Image via Wpcpey / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). The Godzilla statue at Godzilla Square in Hibiya, Tokyo (file photo).
Godzilla Minus Zero is having a huge opening weekend. The film took in $14.5 million on Friday and is on course for about $32 million across the weekend. That would make it the biggest opening ever for a live-action foreign-language film in North America.
The numbers come from Deadline's Saturday morning update. They are estimates, not final results. The studios will put out full weekend estimates on Sunday, and the final figures come on Monday. But even if the number moves a little, the record looks safe.
The record it breaks
The old record belonged to Hero, the 2002 Mandarin-language film starring Jet Li. It opened to $17.8 million in the US in 2004 and held the mark for 22 years. Godzilla Minus Zero is set to nearly double it.
It is also a giant step up from the last film in the series. Godzilla Minus One opened to $11.4 million in December 2023 and went on to make $57.4 million in North America. Its sequel is on course to nearly triple that opening. Minus One won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and its sequel has now topped it at the box office too.
The film is only the fourth non-English-language film ever to finish a weekend at No. 1 in North America. The others are The Passion of the Christ, Hero and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which still holds the overall foreign-language opening record at $70.6 million.
How it got there
The film opened in 3,254 theaters in the US and Canada. Friday's $14.5 million included $6.7 million from preview screenings, which set a record of its own for the film's distributor, GKIDS. This is the biggest opening in GKIDS history.
Nearly three quarters of the weekend money is coming from IMAX and other premium large-format screens. Deadline called that share never seen before. Audiences gave the film an A CinemaScore, the same grade the last film got.
It did all of this on a marketing spend of under $10 million, with no TV ads bought at all, according to Deadline. The film is R-rated, runs 135 minutes, and is directed by Takashi Yamazaki, who also made Minus One.
In Japan, where the film opened on November 3, Toho says it set the biggest opening day ever for a live-action release. It premiered at the New York Film Festival on September 26 before its wide release on November 6.
The rest of the weekend
The Cat in the Hat is second, with around $18 million for the weekend. Angel Studios' Drummer Boy is also opening, at about $8.8 million, and Ramayana is at around $8 million for its first weekend. Overall, the weekend should take in about $114 million, the best first weekend in November since before Covid.
It is a crowded weekend at the movies. Rocky is back in theaters for its 50th anniversary, and I Play Rocky, the film about how Stallone made it, is also in select theaters. But this weekend belongs to Godzilla.
| Weekend box office (estimated) | Friday | Weekend |
|---|---|---|
| Godzilla Minus Zero | $14.5M | ~$32M |
| The Cat in the Hat | $6M | ~$18M |
| Drummer Boy | $3.5M | ~$8.8M |
| Ramayana | — | ~$8M |
FAQs
How much did Godzilla Minus Zero make on its opening weekend? About $32 million, based on Saturday estimates from Deadline. Final figures come on Monday.
What record did Godzilla Minus Zero break? The biggest opening ever for a live-action foreign-language film in North America, passing Hero's $17.8 million from 2004.
How much did Godzilla Minus One open to? $11.4 million in December 2023. The sequel nearly tripled it.
Where can I watch Godzilla Minus Zero? In theaters now, including IMAX and premium large-format screens.
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