Godzilla is back on top, and this time he brought the record books with him. Godzilla Minus Zero, the Japanese-language sequel to the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One, opened to $31.6 million in North America over the weekend of 6–8 November, taking the No. 1 spot ahead of Warner Bros.’ The Cat in the Hat.
That is the biggest opening weekend ever for a live-action foreign-language film in North America. It beats the mark set by Zhang Yimou’s martial-arts epic Hero, which opened to $17.8 million in 2004 and held the record for more than two decades. Minus Zero cleared it by almost $14 million.
Godzilla Minus Zero box office at a glance
- North America opening: $31.6 million from 3,254 cinemas
- Worldwide opening: about $63 million
- IMAX: about $21.3 million worldwide, roughly 34% of the global total
- Japan opening day: ¥910 million (about $5.7 million), reported as the biggest opening day for a Japanese live-action film
- Budget: estimated at $18–19 million, under $20 million
- Distributor: GKIDS in North America; produced by Toho
Nearly triple Godzilla Minus One
The numbers look even bigger next to the first film. Godzilla Minus One opened to $11.4 million in North America in December 2023 and went on to earn about $116 million worldwide, plus the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The sequel’s debut is almost three times that opening, made on a budget that is still tiny by Hollywood standards.
For GKIDS, the North American distributor best known for animated films, it is the biggest debut in the company’s history.
How it beat The Cat in the Hat
The weekend also saw Warner Bros. launch its animated The Cat in the Hat in 4,003 cinemas. It took $20.5 million, a soft start against a reported $86 million budget. Overall ticket sales jumped about 97% on the previous weekend.
- Godzilla Minus Zero: $31.6M
- The Cat in the Hat: $20.5M
- Drummer Boy: $9.3M
- You Can See Everything: $8.9M
- Ramayana: Rise of a Legend: $8.7M
- Wildwood: $7M
- Clayface: $6.7M
- Wild Horse Nine: $6M
Indian epic Ramayana: Rise of a Legend also made the top five in its first North American weekend. Read our Ramayana box office report.
What is Godzilla Minus Zero about?
The story is set in 1949, two years after the events of Minus One, as post-war Japan rebuilds. A flying creature appears, and a military attempt to stop it accidentally transforms it into the three-headed King Ghidorah. At the same time Godzilla, believed destroyed, regenerates beneath the ocean and returns.
Scientists come up with a dangerous plan: bring the two monsters together and let them fight, hoping one destroys the other. Controlling either of them, of course, is another matter.
Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe return as Koichi Shikishima and Noriko Oishi, and the film again centres on the Shikishima family. Newcomers include Min Tanaka, Masami Nagasawa and Jun Kunimura.
Watch the Godzilla Minus Zero trailer
Made for IMAX
Takashi Yamazaki returns as writer, director and visual effects supervisor. Minus Zero is the first Japanese production shot specifically in the “Filmed for IMAX” format, which helps explain why IMAX screens delivered a third of its global takings.
Release dates around the world
- Japan: 3 November 2026
- Australia and New Zealand: 5 November 2026
- North America: 6 November 2026
- India: 20 November 2026, pushed back to avoid an IMAX clash with Ramayana
Why this result matters
Foreign-language films rarely open this big in North America. Subtitled releases usually start in a handful of cities and expand slowly, and even acclaimed hits tend to earn a few million dollars on their first weekend. Minus Zero went wide from day one in more than 3,200 cinemas, and audiences turned up.
It also shows how much the first film changed the brand. Before Minus One, Japanese Godzilla films were mostly niche releases outside Japan. That film’s word of mouth, its Oscar win and its arrival on Netflix built a new audience that came back for the sequel in force.
Hollywood will notice the budget too. A film that cost under $20 million earned more on its opening weekend than many $100 million studio releases, and much of that money came from premium IMAX screens.
Godzilla Minus One recap: where we left off
Godzilla Minus One was set in Japan just after the Second World War. Former kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima, haunted by his failure to fly his final mission, builds a makeshift family with Noriko and an orphaned baby while Tokyo is devastated by Godzilla. The film ended with Godzilla seemingly destroyed at sea, but with a final shot hinting that the story was not over. Minus Zero picks up that thread two years later.
If you want to catch up before you watch, Godzilla Minus One is streaming on Netflix.
Will there be a third film?
Yamazaki has said he would probably say yes if Toho asked him to make another. “If Toho came to me with another offer to explore this world even further, I’d probably say yes,” he said. With a record opening on a sub-$20 million budget, that offer looks likely.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Godzilla Minus Zero make on its opening weekend?
$31.6 million in North America and about $63 million worldwide.
What record did Godzilla Minus Zero break?
It had the biggest North American opening ever for a live-action foreign-language film, beating Hero‘s $17.8 million from 2004.
When does Godzilla Minus Zero release in India?
On 20 November 2026.
Is Godzilla Minus Zero a sequel?
Yes. It follows Godzilla Minus One (2023), which won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
Sources: AP via NY1, The Week, Dread Central, CinemaBlend
