Godzilla Minus Zero has made an explosive North American debut, collecting an estimated $31.6 million across 3,254 theaters and taking the weekend’s top spot. That performance gives the Japanese-language live-action film the biggest domestic opening ever recorded for a foreign-language movie. The Hollywood Reporter also reports that the result nearly triples the $11.4 million opening posted by 2023’s Godzilla Minus One.
The numbers are especially notable for Toho and GKIDS, which handled the film’s North American rollout. Godzilla Minus Zero’s launch surpasses GKIDS’ previous opening-weekend record, set by Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron with $13 million, according to industry coverage. The film also became the fourth non-English-language movie to reach No. 1 on the U.S. weekend chart.
Premium formats supplied an unusually large share of the spectacle-driven film’s business. IMAX and other premium large-format screens accounted for roughly 74% of the opening weekend’s combined gross, a striking figure even in a year when audiences have shown renewed enthusiasm for large-format presentation. By comparison, The Odyssey drew 52% of its opening-weekend revenue from those auditoriums.
That premium-screen demand is partly built into the movie’s production history. Takashi Yamazaki returns as director, writer, and visual-effects lead, and Godzilla Minus Zero is being promoted as the first Japanese movie filmed for IMAX. The official franchise site lists a November 3, 2026, Japanese release followed by GKIDS’ wide North American opening on November 6.
The international rollout is moving just as quickly. Godzilla Minus Zero earned approximately $17 million in Japan during its opening weekend, while its global IMAX gross reached $21.3 million, according to reporting from the Associated Press. The near-simultaneous release gives Toho a chance to turn strong domestic anticipation into a worldwide event rather than making overseas audiences wait months for the latest chapter.
For fans, the opening reinforces the commercial reach of the modern Japanese Godzilla films beyond the traditional kaiju audience. Godzilla Minus One’s awards-season success helped establish a new baseline for Toho’s character in international markets; Minus Zero’s larger launch suggests that momentum has continued. The next test will be whether premium-format interest and strong word of mouth can keep the sequel climbing after its record-setting first weekend.
