Godzilla is rewriting the record books. Godzilla Minus Zero, the follow-up to Takashi Yamazaki’s Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One, is on track for the biggest US opening ever for a live-action foreign-language film.
Weekend estimates put the Toho sequel at around $30 million to $33 million domestically, with Deadline projecting about $32 million after a roughly $14 million Friday that included $6.7 million from previews. That would nearly double the previous record of $17.8 million, set by Zhang Yimou’s martial arts epic Hero back in 2004.
Bigger Than Minus One
The jump from the last film is huge. Godzilla Minus One opened to $11.4 million in December 2023 before going on to earn $57.4 million in North America and winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, a first for the franchise.
Minus Zero is also set to become the biggest opening ever for distributor GKIDS, and it is landing in the same range as Hollywood’s MonsterVerse films. Godzilla vs. Kong opened to $32.2 million in 2021, though it was released at the same time on HBO Max during the pandemic.
Premium screens are doing a lot of the heavy lifting, with IMAX and other large-format showings driving a big share of ticket sales. The film is also off to a record start in Japan, with $8.7 million in its first three days, and is tipped for around $60 million worldwide this weekend.
Leading a Crowded Weekend
The R-rated monster movie comfortably leads the weekend ahead of The Cat in the Hat, which is projected for $17 million to $20 million. Final figures will arrive on Monday, but either way, Godzilla is once again king of the box office.