Godzilla Minus Zero
climbed to the top of box office charts with $31.6 million from 3,254 theaters in North America, setting a record for live-action foreign-language films, according to Variety.
The film, produced by Japan’s Toho, generated $63m worldwide during its opening weekend. The 39th installment in a franchise stretching back to 1954 surpassed previous benchmarks for international releases in North America, beating the $17.8 million record set by China’s “Hero” in 2002. In Japan, filmgoers were just as enthralled by the sequel to the 2023 film Godzilla Minus One, which set a domestic record for a live-action film, according to the Kyodo news agency.
The Hindi-language blockbuster Ramayana: Rise of a Legend — recognized as the most expensive Indian film ever made — faced off against the latest Godzilla release, pulling in $32 million in India and $8.7m in the US on its opening weekend for a total of $55.7m. Shot in the Imax format alongside Ramayana, the Godzilla feature also debuted through an exclusive early Imax screening window the week prior.
Audience turnout was heavily concentrated in premium large formats. Premium large formats, including Dolby, accounted for 74% of total ticket sales, compared to The Odyssey which collected 53% of opening weekend returns from PLFs. Premium large-format auditoriums appear to have fueled spectator demand, accounting for 34% of the monster movie’s box office earnings during its opening weekend.
Chance Huskey, VP of distribution for Gkids — which distributed the movie in the U.S. — stated that they were very happy to see audiences embrace the international film at an unprecedented scale. Huskey noted that the landmark release resulted from a thoughtful campaign by Gkids and Toho emphasizing the must-see intensity of the theatrical experience.
This historic opening shows how deeply audiences around the world connect with Godzilla and with Takashi Yamazaki’s vision.
Ueda added that the studio’s first near-simultaneous global release was built on that reception.
Helmed by filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki, the project is classified as live-action because principal photography took place on-site, featuring locations such as an Ibaraki sports park northeast of Tokyo utilized for massive crowd sequences as well as a Kyoto prefecture temple located in Maizuru.
The creature resurfaces to respond to a new threat, confronting its three-headed nemesis that destroys buildings with lightning bolts fired from its mouth with the help of human intervention.
In Japan, the film earned $5.75m on its opening day on November 3, setting a box office revenue record for the first day of a live-action release in the country and more than double the opening day earnings generated by Godzilla Minus One according to Toho.
Industry analyst David A. Gross noted that the opening brought the Japanese production to a new level by generating nearly three times the previous opening of Godzilla Minus One in December 2023, easily exceeding expectations.
Earlier coverage: Godzilla Minus Zero Projected to Earn $25M-$35M in US Debut