#horror – #PressRelease – #GodzillaMinusZero – #Godzilla – #Toho – #Gkids – #TakashiYamazaki – #BoxOffice –
A Record Roar for a Japanese Kaiju Epic in North America
Toho’s latest kaiju epic just made box office history. Godzilla Minus Zero opened to $30.5 million from 3,254 North American theaters over the weekend, the largest debut ever for a live-action foreign-language film in the territory, topping the $17.8 million mark set by China’s Hero in 2002. Variety has the final weekend tallies, with overseas markets adding $31.4 million from 77 countries for a $62 million global start.
The R-rated sequel from writer-director Takashi Yamazaki arrived with a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score and an “A” CinemaScore, and premium large formats did a huge share of the heavy lifting. Imax alone contributed $12.7 million (about 40% of the domestic take), and PLFs including Dolby accounted for a staggering 74% of ticket sales. Gkids distributed the film in the U.S. for Toho, building on 2023’s Godzilla Minus One, which opened to $11.4 million and went on to $57 million domestically and $113 million worldwide, plus a visual effects Oscar.
Yamazaki’s new chapter picks up two years after the prior film as Godzilla regenerates to face a fresh threat tormenting postwar Japan. Chance Huskey, VP of distribution for Gkids, called the response “unprecedented” for an international release and credited a campaign that leaned hard on the theatrical experience. FranchiseRe’s David A. Gross simply put it: “Godzilla is a hit.”
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Production: Toho
U.S. Distribution: Gkids
Opening: $30.5M North America / $62M global
Status: In theaters
Source: Reporting via Variety.
