Godzilla Minus Zero opened to $31.6 million domestically across 3,254 North American theaters from GKids and Toho, marking the highest-grossing opening weekend in GKids' history and nearly triple the $11.4 million debut of predecessor Godzilla Minus One. The film represents the biggest live-action foreign-language opening since 2004's Hero, which launched with $17.8 million.
Director Takashi Yamazaki's sequel earned an A CinemaScore and exceeded distributor projections of a mid-$20 million domestic opening. The film collected $12 million from Imax screens, composing 40 percent of the domestic total. As the first Japanese production filmed for Imax, Godzilla Minus Zero added $31.4 million internationally, including $17 million from Japan.
The monster film stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe and Min Tanaka in a story centered on postwar Japan facing attacks from the three-headed Ghidorah and the possibility of Godzilla's return. It carries a reported mid-teens budget and holds a 90 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes alongside a 96 percent audience score. The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney called it a "thrilling jolt of marauding monster action."
Godzilla Minus One, which won best visual effects at the Academy Awards, opened with $11.4 million domestically in December 2023 and reached $57.1 million domestically with $56.9 million internationally.
Warner Bros.' The Cat in the Hat grossed $20.5 million domestically from 4,003 locations, matching studio projections. The animated adaptation, which cost $92 million, earned an A CinemaScore but holds a 46 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and 87 percent from audiences. It added $10 million internationally. Previous Dr. Seuss adaptations performed stronger, with Universal's 2018 The Grinch earning $67.5 million and The Lorax collecting $70.2 million in their openings.