Godzilla Minus Zero’ stomps top of box office

Japan's 'Godzilla Minus Zero' roared to the top of the North American box office over the weekend, earning an estimated $31.6 million on its debut, industry estimates showed Sunday.
Set in 1949, as postwar Japan struggles to rebuild, the film introduces a new threat: King Ghidorah, a giant, three-headed, dragon-like monster.
Godzilla, believed defeated in the 2023 film 'Godzilla Minus One', has regenerated through radiation and returns to confront the beast, with at least some assistance from humans.
'This weekend's opening takes the Japanese production to a new level. It's nearly three times the previous opening in Dec 2023,' veteran industry analyst David A. Gross wrote.
Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the film is produced by Japan's Toho and distributed in North America by GKIDS. Its familiar monster inhabits a different storyline from the 1998 Sony Pictures production known to many North American viewers.
The sequel's performance put it comfortably ahead of another new arrival, Warner Bros' 'The Cat in the Hat', which took second place with an estimated $20.5 million.
The latest screen outing for the legendary Dr Seuss feline offered audiences a gentler alternative to Godzilla's destructive return.
Gross cautioned that Dr Seuss films typically struggle outside the United States, although revenue from streaming platforms and television rights could help compensate for weaker international ticket sales.
Angel Studios' 'Drummer Boy' marched into third place, collecting $9.3 million, according to estimates from Exhibitor Relations.
Combining historical drama and music, the film follows an American soldier and his brother during the Revolutionary War. The brother marries an enslaved woman and fights for the British.
Gross said its opening earnings were double what would normally be expected for a comparable film.
'Angel specialises in inspirational stories and they know how to reach this audience,' he wrote in his weekly newsletter.
Fourth place went to A24's 'You Can See Everything', a biopic following convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes during the month before she began an 11-year prison sentence.
The film earned approximately $8.9 million over the weekend, lifting its estimated total after four weeks to $79.8 million.
Sony's 'Ramayana' opened in fifth place with about $8.7 million. Gross described it as 'one of only five Indian wide releases in the US' over the past three decades.
Together, the five leading films accounted for an estimated $79 million in weekend ticket sales, with four making their first appearances in the rankings.
The remaining places in the top 10 went to 'Wildwood', with $7 million; 'Clayface', with $6.7 million; 'Wild Horse Nine', with $6 million; 'Wicker', with $3.4 million; and 'Street Fighter', with $2.2 million. — AFP