Japan’s “Godzilla Minus Zero” roared to first place at the North American box office over the weekend, industry estimates showed on Sunday (8 November), earning $31.6 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend.

Set in 1949, as postwar Japan looks to rebuild, the film sees a new threat emerge: a giant, three-headed, dragon-like monster called King Ghidorah.

Enter Godzilla — believed to have been defeated in 2023’s “Godzilla Minus One”, but now regenerated by radiation — who takes on the three-headed beast with at least some human assistance.

“This weekend’s opening takes the Japanese production to a new level — it’s nearly three times the previous opening in Dec 2023,” veteran industry analyst David A. Gross wrote.

Godzilla in this film is the same iconic beast familiar to many North American viewers from the 1998 Sony Pictures film, but exists in a different storyline with different producers.

Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, “Godzilla Minus Zero” is produced by Japan’s Toho and distributed in North America by GKIDS.

In second place was a far less frightening beast: “The Cat in the Hat”.

The legendary Dr Seuss feline brought in an estimated $20.5 million during its opening weekend in the latest instalment distributed by Warner Bros.

Gross warned that Dr Seuss films do not typically perform well outside the US, but may be able to make up for that through streaming platforms or television rights.

Marching into third place was Angel Studios’ “Drummer Boy”, which earned $9.3 million at the box office, according to estimates by Exhibitor Relations Co.

The unique film — a combination of historical drama and musical — follows an American soldier and his brother during the Revolutionary War. The brother marries an enslaved woman and fights for the British.

Gross said the film earned twice what would be expected of a similar production during its opening weekend.

“Angel specialises in inspirational stories and they know how to reach this audience,” Gross wrote in his weekly newsletter.

Fourth place went to A24’s “You Can See Everything”, a biopic following convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes in the month before she began an 11-year prison sentence.

The film earned about $8.9 million over the weekend, bringing its four-week total to an estimated $79.8 million.

In fifth place was Sony’s “Ramayana”, which earned about $8.7 million during its opening weekend, according to estimates.

Gross noted that it was “one of only five Indian wide releases in the US” over the last three decades.

Rounding out the top 10:

“Wildwood” ($7 million), “Clayface” ($6.7 million), “Wild Horse Nine” ($6 million), “Wicker” ($3.4 million), “Street Fighter” ($2.2 million)

Source: Variety