‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ roars with $63m at global box office; ‘Ramayana: Rise Of A Legend’ strong with $52.2m; ‘The Cat In The Hat’ leads US openers

Worldwide box office: Nov 6-8

Credit: Rentrak. All figures are estimates

’Godzilla Minus Zero’, ‘Ramayana’ rule

Godzilla Minus Zero and Ramayana: Rise Of A Legend powered to the top of the global box office ranking this weekend, leading seven new releases, four of them from Asia. 

The latest iteration of the venerable Japanese monster franchise claimed the top spot on the Rentrak chart, with Godzilla Minus Zero taking a projected $63m worldwide, according to North American distributor Gkids. 

In North America, the sequel claimed an estimated $31.6m, the biggest ever opening for a live action foreign language release, said Gkids. 

Internationally, the film got the first simultaneous global launch for a Japanese Godzilla installment (there have also been several recent US-produced entries in the franchise) and took a projected $31.4m from more than 100 territories, including $17m (¥2.7bn) from Japan, where Gkids parent Toho distributed. 

The Toho production is a sequel to 2023 franchise installment Godzilla Minus One, with director Takashi Yamazaki and stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Habame and Hidetaka Yoshioka all returning for the story of a Japanese family struggling to recover from the events of the earlier film. 

Minus One grossed $114m worldwide and was the first non-English language film to win the visual effects Oscar. 

Minus Zero, which premiered at September’s New York festival, was the first ever Japanese production filmed for Imax, and took $21.3m of it global total in Imax venues. 

Indian fantasy action-adventure Ramayana: Rise Of A Legend, distributed worldwide excluding India by Sony Pictures, grossed an estimated $52.2m globally over the weekend (for a $55.7m total to date), taking advantage of the Diwali holiday currently being celebrated in India and a number of other countries. 

The Hindi language production grossed an estimated $12.2m in North America, Sony reported, and $43.5m from 37 international markets, including $32m from India, where producer Prime Focus distributed. 

In the UK, Ramayana broke the opening weekend record for an Indian film with a take of $3m. Other big starts came in the United Arab Emirates, with $2.2m, Australia, with $1.9m, and Germany, with $625,000. 

Based on a five-thousand-year-old Sanskrit saga, Ramayana is directed by Nitesh Tiwari, produced by Namit Malhotra, and stars Ranbir Kapoor, Yash and Sai Pallavi in the tale of a prince and an immortal king whose fates are bound by prophecy. 

Also filmed for Imax, the three-hour-plus Indian epic took $6m of its global total on Imax screens. 

‘The Cat In The Hat’ makes soft start

The biggest of the weekend’s new US films was Warner Bros’ The Cat In The Hat, with an estimated $30.5m worldwide for third place on the chart. 

The animated fantasy comedy took $20.5m in North America and $10m from more than 60 international markets. Its top territories were Mexico, with a $1.2m opening, Italy with $1.1m, Spain with $999,000, China with $663,000, Brazil with $541,000 and Colombia with $535,000. 

Loosely based on the eponymous Dr Seuss children’s book about a brother and sister visited on a rainy day by the title character, the new film version is written and directed by Alessandro Carloni and has a voice cast led by Bill Hader, Matt Berry and Quinta Brunson. 

Universal’s live action version of the Cat In The Hat book, starring Mike Myers, grossed $134m worldwide in 2003, but more recent animated features (all from Universal) based on Dr Seuss characters have produced much bigger numbers: 2012’s The Lorax opened with $70.2m in North America and ended up with $349m worldwide, and 2018’s The Grinch began with $67.6m domestically on its way to $512.7m worldwide. 

The new Cat In The Hat, whose performance will be mitigated by a relatively modest reported budget of around $90m, opens in early December in the UK, France and Germany and reaches Japan on December 25 and Australia and New Zealand on December 31. 

’Wild Horse Nine’, ‘Drummer Boy’ show promise

Another American debutant, Searchlight Pictures’ Wild Horse Nine, distributed by Disney, opened this weekend with an estimated $12.6m worldwide, coming in sixth on the weekend chart. 

The awards contender took $6m in North America, giving British-Irish writer-director Martin McDonagh his best opening ever in the territory, and $6.6m internationally. Top markets included the UK, which produced $2m, Italy ($1m), France ($700,000) and Australia ($700,00). 

John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi star in the dark comedy about two CIA agents dispatched to Easter island, where they wrestle with their past and present conspiracies. 

The film, which premiered in September at Venice before screening at a number of other festivals, opens next week in Germany, Spain and other smaller markets. 

A third new US opener, Angel Studios’ Drummer Boy, began its theatrical run with an estimated $9.4m from two territories, for ninth place on the chart, almost all of the take coming from North America. 

The musical drama, shot in Ireland, is set during the American Revolutionary War and follows two brothers on opposite sides of the conflict and an enslaved woman. 

Joel David Smallbone and Ben Smallbone co-directed, with the former also starring. 

‘Stray Kids World Tour’, ‘Scene’ play well

The most impressive debut from the weekend’s other two Asian releases came from Trafalgar Releasing’s Stray Kids World Tour ‘Run It’ Live Viewing, which claimed fourth place on the chart with an estimated $13.9m worldwide. 

The musical performance film was beamed live to cinemas in 73 markets on Saturday (November 7) from Japan’s Tokyo Dome, documenting a concert by South Korean boy band Stray Kids. 

Indian action comedy Scene came in at seventh on the chart after opening in 17 markets – many also in the midst of Diwali celebrations – to gross $12.5m. 

The Tamil language film is directed by Jithu Madhavan and stars Suriya, Nazriya Nazim and Naslen in the story of a police officer forced to reopen an old case with a new team. 

• UK-Ireland box office preview: ‘Wild Horse Nine’, ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ stomp into cinemas