If you are hunting for new movies in theaters this weekend, November 6-8 is the most crowded frame in weeks: a Japanese kaiju sequel, a Dr. Seuss cartoon, a big-budget Indian epic and a Martin McDonagh black comedy are all fighting for your ticket money. After a sleepy Halloween weekend with no new wide releases, the multiplex is about to wake up in a big way.
Here is what is opening, what the forecasters expect, and what is still worth catching from last weekend’s leaders. Quick note: opening-weekend numbers below are projections, not results. Actual grosses land Sunday and Monday.
New Movies in Theaters This Weekend: The Big Openers
Five films are opening wide, according to Cinemasight’s weekend preview: The Cat in the Hat, Godzilla Minus Zero, Jimmy, Ramayana and Wild Horse Nine. Four more titles open in limited release: Being Heumann, Club Kid, I Play Rocky and The Last Temptation of Becky.
Box office analyst Todd Thatcher’s weekend predictions put the opening-weekend race like this:
| Film | Predicted gross |
|---|---|
| Godzilla Minus Zero | $32 million |
| The Cat in the Hat | $22.5 million |
| Ramayana: Part 1 | $11.9 million (Fri-Sun); $17.1 million (Thu-Sun) |
| Wild Horse Nine | $3.9 million |
Treat those as one forecaster’s estimate. Other trackers have the top two closer together, which leads us to the main event.
Godzilla Minus Zero vs. The Cat in the Hat
This is the weekend’s marquee matchup. /Film reports that Godzilla Minus Zero, directed by Takashi Yamazaki, is tracking at $25 million to $35 million domestically per Box Office Theory. That would be the biggest North American debut ever for a Japanese Godzilla film, and the first to win a weekend outright. It also helps that the movie has a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and an IMAX release.
For context, its predecessor Godzilla Minus One opened to $11.4 million, made $114 million worldwide on a $15 million budget, and became the franchise’s first Oscar winner, per the same report.
Across the aisle, Warner Bros.’ The Cat in the Hat is chasing the same $25 million to $35 million range, according to another /Film breakdown. It is the first Dr. Seuss animated movie at Warner Bros., directed by Erica Rivinoja and Alessandro Carloni, with Bill Hader voicing the Cat, Xochitl Gomez as Gabby and Tiago Martinez as Sebastian. The story follows the Cat as he tries to cheer up two siblings struggling after a move to a new town.
The studio could use a win: the same piece calls 2026 a mostly disappointing year for Warner Bros. after a strong 2025, with Clayface opening at No. 1 with $24 million as a bright spot. Comparison points for the cartoon range from GOAT ($27 million opening) to The Wild Robot ($35 million), by the author’s math.
The Rest of the Weekend’s New Movies in Theaters
Do not sleep on the counterprogramming. Ramayana: Part 1, an Indian action fantasy, opens on Thursday, so it has a head start on the Friday-to-Sunday crowd. Thatcher projects it for third place, which would be a strong showing for an Indian release.
Wild Horse Nine is Martin McDonagh’s black comedy and is playing on around 1,000 screens, with a modest $3.9 million forecast. If you want something for grown-ups that is not a monster or a talking cat, this is your lane. Jimmy also opens wide, but we could not confirm projections or details for it, so we will leave it at that.
On the limited side, I Play Rocky, Club Kid, Being Heumann and The Last Temptation of Becky will play in select theaters. Check local listings, since arthouse availability varies a lot by city.
Last Weekend’s Box Office: What Is Still Leading
No new wide releases opened October 30-November 1, and it showed. Per Thatcher’s recap, the top five looked like this:
- You Can See Everything (A24): $11.4 million, $64 million after three weeks
- Clayface (DC Universe): $11 million, $44 million after two weeks
- Wildwood (Laika): $8.9 million, $27 million total
- Wicker (starring Olivia Colman): $4.3 million, $13 million total
- Street Fighter: $3.6 million, $53 million after three weeks
Variety’s headline describes You Can See Everything beating Clayface for No. 1 with $11.4 million in a sleepy Halloween weekend. We covered the daily numbers in our Box Office Today post. Those holdovers now face serious competition: Thatcher has You Can See Everything falling to about $7.3 million, Wildwood to $6 million and Clayface to $5.4 million.
Why This Weekend Matters for the Industry
Beyond the ticket-buying decision, this frame is a real test for two studios and one franchise.
Godzilla’s big-screen momentum. The monster’s recent track record is unusually strong. According to /Film, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) is the franchise’s highest grosser at $572 million worldwide, while the 2016 Japanese entry Shin Godzilla made under $2 million in its original U.S. run before a 2025 re-release earned more than $4 million. Fans are clearly showing up for subtitled, Japan-made kaiju in a way they were not a decade ago, and a $25 million-plus debut would cement that.
Warner Bros. needs a family hit. The studio’s budget for The Cat in the Hat is estimated by /Film’s author at $70 million to $90 million, which means a debut at the low end of the forecast range would be fine but not spectacular. The 2003 live-action version grossed $134 million worldwide on a $109 million budget, and /Film notes it led to a ban on live-action Dr. Seuss films. This new animated take is a fresh start for the property. Disney’s Hexed, the next family animated release, arrives over Thanksgiving, so the Cat has only a couple of weeks of clear runway.
A dry spell is ending. The weekend before had no new wide releases at all, and the entire top five earned roughly $39 million combined, going by the figures above. Thatcher’s forecasts alone put the top two newcomers at a combined $54.5 million, so theaters should see a noticeable jump in business.
What to Watch When the Numbers Come In
- The No. 1 photo finish. Forecasts for the top two overlap, so a small swing could flip the winner. Watch Saturday estimates, since family films often skew toward matinees.
- How far the holdovers fall. Percentage drops for You Can See Everything, Wildwood and Clayface will tell us how much staying power each has with this much new competition.
- Ramayana’s multi-day total. Because it opened Thursday, studios will report both Friday-to-Sunday and Thursday-to-Sunday figures. Make sure you compare like with like.
- Wild Horse Nine on limited screens. Around 1,000 locations is a small footprint, so per-theater averages may be the better measure of its buzz.
Which New Movies in Theaters Should You See This Weekend?
Our quick guide, based on what we can verify so far:
- Best bet for the big screen: Godzilla Minus Zero. Strong early reviews plus an IMAX release make it the spectacle pick.
- Best for families: The Cat in the Hat. Pair it with Wildwood if your kids want a second animated option.
- Best for adults: Wild Horse Nine, or You Can See Everything if you missed the current leader.
- Best for epic-fantasy fans: Ramayana: Part 1, already open since Thursday.
Prefer your couch? Our rundown of new on Netflix in November 2026 has you covered, and if you are still in a spooky mood, check out the best Halloween TV shows to stream.
Check back Sunday and Monday for the actual numbers. If the forecasts hold, we could see a historic win for Godzilla, or a surprise upset by a certain cat in a hat.
