“Godzilla Minus Zero” opened with $31.6 million over the weekend, setting a foreign-language record at the North American box office.
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Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel “Godzilla Minus Zero” opened in North American theatres with $31.6 million over the weekend, a record debut for a foreign-language film.
The movie, produced by Toho and distributed in North America by GKids, was released as a near-simultaneous global event, with the film set in post-WWII Japan.
“Godzilla Minus Zero” quickly outpaced Warner Bros.' animated “The Cat in the Hat,” which opened with $20.5 million, according to studio estimates, after the film’s domestic debut.
In addition to its North American start, “The Cat in the Hat” added about $10 million overseas, while “Godzilla Minus Zero” grossed about $17 million in Japan over the weekend.
Koji Ueda, president of Toho Global, said in a statement, “This historic opening shows how deeply audiences around the world connect with Godzilla and with Takashi Yamazaki’s vision,” adding, “Our first near-simultaneous global release was built on that belief.”
The weekend also marked the widest North American release for the Hindi-language Indian epic “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend,” a two-part story of Indian mythology.
Distributed by Sony Pictures in North America, “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend” launched with $8.7 million domestically and $32 million in India.
“Godzilla Minus Zero” previously premiered last month at the New York Film Festival, and the film was reported as having 90% fresh reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A” CinemaScore.
The box office figures reflected estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, with “Godzilla Minus Zero” leading the domestic top 10.
In the same domestic ranking, “The Cat in the Hat” placed second with $20.5 million, followed by Angel Studios’ “Drummer Boy” in third with $9.3 million; “You Can See Everything” was fourth with $8.9 million, and “Ramayana: Rise of a Legend” was fifth with $8.7 million.
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