"Godzilla Minus Zero" stomped into movie theaters with a chart-topping $31. 6 million over the weekend, scoring a record debut for a foreign-language film at the North American box office.

Takashi Yamazaki's sequel to 2023's Oscar-winning "Godzilla Minus One" easily thrashed Warner Bros.' animated "The Cat in the Hat" movie.

That film, featuring the voice of Bill Hader, opened with $20. 5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, plus $10 million overseas.