Godzilla Minus Zero has stomped into North American cinemas with a roar the trade press did not see coming. Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel to the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One took $6.7 million in Thursday preview screenings ahead of its Friday, November 6 opening, then added to that with a $13.5 million opening Friday — a figure that includes the preview money — putting it firmly on course for a $30 million-plus opening weekend and the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office.
The film is a subtitled, Japanese-language, R-rated sequel from independent distributor GKids, playing in more than 3,250 theatres. Yet it is now tracking to nearly triple its predecessor’s $11.4 million opening from 2023 — and to set a record as the biggest domestic opening ever for a live-action, non-English-language film.
A preview haul that rewrote the record books
The $6.7 million preview figure, reported by IndieWire and Deadline on Friday, November 6, is the biggest preview total in GKids’ history, comfortably ahead of the $2.39 million that Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron collected from its early shows in 2023. It also more than triples the $2.1 million that Minus One managed in previews before its $11.4 million debut three years ago.
The number carries a small caveat: Deadline reported that IMAX fan screenings from Tuesday and Wednesday were rolled into the Thursday total, so it is not a pure one-night preview gross. Even with that help baked in, it is an extraordinary result for a subtitled film.
The Friday numbers only strengthened the picture. Across 3,254 theatres in the United States and Canada, the film earned $13.5 million on its first day, and trackers now expect it to finish its first three days somewhere between $30 million and $33 million. Earlier in the week, Deadline had forecast $25 million to $30 million and called even a mid-$20 million start the biggest opening ever for GKids; the film is now running ahead of that range. Critics are on board, too: it is holding at around 90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
How the numbers stack up
| Film | Thursday previews | Opening-weekend outlook |
|---|---|---|
| Godzilla Minus Zero | $6.7 million | $30–33 million (projected) |
| The Cat in the Hat | $1 million | ~$20 million (projected) |
| Ramayana: Rise of a Legend | $3.5 million | Not yet reported |
| Godzilla Minus One (2023) | $2.1 million | $11.4 million (actual) |
The gap to the weekend’s other big newcomer could hardly be wider. Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s The Cat in the Hat took in $1 million in previews — roughly a seventh of Godzilla’s haul — and is expected to open to around $20 million from about 4,000 theatres, despite a reported $86 million production budget.
Japan set the tone first
The North American surge follows a record-setting launch at home. Godzilla Minus Zero opened in Japan on Tuesday, November 3 — Godzilla Day — and earned 910 million yen on its first day, or about $5.7 million. Toho called it a live-action opening-day record in Japan, a claim Deadline said it could not verify exactly. Globally, Deadline expected the film to open to about $60 million worldwide. If that holds, the sequel will have earned more than half of its predecessor’s entire $113 million worldwide gross — $57 million of it in the United States and Canada — in a single weekend.
What it means — and what to watch next
If Godzilla Minus Zero lands at No. 1, it would become only the fourth non-English-language film ever to open atop the domestic chart, joining The Passion of the Christ, Hero and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. It would also smash the record for the biggest domestic opening by a live-action foreign-language film, a mark held since 2004 by Zhang Yimou’s Hero at $17.8 million.
For GKids, the weekend is already historic. The distributor booked the film into every IMAX auditorium and premium large-format screen it could, and the gamble has paid off: the weekend is set to be the biggest opening in its history.
The bigger question now is legs. Minus One was famously leggy, playing for weeks on word of mouth after its $11.4 million debut and going on to win the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects — a first for the franchise. Minus Zero is opening far bigger, but it is also a darker, longer film, and its Saturday and Sunday holds will decide whether it settles in the low $30 millions or pushes higher. Studio estimates for the weekend are due on Sunday, November 8, with final numbers on Monday.
Frequently asked questions
How much did Godzilla Minus Zero make in previews?
$6.7 million in Thursday preview screenings in North America, per IndieWire and Deadline, including IMAX fan screenings held on Tuesday and Wednesday.
What is Godzilla Minus Zero tracking to open to?
Between $30 million and $33 million, after a $13.5 million Friday that included the preview money. These are projections, not final totals; studio estimates are due Sunday, November 8.
How does that compare with Godzilla Minus One?
Minus One took $2.1 million in previews and opened to $11.4 million in North America in 2023, finishing with $57 million domestically and $113 million worldwide.
Is Godzilla Minus Zero a box office record?
If the projections hold, it will be the biggest domestic opening ever for a live-action, non-English-language film, beating Hero’s $17.8 million from 2004, and the biggest opening in distributor GKids’ history.