A kaiju sequel opens on top
Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus Zero, the sequel to 2023's Godzilla Minus One, collected $14.5 million across 3,254 North American venues on Friday, according to Variety, and holds the top spot going into the weekend. Projections put the Toho production at roughly $32 million through Sunday. The story picks up two years after the earlier film, with Godzilla regenerating and returning to fight a fresh monster menacing postwar Japan.[S1][S3][S4]
Reviews and audience reaction have been favorable so far. Variety's Owen Gleiberman judged that the film would reach a very large global audience and argued that Yamazaki's monster sagas are far from finished, because the movie demonstrates that familiar material, handled well, can feel permanent. Toho produced the film; GKids handles its American release.[S1]
Seuss adaptation lands in second
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's The Cat in the Hat drew $6 million on Friday from 4,003 North American theaters, placing second. The studio expects about $18.7 million by Sunday, a little below earlier forecasts of a $20 million to $25 million debut. Bill Hader supplies the voice of the cat in the animated retelling, directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, which centers on the chaos that follows when the hat-wearing cat tries to lift the spirits of two siblings who have just moved to a new town.[S1]
It is the second screen version of the Dr. Seuss book, after the 2003 live-action film starring Mike Myers, which opened to $38 million.[S1]
Drummer Boy, Holmes doc and McDonagh fill out the chart
Angel Studios' Drummer Boy placed third with $3.39 million from 2,850 North American theaters and is tracking toward $7.9 million by its first Sunday. Directed by brothers Ben and Joel David Smallbone, the patriotic Christian musical features Joel and his brother Luke, both members of the Christian music duo For King + Country. Its official synopsis follows a young drummer, an enslaved woman and a family split apart as they seek freedom during the American Revolution; Variety's review called it a confident and largely enjoyable return to the style of classic original screen musicals.[S1]
The Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything, from A24, placed fourth on its fourth Friday, earning $2.55 million across 2,473 theaters; rival studios expect it to hit $8 million by Sunday. Since its Oct. 16 debut, the film has grossed $73.49 million in North America. Searchlight's dark buddy comedy Wild Horse Nine followed closely in fifth, taking $2.47 million from 1,100 sites, with competitors forecasting $5.5 million through Sunday. Martin McDonagh's movie centers on two CIA operatives, portrayed by John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, dispatched from Santiago to Easter Island just before a Chilean military coup.[S1]
The Indian epic Ramayana: Rise of a Legend came next, collecting $2.4 million on Friday from 1,433 theaters. Projections put its standard three-day weekend haul at $7.3 million, rising to $10.806 million across the four-day Thursday-through-Sunday period.[S1]
