Godzilla Minus Zero opened to $30.6 million at the North American box office over November 6–8, according to theater reports cited by distributor GKIDS. That’s the biggest opening in GKIDS history and a record for an internationally produced, foreign-language live-action film in the U.S. and Canada.
The distributor’s figure comes in about $1 million below the $31.61 million Sunday estimate in our November 6–8 weekend box office report. Box Office Mojo’s weekend chart still listed $31.61 million when checked on November 9. The lower figure doesn’t change the weekend winner: Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel still led the domestic chart.
Godzilla Minus Zero Opens at Nearly Three Times Minus One’s Debut
Godzilla Minus One opened to $11.4 million domestically in December 2023 and finished with more than $57 million in the U.S. and Canada. Minus Zero earned about 2.7 times its predecessor’s opening in its first weekend. It also cleared the roughly $18 million domestic debut of Zhang Yimou’s Hero, the previous benchmark for an internationally produced live-action film in a foreign language.
GKIDS puts the sequel’s worldwide gross at an estimated $62 million so far, including more than $16 million in Japan. Toho opened the film in Japan on Godzilla Day, November 3, and rolled it out in North America and other markets the same week. The distributor says it’s now playing in more than 70 countries and territories.
In a statement provided by GKIDS, Yamazaki thanked moviegoers for coming out on opening weekend and said the response from audiences around the world “honestly feels like a dream.”
Godzilla Minus Zero Is Now Playing Nationwide
Yamazaki returns as writer, director and visual effects lead after Minus One won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The sequel picks up in 1949 with the Shikishima family, with Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe returning. For a closer look at the family story and how the bigger monster battles fit around it, read our Godzilla Minus Zero review.
The film is the first Japanese production filmed for IMAX and is also playing in select 4DX and Dolby Cinema theaters. It earned an A CinemaScore, according to GKIDS, and held a 90% Tomatometer and 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes as of November 9.
Godzilla Minus Zero is now playing in North America. Watch the latest official trailer or find showtimes and tickets.
Thomas Miller is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Seat42F, covering television, movies and streaming entertainment. He launched Seat42F in 2007 and has spent nearly two decades covering the entertainment industry.
