The Cat in the Hat (2026) opens on 5 November, with Bill Hader and a screening cats can attend

The Cat in the Hat returns to the big screen in Malaysia on Thursday 5 November, this time animated, and one cinema is inviting real cats. GSC's Velvet Cinemas at Sunway 163 Mall is holding a Cats Cinema Club screening on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November, RM178 for a twin seat for "two humans or one human and one cat", according to GSC's promotion page.

Dr Seuss, animated

The Star's preview sums it up: Dr Seuss's mischievous feline, voiced by Bill Hader, back on screen in animated form. TGV's synopsis has the Cat sent by an organisation called the I.I.I.I. to cheer up two siblings, Gabby and Sebastian, after they move to a new town, at the risk of losing his magical hat if he fails. Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja direct. The Numbers lists a voice cast with Xochitl Gomez as Gabby, Tiago Martinez as Sebastian, Quinta Brunson, Matt Berry, America Ferrera, Bowen Yang, Tituss Burgess and Giancarlo Esposito. It opens in the United States a day after Malaysia, on 6 November, through Warner Bros, where The Numbers records a PG rating for action, some peril, mild language and rude humour. Box Office Mojo shows it opened first in Italy on 29 October, where it had taken US$177,248 so far, the only figure yet reported anywhere.

How the cat screening works

GSC's page says cats stay in their carriers, and the hall keeps the lights brighter and the sound lower than a normal screening, in Hall 3 at Velvet. For families with children rather than cats, GSC also lists a Play Tour on 7 November: a tour of the cinema for children, then the film and a GSC Play meal.

The PLAY halls matter for this one

Of this week's 1,525 sessions at 79 cinemas, 485 are in GSC's PLAY halls at 14 cinemas, plus 89 in TGV's Junior halls. For parents of young children, those are the sessions to look for. GSC carries 1,017 of the week's sessions, TGV 387, with FST, Mega, Dadi and AE Cinemas the rest, at about 250 a day from Thursday.

Before you book

The chains classify it P12, and TGV lists 108 minutes, in English with Malay subtitles; The Numbers gives a shorter 91 minutes from the American release, so allow the longer figure. The Cat in the Hat page lists every cinema and PLAY hall, and the showtimes page shows each cinema's sessions with the hall type on each time.