On Day 1, Record-Breaking Sci-Fi Thriller Scores the Biggest Box Office Opening of Its Kind in History
MovieWeb • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Takashi Yamazaki's "Godzilla Minus Zero" set a new U.S. box office record for a non-English-language live-action film, earning an estimated $14.5 million on its opening Friday.
- The film's strong debut, with a $4,456 per-screen average across 3,254 theaters, suggests a potential opening weekend north of $30 million, surpassing initial projections.
- "Godzilla Minus One," the predecessor, was the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film in the U.S. and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, boosting the franchise's profile.
- Toho's wider day-and-date release strategy for "Minus Zero," compared to the limited rollout of the previous film, contributed significantly to its box office success.
- The film's success challenges Hollywood assumptions about foreign-language live-action films' marketability in the U.S., marking a milestone for subtitled movies beyond awards recognition.
