Godzilla Minus Zero has stormed the global box office, earning a robust $63 million during its opening weekend. This figure significantly exceeded domestic projections, which anticipated a mid-to-low $20 million opening. The film secured $31.6 million in domestic ticket sales and an additional $31.4 million internationally, according to reporting from The Hollywood Reporter.
This strong debut also marks a record for the biggest opening weekend for a live-action foreign language film. The movie's narrative picks up after a devastating war reduced Japan to "zero," with Godzilla plunging the nation into "minus." The story follows humanity's struggle for recovery and the emergence of a new, otherworldly threat: King Ghidorah. The secrecy surrounding the classic kaiju's design likely contributed to early audience interest.
Godzilla Minus Zero also achieved a record for a Japanese IMAX film, grossing $21.3 million in global IMAX returns alone. The film follows in the footsteps of its critically acclaimed predecessor, Godzilla Minus One, which earned 99% from critics and 98% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes and won an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Godzilla Minus Zero currently holds a 90% critic score and a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
IGN's review of Godzilla Minus Zero noted that while the film "ups the ante on the carnage" with its kaiju battles, it did not quite achieve the same emotional resonance as its predecessor. The film stars Minami Hamabe, Hidetaka Yoshioka, and Min Tanaka.
In other box office news, Ramayana: Rise of a Legend earned $55.7 million, and The Cat in the Hat garnered $30.5 million. The Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything continued its run with an additional $8.8 million, bringing its domestic total to $79.8 million. DC Studios' Clayface has reached $109 million globally.
Director Takashi Yamazaki has expressed a "fifty-fifty" sentiment regarding his return for a potential third installment in this series, despite the film's closing promise of "no third time."