History. 9 of 10 sequels opened in more cinemas than the first film; only the Slime sequel opened in fewer (837 against 1,473).
Hunch. Six other films open wide in North America on the same Friday, 6 November, including Warner Bros.' The Cat in the Hat, so cinemas have fewer screens to give.
The cinema count market resolves on the Box Office Mojo page for Godzilla Minus Zero: YES if it shows the film opening on 6 November 2026 in more than 2,308 cinemas, the number Godzilla Minus One opened in, and NO if it shows 2,308 or fewer. Deadline and Variety reports of the opening screen count settle it if Box Office Mojo shows no number by 9 November.
We looked for cases where a film in a language other than English got a sequel that opened in at least 600 cinemas in North America, and the first film had also played there. We found ten such sequels from 2021 to 2026. For each one we compared the sequel's first Friday-to-Sunday weekend with the first film's.