The latest installment in Japan’s iconic monster franchise, Godzilla Minus Zero, has surged to the top of the North American box office in its opening weekend, earning $31.6 million across the United States and Canada. The performance set a new opening weekend record for a live-action foreign-language film in the region. Worldwide, the movie generated $63 million during its initial rollout, showing that the long-running cinematic star continues to attract global audiences.
The film, which is shown in Japanese with English subtitles, marks the 39th entry in the monster franchise that first launched in 1954. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, Godzilla Minus Zero serves as a sequel to the 2003 Oscar-winning film Godzilla Minus One. According to the Kyodo news agency, the new release generated equal enthusiasm in Japan, where it set a domestic record for a live-action film.
Set in 1949, the storyline picks up two years after Godzilla lay "dead" at the bottom of the ocean. The creature resurfaces as Japan attempts to rebuild following the second world war, confronting a new threat: a dragon-like, three-headed beast named Ghidorah. The plot follows a radioactively regenerated Godzilla taking on its nemesis, which fires lightning bolts from its mouth to destroy buildings, with humans intervening in the clash.
Production company Toho Global credited the strategic international rollout for the record performance. "This historic opening shows how deeply audiences around the world connect with Godzilla and with Takashi Yamazaki’s vision," Koji Ueda, president of Toho Global, said in a statement. "Our first near-simultaneous global release was built on that belief."
Domestic interest in Japan was evident on opening day, 3 November, when the movie brought in $5.75 million. Toho noted that this figure set a first-day revenue record for a live-action release in Japan and was more than double the opening day earnings of Godzilla Minus One. Industry expert David A Gross, an industry analyst, observed that the launch "takes the Japanese production to a new level – it’s nearly three times the previous opening [of Godzilla Minus One] in December 2023."
The film's live-action qualification stems from extensive on-location filming, including scenes shot at a sports park in Ibaraki, northeast of Tokyo, for large crowd sequences, as well as scenes at a temple in Maizuru within Kyoto prefecture. Both Godzilla Minus Zero and the film Ramayana were produced in the Imax format, with Godzilla Minus Zero receiving an early Imax-only release the previous week. Large-format screens proved to be a major commercial driver, accounting for 34% of the movie's total opening weekend box office takings on both Imax and standard screens globally.
