint than McDonagh’s 2022 film, “The Banshees of Inisherin,” which earned $10.5 million domestically and $50 million globally.
The weekend also features the Indian epic “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend,” which Sony is distributing in 1,300 theaters—the widest North American release for an Indian film. The movie is projected to earn $6 million during its first four days, which Variety notes is comparable to 2024 releases like “Kalki 2898 AD” ($5.6 million), “Devara Part 1” ($5.6 million), and “Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2” ($5 million).
