‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Just Rewrote the Box Office Record Books for Foreign-Language Films

When ‘Godzilla Minus One’ hit theaters in 2023, few expected a Japanese monster movie to become an awards-season juggernaut. Takashi Yamazaki and Toho’s film made nearly $114 million globally, including $57.1 million in the U.S. and Canada, and became the first ‘Godzilla’ film to win an Oscar. It proved that the King of the Monsters could still pack theaters when handled with ambition and emotional weight.

A sequel was always going to follow, and expectations were sky-high. Yamazaki’s follow-up picks up two years after the first film, in 1949. The film reunites him with stars Ryûnosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe, while adding performers including Masami Nagasawa and Min Tanaka.

The film also arrived with a first for the franchise attached. The MPA rated it R for some violent content and bloody images, making it the first ‘Godzilla’ movie to earn that rating, while ‘Godzilla Minus One’ was rated PG-13. Yamazaki has insisted he refused to cut key scenes to secure a lower classification, even though a restrictive rating can narrow a film’s potential audience.

Critics, at least, seemed to reward the gamble. The sequel sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes from 46 reviews and 78 on Metacritic. It held its world premiere at the New York Film Festival to rave reviews.

The real test came at the box office, and ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ passed it in dramatic fashion. The film topped the domestic charts over the weekend with $31.6 million from 3,254 theaters. That made it a record debut for a foreign-language film at the North American box office.

The milestone is a little more nuanced than a blanket claim of the biggest opening ever for an international release. The record applies to live-action foreign-language films, and ‘Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’ still holds the overall record. Even so, the achievement is significant for a subtitled, R-rated monster movie going up against mainstream competition.

That competition included a family title that fell well short of it. ‘The Cat in the Hat’ landed in second place with $20.5 million. Industry trackers had seen a strong start coming, as TheWrap projected a $30 million to $35 million domestic opening and noted the film would become just the fourth non-English movie to top the U.S. weekend charts.

Premium screens played a major role in the result. ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ generated $21.3 million globally from IMAX, or 34% of its box-office take. The big-screen format suits a creature whose very presence is meant to feel overwhelming.

The film also opened strong well beyond U.S. borders. ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ and ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’ were both given global releases, debuting in their home countries at the same time as they reached American audiences, and ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ grossed about $17 million in Japan over the weekend. Combined with its domestic haul, the film earned $63 million worldwide.

The timing helped the broader industry as well. After a sleepy Halloween weekend, overall ticket sales jumped 96.8% from the previous weekend, according to Rentrak. International titles had a big night overall, since ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’ finished fifth with $8.7 million.

The path ahead looks promising, but the franchise’s biggest test is staying power. Word of mouth from critics and audiences could determine whether the sequel can approach the $57.1 million that its Oscar-winning predecessor earned in the U.S. and Canada. For now, Godzilla has once again proved that it still knows how to make an entrance.