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Godzilla Minus Zero Roars to $6.7 Million in Previews
· Confirmed
In Short: Godzilla Minus Zero, the highly anticipated sequel to 2023's 'Godzilla Minus One,' roared to life with $6.7 million in North American previews, marking a record for Japanese live-action films.
Godzilla Minus Zero, the highly anticipated sequel to 2023's 'Godzilla Minus One,' roared to life with $6.7 million in North American previews, marking a record for Japanese live-action films. The film, directed by Takashi Yamazaki, has set a new benchmark for the franchise's opening day performance.
According to the official synopsis, 'Godzilla Minus Zero' picks up in 1949, 'two years after the tumultuous events of 'Godzilla Minus One,' and continues the story of the Shikishima family as they face an all-new calamity.' The film introduces a new threat, Ghidorah, a space monster that stands 58 meters tall and weighs 45,000 tons.
The film's opening-day performance reached 201 percent of the figure recorded by its predecessor, 'Godzilla Minus One,' giving the franchise a grand start. That would push it past Shin Godzilla, which earned 8.25 billion yen during its domestic run after releasing in Japan on 29 July 2016.
Godzilla Minus Zero is projected to open near $30 million in 3,254 theaters, ahead of The Cat in the Hat, after a record-setting first day. Godzilla Minus Zero, the Japanese-language sequel from Toho, is on track for about $30 million in 3,254 North American theaters this weekend.
Godzilla Minus Zero holds an impressive 90 percent critics approval on Rotten Tomatoes, with The Hollywood Reporter chief film critic David Rooney deeming it a 'thrilling jolt of marauding monster action.' Critics have been mixed on the new one, as it holds a 49 percent Rotten Tomatoes score from reviewers, with THR critic Frank Scheck calling it 'more taxing than enjoyable.'
Godzilla Minus Zero is now officially set to stomp into theaters starting on November 6, 2026, distributed by GKids. The 37th film in the long-running Godzilla franchise, some may have expected it to come and go like many Godzilla films before it, but there was something special about this entry.
Godzilla Minus Zero has grossed 910 million yen (US$5.75 million) and drawn 590,000 admissions on its opening day, setting a record for the highest opening-day gross for a live-action film in Japan. The film's official X account said its strong start puts it in contention to become the first entry in the franchise to cross the 10 billion yen mark at the Japanese box office.
Godzilla Minus Zero is already setting its sights higher. Following Imax early-access screenings on 3 November, Godzilla Minus Zero is scheduled to begin its US release on 6 November. The film's official X account said its strong start puts it in contention to become the first entry in the franchise to cross the 10 billion yen mark at the Japanese box office.
Godzilla Minus Zero is projected to open near $30 million in 3,254 theaters, ahead of The Cat in the Hat, after a record-setting first day. Godzilla Minus Zero, the Japanese-language sequel from Toho, is on track for about $30 million in 3,254 North American theaters this weekend.
Godzilla Minus Zero is now officially set to stomp into theaters starting on November 6, 2026, distributed by GKids. The film's official X account said its strong start puts it in contention to become the first entry in the franchise to cross the 10 billion yen mark at the Japanese box office.
Godzilla Minus Zero is projected to open near $30 million in 3,254 theaters, ahead of The Cat in the Hat, after a record-setting first day. Godzilla Minus Zero, the Japanese-language sequel from Toho, is on track for about $30 million in 3,254 North American theaters this weekend.
Background
Godzilla Minus Zero, the highly anticipated sequel to 2023's 'Godzilla Minus One,' roared to life with $6.7 million in North American previews, marking a record for Japanese live-action films.
Godzilla Minus Zero, the sequel to 2023's Godzilla Minus One, has surpassed Predator: Badlands in previews, earning $6 million.
Godzilla Minus Zero is a 2026 Japanese epic kaiju film written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki. A sequel to Godzilla Minus One (2023), it is the 39th film in the Godzilla franchise, the 34th film thereof produced by Toho, and the sixth installment in the Reiwa era.
What's confirmed
- According to the official synopsis, war reduced Japan to zero and Godzilla plunged it into minus, and just as the country clings to a hard-won peace, a new threat strikes.
- Godzilla Minus Zero just made its global debut at the New York Film Festival, and to say the initial buzz is glowing would be an understatement.
- Godzilla Minus Zero has grossed 910 million yen (US$5.75 million) and drawn 590,000 admissions on its opening day, setting a record for the highest opening-day gross for a live-action film in Japan.
What's still developing
- Picking up two years after Godzilla demolished the Ginza district in Godzilla Minus One, which was two years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a new behemoth threat has emerged.
- Unlike Godzilla, who emerged from the ocean’s depths, this one hails from space and gets introduced in the sequel’s opening frames: Ghidorah.
- Takashi Yamazaki adheres to the time-honored sequel tradition of going bigger, better, and louder when it comes to kaiju mayhem, and Godzilla Minus Zero roars to life anytime Ghidorah or Godzilla rampage on screen.
- It was especially lauded, however, for making Godzilla scary again and delivering some majorly impressive effects on a relatively small budget of around $15 million at most.
- The story centered on Koichi ( Ryunosuke Kamiki ), a former Kamikaze pilot haunted by PTSD after encountering Godzilla during an attack on his garrison, who strives to atone for his inaction when the monster resurfaces.
- Though Godzilla films haven't typically received as much praise for the human characters, Minus One was an exception, earning high marks from critics for how it drew from the war and its haunting aftermath to deliver two of the long-running franchise's most compelling protagonists.
- Minus One unfolded in post-World War II Japan, as the country had just begun recovering from the fighting.
- Godzilla became an Academy Award winner thanks to the work of Yamazaki and Shirogumi Inc., with Minus One getting the nod for Best VFX in 2024.
- According to its profile, the monster stands 58 meters tall, weighs 45,000 tons, and arrived on Earth out of sinister curiosity after Godzilla’s heat ray emitted waves similar to its own spatial abilities.
- ‘Godzilla Minus One’ also opened in Japan on November 3, in 2023, and went on to become the highest-grossing Japan-produced Godzilla film worldwide, earning more than $116 million and winning the Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
- The story centers on a young boy named Ichiro who is lonely and depressed and, as a means to combat these ailments, begins to daydream that he visits Monster Island and becomes close with Minilla (the son of Godzilla).
- Godzilla is back once again to stomp around and cause chaos, and we love to see it!