The final numbers are in, and Godzilla Minus Zero has kept its record. Monday’s final actuals put the film’s North American opening at 30.6 million dollars — 30,587,672 dollars from 3,254 theatres, according to The Numbers’ final weekend figures posted on Monday 9 November.
That is about a million dollars below the 31.6 million dollar Sunday studio estimate reported over the weekend, but it changes nothing about the result. The film is still the biggest domestic opening ever for a live-action foreign-language film, and it still finished No. 1 for the weekend.
The record it breaks has stood for 22 years. Hero, the Chinese martial-arts epic, opened to 17.8 million dollars in 2004. Godzilla Minus Zero clears it by a wide margin, and it is also the biggest opening ever for distributor GKIDS. The opening is nearly three times the 11.4 million dollar US debut of its predecessor, Godzilla Minus One.
The film was also No. 1 worldwide for the 6–8 November weekend, with a global opening now put at about 62 million dollars — Variety reports 31.4 million dollars overseas from 77 markets — ahead of Ramayana: Rise of a Legend at 55.7 million dollars. IMAX contributed 21.3 million dollars globally, 34 per cent of the worldwide opening, the biggest IMAX global opening ever for a Japanese film.
The rest of the top five moved slightly too when the final counts came in. The Cat in the Hat settled at 20.0 million dollars, down from its 20.5 million dollar estimate; Drummer Boy edged up from 9.31 million to 9.42 million dollars; and You Can See Everything moved from 8.86 million to 8.44 million dollars. Sunday figures are studio projections of Sunday ticket sales, so small moves in either direction are normal once Monday’s counts arrive.
Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the film is 135 minutes long and is the first Japanese production filmed for IMAX, as well as the first R-rated Godzilla film. Opening-night audiences gave it an A CinemaScore, and premium large-format screens drove the weekend.
The Sunday estimates had already told the story, and the final actuals confirm it almost exactly — the monster has delivered the biggest foreign-language opening in history, and the record is now official.
It caps a huge week for the franchise, from the Saturday projection of about $32 million to the Sunday studio estimates of $31.6 million. Godzilla Minus Zero is in theatres now.
Bhudev Bhagaliya is an experienced and senior journalist who has carved a distinct niche for himself in the world of Hindi journalism through his profound understanding and precise writing style. With over two decades of experience in the field of journalism, he has held key responsibilities at Dainik Hindustan for 12 years and at Amar Ujala for one year. Currently, he serves as the Content Editor for the Jagrook Youth News newspaper and portal, where he plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and credibility of the news content. Bhudev Bhagaliya consistently writes about issues that help raise awareness within society and among the younger generation.