Box Office Report for the Week of November 8

It’s a big week for international cinema, as Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus Zero roars to cinemas and gives the biggest-ever opening for a live-action, non-American film at the domestic box office! With a $31.6 million start, the 31st live-action installment in Toho’s decades-spanning Kaiju Eiga franchise is setting records as the biggest opening in GKIDS history and the second-biggest overall opening for an international film behind Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle.

In Japan, the film is also breaking a bunch of records, as the film had the biggest-ever opening day for a local production, a true blockbuster with international appeal. This was the goal of the makers of the Indian film Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, but the Sony-distributed movie isn’t making much tangible impact beyond Indian audiences. The Nitesh Tiwari-directed mythological epic is breaking a bunch of records in its home country and is the most expensive Indian production of all time, but the movie opened in fifth place, behind You Can See Everything, with $8.6 million.

Instead, it was beaten by The Cat in the Hat, which performed much better than expected with a $20.5 million opening, another win for the combined Paramount/Warner Bros. Skydance corporation, following Street Fighter and Clayface. There isn’t much family-oriented fare (sorry, Wildwood) playing in cinemas right now, so a light-hearted adaptation of one of Dr. Seuss‘ best-known works was likely to be a success, even if its critical reception is middling.

Angel Studios’ Drummer Boy also performed quite well, with a $9.3 million opening, while Aaron Burns’ Jimmy crashed with a pitiful $2.2 million. Angel Studios seems to have carved out a niche in American multiplexes, even if these movies don’t have much impact beyond their theatrical release. Next week, a few mid-budget films are making their way to the big screen, which might see Godzilla enjoy another time on the throne as the King of the Monsters, and the box office!

Here is the full list of the top ten films of the weekend:

1. Godzilla Minus Zero (GKIDS): $31.6M – 3,254 theatres
2. The Cat in the Hat (Warner Bros. Animation): $20.5M – 4,003 theatres
3. Drummer Boy (Angel Studios): $9.3M – 2,850 theatres
4. You Can See Everything (A24): $8.8M (-23%) – 2,473 theatres
5. Ramayana: Rise of a Legend (Sony): $8.6M – 1,433 theatres
6. Clayface (DC Studios): $6.6M (-39%) – 2,946 theatres
7. Wildwood (LAIKA): $6.5M (-27%) – 2,794 theatres
8. Wild Horse Nine (Searchlight Pictures): $6.0M – 1,100 theatres
9. Wicker (Black Bear Pictures): $3.3M (-23%) – 2,081 theatres
10. Jimmy (Fathom Entertainment): $2.2M – 1,499 theatres

Source: Box Office Mojo