Godzilla Minus Zero Box Office: $32M Opening Sets a Record
Takashi Yamazaki's sequel took $14.5 million on Friday and is headed for the biggest live-action foreign-language opening ever in North America.
Godzilla Minus Zero is the No. 1 movie in North America this weekend, on pace for about $32 million after grossing $14.5 million on Friday, Thursday previews included, from 3,254 theaters.
That number makes it the best opening ever for a live-action foreign-language film at the domestic box office, according to Saturday estimates reported by Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. The overall foreign-language record still belongs to the animated Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which opened to $70.6 million.
It is also a big step up for the franchise. Godzilla Minus One opened to $11.4 million in December 2023 before winning the Oscar for best visual effects, the first Japanese film to take that award. The sequel is beating that start almost three to one, and it is running ahead of the mid-$20 million opening its distributor projected going in.
Takashi Yamazaki returns to write and direct, and Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe are back in the lead roles. The story picks up in postwar Japan two years after the first film, with the three-headed King Ghidorah attacking and Godzilla on its way back. Toho produced the film, and GKids handles the release in the U.S.
Audiences who went on opening night gave it an A CinemaScore, the same grade Minus One earned, which usually points to a strong second weekend.
Further down the chart, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's The Cat in the Hat, with Bill Hader voicing the Cat, is No. 2 with $6 million on Friday from 4,003 theaters and an estimated $18 million to $19 million for the weekend. Angel Studios' Drummer Boy, A24's documentary You Can See Everything, Searchlight's Wild Horse Nine and Sony's release of Ramayana: Rise of a Legend round out the top six.
Godzilla Minus Zero is playing now in theaters, including Imax and premium large-format screens. Watch the trailer above before you pick your showtime.
Sources: deadline.com · variety.com · hollywoodreporter.com