A Japanese-language monster movie is about to do something that almost never happens in American theaters. Godzilla Minus Zero, director Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel to Godzilla Minus One, is on track to finish its first weekend at No. 1 at the North American box office, with an estimated $31 million to $32 million from 3,254 theaters, according to Deadline estimates reported on Saturday. That is a rare feat for any import, and a record-setting one for a live-action film in a language other than English.
One caution before the confetti: every figure in this story is a weekend estimate, built from Friday and Saturday ticket sales plus a projection for Sunday. Studios will release the final numbers on Monday, and the totals can still move up or down.
A very short list of foreign-language No. 1 films
If the estimates hold, Godzilla Minus Zero will be just the fourth non-English-language film ever to open at No. 1 in the United States and Canada. The other three are The Passion of the Christ in 2004, the Chinese action film Hero in the same year, and the anime hit Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. No live-action foreign-language film has ever opened this big. The previous record holder, Hero, started with $17.8 million in 2004, a little more than half of what the new Godzilla film is expected to post.
One record will stay out of reach. The biggest opening of any foreign-language film still belongs to Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, which started with $70.6 million. Animation aside, though, this weekend is new territory for a subtitled live-action release.
Giant screens did the heavy lifting
The weekend started early. Thursday preview screenings brought in $6.7 million, a record for distributor GKIDS and about three times the $2.1 million that Godzilla Minus One collected from previews in 2023. Friday then added a reported $14.5 million, previews included.
Premium screens powered the result. Deadline reported that IMAX and other large-format screens accounted for 74 percent of the weekend gross, a share trade writers called unheard of. Audiences gave the film an A through CinemaScore, the same strong grade its predecessor earned, which points to healthy word of mouth. The opening also nearly triples the $11.4 million debut of Godzilla Minus One, the 2023 film that went on to win the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and finish with about $57 million in North America. The sequel was reportedly made for a budget in the mid-teens, around $15 million, which makes the size of this debut even more striking.
The cat that could not catch a monster
The weekend’s big Hollywood family release had to settle for second place. Warner Bros.’ animated The Cat in the Hat, with Bill Hader voicing the Cat, is estimated at about $18 million from 4,003 theaters. That is roughly 750 more theaters than Godzilla Minus Zero has, but far less money per screen. The Dr. Seuss adaptation cost a reported $92 million to make, and the studio had hoped for an opening closer to $20 million. It did earn an A CinemaScore of its own, so Warner Bros. will count on family word of mouth to carry it through the Thanksgiving holiday.
What to watch when the final numbers land
The last test of this story arrives with Monday’s official figures. If the estimates hold, a subtitled Japanese film will have beaten every Hollywood newcomer on a busy fall weekend, powered by giant screens, loyal fans and strong reviews. The message for studios is hard to miss: American audiences will happily read subtitles when the spectacle is big enough. For more movie news and streaming coverage, visit our Entertainment section.
Sources: Deadline box office estimates, as reported by TheWrap and The Hollywood Reporter; Variety; CinemaScore; GKIDS.