Godzilla devours the US box office and shatters an old record!

Takashi Yamazaki’s Japanese monster got off to a historic start with $31.6 million in revenue across the Atlantic. A record for a live action film in a foreign language…

He’s an old monster who still has the rage to win!

After winning over critics and winning the Oscar for best visual effects with Godzilla Minus OneJapanese director Takashi Yamazaki is back with Godzilla Minus Zero. And the American public is responding: the new part of the kaiju saga is off to a thunderous start at $31.6 million in 3,254 theaters, far ahead of its weekend competitors.

New record for a foreign language film

A historic result for a foreign language film. Until now, the record for the best first weekend for a non-English live-action film in North America belonged to heroZhang Yimou’s martial arts film starring Jet Li, which grossed $17.8 million in August 2004. Godzilla Minus Zero therefore breaks a record more than twenty years old. Let us point out that the absolute record for the start of a film in a foreign language remains held by anime Demon Slayer: The Infinite Fortresswith 70.6 million dollars.

The success of Godzilla Minus Zero can be explained in particular by the enthusiasm of critics and the public, but also by its exploitation in premium cinemas. The feature film is the first Japanese film shot for IMAX, whose screens alone generated $12.7 million, or 40% of U.S. revenue. Worldwide, the film has already grossed $63 million.

In December 2023, Godzilla Minus One opened to $11.4 million in North America and ultimately grossed $115 million worldwide.

The Hatted Cat in second place

Behind Godzillathe other big novelty of the weekend must be content with second place. The animated film The Hatted Cat (The Cat in the Hat) adaptation of the famous character of Dr. Seuss with Bill Hader to lend him his voice, starts at 20 million dollars in 4,003 theaters. A disappointing result for such a popular character across the Atlantic, especially since the critics are not enthusiastic: the film has only 45% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

Internationally, Le Chat raised $10 million in around sixty territories, for a worldwide total of $30.5 million. We are still far from the live action adaptation of 2003, with Mike Myers, which started at 38 million dollars before ending its American career at 134 million. A score already considered disappointing at the time, given its budget of over 100 million.

You Can See Everything always a recipe

The A24 documentary dedicated to Elizabeth Holmes continues its astonishing journey. For its fourth weekend in theaters, You Can See Everything grossed another $8.8 million in 2,473 theaters, bringing its US total to 79.8 million. A spectacular success for this nearly three-hour film, produced for only $7 million. It should leave theaters among the most lucrative documentaries of recent decades.

Drummer Boy surprise

Another novelty of the weekend, the musical film from Angel Studios by Joel David Smallbone surprises with 8.8 million dollars in revenue. Drummer Boy benefits in particular from strong support in the southern United States, where spectator groups regularly organize collective purchases of tickets, then distributed free of charge to the public. A strategy that has become one of the distributor’s trademarks.

Ramayana also breaks the Indian record in North America

Fifth in the ranking, Ramayana: The Rise of a Legend collected 8.6 million dollars over the traditional weekend, and 12.1 million counting its first four days of operation. The film has already grossed $55.7 million worldwide.

Distributed by Sony in 1,300 North American theaters, it marks the widest release ever granted to an Indian film across the Atlantic. This two-part adaptation of the Hindu epic, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, is also one of the most expensive productions in the history of Indian cinema, with a total announced budget of $500 million.

Wild Horse Nine : Martin McDonagh gets off to a promising start

Finally, Wild Horse NineMartin McDonagh’s black comedy starring John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, enters in eighth place with $6 million in 1,100 theaters.

An encouraging launch for the director, who this time benefits from a much wider release than that of his previous film, The Banshees of Inisherin. Released gradually in 2022, the latter ended up grossing $10.5 million in the United States and $50 million worldwide.