Godzilla Minus Zero stomped into North American movie theaters with a $31.6 million debut over the weekend, according to Rentrak estimates released on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026.
Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel to 2023’s Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One
easily bested Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s The Cat in the Hat,
which grossed $20.5 million domestically from 4,003 North American locations, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The Kaiju feature played across 3,254 North American theaters for GKIDS and Toho, notching the highest-grossing opening weekend for any live-action foreign-language film.
The film outperformed distributor projections in the mid-$20 million range and earned an A CinemaScore from audiences, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
WKND #BoxOffice#GodzillaMinusZero $31.6M#TheCatInTheHat $20.5M#DrummerBoy $9.3M#YouCanSeeEverything $8.9M/$79.8M#Ramayana $8.7M/$12.2M#WildHorseNine $6M#Wildwood $7M/$39.9M#Clayface $6.7M/$56.6M#Wicker $3.4M/$19.9M#StreetFighter $2.2M/$57.4M pic.twitter.com/gHBYTIdhMm
The premium format played a major role in the domestic haul. As the first Japanese production filmed for IMAX, the movie collected $12.7 million domestically from IMAX screens alone, comprising 40 percent of the domestic total, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
With Godzilla Minus Zero, Takashi Yamazaki and our friends at Toho have delivered a tremendous feat of filmmaking with arresting visuals that somehow top its predecessor; we are proud to call this the first Filmed For IMAX release from Japan and delighted fans are overwhelmingly choosing to experience it in on our screens, Rich Gelfond
Third place went to Angel Studios’ “Drummer Boy,” which brought in $9.3 million during its opening weekend from 2,850 North American theaters, according to data cited by Yahoo.
‘GODZILLA MINUS ZERO’ has opened with $31.6M domestically. Biggest domestic opening EVER for a live-action international film. pic.twitter.com/jY9pahloqu
The movie picks up as the legendary monster regenerates and resurfaces to confront a new threat in postwar Japan: the monstrous, dragon-like King Ghidorah. The antagonist scientist Kanji Murakami is played by Min Tanaka, while Noriko is played by Minami Hamabe.
According to character details revealed in the sequel, Noriko survived the earlier attack due to G Cells that entered her body, causing subsequent mutation and creating a direct link to Godzilla.
In international markets, the film performed strongly in places like the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Germany, Nepal, and Mexico, where the monsters took the top spot.
Across the global box office, IMAX earnings contributed $21.3 million, representing 34 percent of the worldwide opening and setting a new record for the largest IMAX global opening for a Japanese film. In Japan, the movie accumulated 2.7 billion yen, or $17 million, following its Tuesday debut on Godzilla Day.
‘GODZILLA MINUS ZERO’ is tracking to have the biggest domestic opening weekend EVER for a live-action international film. Read our review: https://t.co/hNkhKvSMVo pic.twitter.com/Ca1iDcAX9v
Domestically, the box office charts also featured A24’s You Can See Everything, along with Searchlight Pictures’ dark buddy comedy Wild Horse Nine, starring Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich.
Earlier coverage: Godzilla Minus Zero Earns $6M in U.S. Previews