On the strength of a record-setting opening weekend, a Japanese-language monster film has reminded the world that the oldest figures in cinema can still draw crowds across oceans. Godzilla Minus Zero, the thirty-ninth chapter of a franchise born in 1954 from the ashes of nuclear war, has taken $31.6m in North America alone, a first for a live-action film in a language other than English. Its origins are in postwar Japan, where a country rebuilding itself meets a creature reborn from its own past, and the film's success suggests that audiences still come looking for that old mixture of dread an
Godzilla Minus Zero Opens to Record $31.6m in US, Topping Box Office as Biggest Foreign-Language Debut
Japan's most recognisable film star still captivates global audiences
Mark
Why is a $31.6m opening such a big deal for a subtitled film?
Mimi
Because it's a record for a live-action foreign-language release in the US and Canada. Audiences there are reading subtitles for a monster film and still putting it at number one.
Mark
And Japan itself responded strongly?
Mimi
Yes. Its $5.75m opening day on 3 November was a domestic record for live-action, more than double the first day of Godzilla Minus One, according to Toho.
Luke
Worth noting that the Japan comparison comes from Toho, which made the film. Kyodo reported the domestic record, but the doubling figure is the studio's.
Mark
What about the story itself?
Mimi
It's set in 1949, as Japan rebuilds after the war. Godzilla, regenerated by radiation, fights Ghidorah, a three-headed creature that fires lightning, with help from humans.
Luke
And the claim that it beat expectations is attributed to industry experts generally. The one named voice is analyst David A Gross, who says it's nearly triple the previous opening.
Mark
Is Ramayana a threat to it?
Mimi
It opened to $55.7m overall, but only $8.7m of that was in the US, against $32m in India.
Luke
So they're not really competing for the same audience yet. What's unknown is how the second weekend goes for either film.
Le Pouls
- A Japanese-language monster film opened to $31.6m in North America, a record that surprised even industry watchers.
- In Japan, the opening day alone brought $5.75m, more than double what its predecessor earned on its first day.
- Toho's first near-simultaneous global release, across Imax and standard screens, is a bold bet on worldwide appetite.
- A powerful Indian rival, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, has already pulled in $55.7m, setting up a head-to-head contest for audiences.
- The coming weeks will reveal whether this historic opening becomes a lasting run or a fleeting spike.
On the strength of a record-setting opening weekend, a Japanese-language monster film has reminded the world that the oldest figures in cinema can still draw crowds across oceans. Godzilla Minus Zero, the thirty-ninth chapter of a franchise born in 1954 from the ashes of nuclear war, has taken $31.6m in North America alone, a first for a live-action film in a language other than English. Its origins are in postwar Japan, where a country rebuilding itself meets a creature reborn from its own past, and the film's success suggests that audiences still come looking for that old mixture of dread and hope. Whether the enthusiasm holds will depend on the weeks ahead, when a rival epic from India begins to test how far subtitled films can travel.
Godzilla Minus Zero, a Japanese-language film with English subtitles, opened at the top of the North American box office with $31.6m in the US and Canada and $63m worldwide. For a live-action foreign-language film, that North American figure is a record, and it arrives as the 39th entry in a franchise that began in 1954 and follows the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One.
At home, the reception was just as strong. The opening day in Japan on 3 November brought in $5.75m, a domestic record for a live-action release and, according to Toho, more than double the first day of its predecessor. Analysts said the numbers comfortably beat expectations, with one describing the weekend as a new level for the Japanese production.
The story returns to Japan in 1949, two years after the creature was left for dead at the bottom of the ocean. Godzilla rises again, radioactively renewed, to defend a nation rebuilding after the war against Ghidorah, a three-headed dragon that tears through buildings with lightning. Much of the film was shot on real locations, including a sports park in Ibaraki and a temple in Kyoto prefecture, and it was directed by Takashi Yamazaki.
Toho chose to release the film worldwide almost simultaneously, on Imax and standard screens, a first for the company. Its president, Koji Ueda, framed the result as proof that audiences everywhere still connect with Godzilla and with Yamazaki's vision.
The film now faces a serious rival. Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, a Hindi-language epic and the most expensive Indian film ever made, took $55.7m in its own opening weekend. Both films are reaching American audiences with English subtitles, and the weeks ahead will show which one can hold its ground.
Godzilla Minus Zero, a Japanese-language film shown with English subtitles, took first place at the North American box office over its opening weekend. It earned $31.6m in the US and Canada, and $63m worldwide.
The North American figure is a record for the opening weekend of a live-action foreign-language film. The film is the 39th in a franchise that began in 1954, and it follows Godzilla Minus One, which won an Oscar and opened in December 2023.
The response in Japan was just as strong. The film's first day there, 3 November, brought in $5.75m, a domestic record for the opening day of a live-action release. According to Toho, that is more than double what Godzilla Minus One earned on its first day. Kyodo news agency reported that the film also set a domestic record for a live-action title.
The story is set in Japan in 1949, two years after the creature was left "dead" at the bottom of the ocean. Godzilla resurfaces, now radioactively regenerated, to face a new threat to the country as it tries to rebuild after the second world war: Ghidorah, a dragon-like, three-headed beast that destroys buildings with lightning bolts fired from its mouths. Humans help Godzilla in the confrontation. Takashi Yamazaki directed.
The film counts as live-action because it was shot principally on location. Crowd scenes were filmed at a sports park in Ibaraki, northeast of Tokyo, and other scenes at a temple in Maizuru, in Kyoto prefecture.
It was released on Imax and standard screens worldwide at nearly the same time, which Toho Global calls its first such release. Koji Ueda, the company's president, said in a statement that the historic opening shows how deeply audiences around the world connect with Godzilla and with Yamazaki's vision, and that the near-simultaneous release was built on that belief. Industry experts said the results comfortably beat expectations. Analyst David A Gross wrote that the weekend takes the Japanese production to a new level, at nearly three times the opening of Godzilla Minus One.
The film has a rival for attention. Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, a Hindi-language epic and the most expensive Indian film ever made, earned $55.7m on its own opening weekend, including $8.7m in the US and $32m in India. Both films are subtitled in English for American audiences, and the coming weeks will show how each holds up against the other.
Citations marquantes
This historic opening shows how deeply audiences around the world connect with Godzilla and with Takashi Yamazaki's vision.— Koji Ueda, president of Toho Global
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