Godzilla Minus Zero opens at No. 1 in North America with $31.6 million

A record opening in North America

Godzilla Minus Zero debuted at the top of the North American box office with $31.6 million in the United States and Canada. Reports describe it as the strongest opening for a foreign-language film in the region, a record for the biggest live-action foreign-language title. The film is shown in Japanese with English subtitles and is the 39th entry in a franchise that dates back to 1954. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki and produced by Toho, it is distributed in North America by GKids. Worldwide, the film took $63 million over the same weekend. North American cinemas collected $114 million that weekend, the highest first weekend of November since the pandemic and 40% above a year earlier.

Godzilla Minus Zero31.6

The Cat in the Hat20.5

Godzilla Minus Zero

31.6 $ million

The Cat in the Hat

20.5 $ million

Data from the article text

Competition at the top of the chart

The Cat in the Hat, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's first feature, opened second with $20.5 million in studio estimates and added $10 million overseas. Directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, the film adapts Dr. Seuss's children's classic about a magical, mischievous cat who lifts the mood of two siblings after they move to a new town. Angel Studios' Drummer Boy, a Christian musical set during the American Revolution, placed third with between $9 million and $9.3 million, depending on the source. A24's documentary You Can See Everything, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim and focused on Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, earned between $7.8 million and $8.8 million in fourth place. Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, an Indian epic directed by Nitesh Tiwari and distributed by Sony, opened with $55.7 million worldwide and between $8.65 million and $8.7 million in the United States.

Franchise and box-office background

The film is set in Japan in 1949, two years after Godzilla was believed dead at the bottom of the ocean, when the creature resurfaces to confront Ghidorah, a three-headed monster. Its predecessor, Godzilla Minus One, won the Oscar for best visual effects and was the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film ever in the US and Canada, with a haul of $57.1 million. The sequel premiered at the New York Film Festival in October 2026 and has earned a 90 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A CinemaScore. Its budget is under $20 million, and IMAX generated $21.3 million globally, or 34% of its box-office take. Warner Bros. and Legendary are preparing Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, the franchise's next English-language entry.

Japan opening and industry reaction

In Japan, the film opened on 3 November with $5.75 million on its first day, a record for the opening day of a live-action release in the country. According to Toho, that was more than double the opening day earnings of Godzilla Minus One. Industry experts said the global release across IMAX and regular screens had easily exceeded expectations. Analyst David A Gross wrote that the opening was nearly three times the previous opening of Godzilla Minus One in December 2023. Toho Global president Koji Ueda said in a statement:

“This historic opening shows how deeply audiences around the world connect with Godzilla and with Takashi Yamazaki's vision.”

Ueda also pointed to the near-simultaneous global release as the foundation for the result.