* This eyecatch is an AI-generated illustration. It is not official film artwork or a photograph of an actual screening.
Key Points
ใปGodzilla Minus Zero topped the North American box office on its opening weekend of November 6โ8, 2026, the first Japanese live-action film to do so.
ใปGodzilla has been known in North America for nearly 70 years, from the 1956 American re-edit to Hollywood’s Monsterverse.
ใปThe prior film’s acclaim, a much wider release and strong demand for IMAX screenings came together on the opening weekend.
Godzilla Minus Zero Opens at No. 1 in North America
Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus Zero opened at No. 1 at the North American (U.S. and Canada) box office over the November 6โ8 weekend. According to The Numbers, as checked on November 10, the film earned $30,587,672 from 3,254 theaters. Warner Bros.’ animated The Cat in the Hat placed second with about $20 million.
According to Japanese film news site Eiga.com’s November 9 report, it is the first time a Japanese live-action film has opened at No. 1 in North America. Deadline’s Sunday estimate on November 8 put the weekend at $31.6 million, a figure later revised to about $30.59 million. The total includes $6.7 million from preview screenings.
The film was distributed in North America by GKIDS, which Toho acquired in 2024. It held IMAX-only early access screenings on November 3, known as Godzilla Day, and opened wide on November 6. IMAX said on November 9 that North American IMAX screens took in $12.7 million, or 40% of the estimated opening.
The film is the sequel to Godzilla Minus One and is set in 1949, two years after the first film. Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe return. It opened in Japan on November 3 and also topped the Japanese box office over the November 6โ8 weekend.
Related Articles
Japanese Films in North America and 70 Years of Godzilla
Which Japanese films have topped the North American box office?
Kaiju eiga refers to Japanese giant-monster cinema, a genre that began with Godzilla in 1954, Japan’s first giant-monster film according to film historian Steve Ryfle. Before this weekend, the Japanese films that opened at No. 1 in North America were animated. According to The Numbers, Pokรฉmon: The First Movie opened at No. 1 with $31.0 million in November 1999, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron did so with $13.0 million in December 2023, and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle did so with $70.6 million in September 2025. Deadline describes Infinity Castle’s start as the biggest North American opening for a foreign-language film.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, by contrast, opened in second place in April 2021 with $21.1 million, according to The Numbers. It played in about 1,600 theaters, roughly half as many as the No. 1 film, Mortal Kombat (about 3,070 theaters, $23.3 million), yet its per-theater average was higher.
Among live-action films, Shall We Dance? (1996) was remade by Hollywood in 2004. No Japanese live-action film, however, had reached the top of a North American weekend until Godzilla Minus Zero.
How did Godzilla reach North American audiences?
The original Godzilla opened in Japan on November 3, 1954. It told of a monster born from the effects of nuclear testing attacking Tokyo, a film shaped by the fears of the nuclear age.
North American audiences first met Godzilla in a version remade for the U.S. In 1956, an American company heavily re-edited it, added new scenes with an American reporter played by Raymond Burr, and released it with English dubbing as Godzilla, King of the Monsters!
Since 2014, Legendary and Warner Bros. have made the Monsterverse, a shared series featuring Godzilla and King Kong, with five films so far. Deadline notes that Legendary holds the rights to make English-language Godzilla films.
What was Godzilla Minus One?
Godzilla Minus One opened in Japan in November 2023. Its hero, Koichi Shikishima, comes home from the war having lost his parents, meets Noriko Oishi in a burned-out Tokyo, and then faces a giant monster. It is a monster film centered on people trying to live again after surviving the war.
Toho’s U.S. subsidiary Toho International released it in North America on December 1, 2023. According to The Numbers, it opened third with about $11.42 million from 2,308 theaters, later led the daily chart on several weekdays, and reached about $57.14 million in North America including a 2024 re-release, about five times its opening. It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards in 2024.
Subtitles, release size and IMAX
Godzilla Minus Zero is playing in North American theaters in Japanese with English subtitles. The release was far wider than the first film’s: 3,254 theaters against 2,308, with the per-theater average nearly doubling from about $4,900 to about $9,400, according to The Numbers. Growth in both produced an opening about 2.7 times the first film’s.
North American distribution moved from Toho International, which released the first film, to GKIDS, an animation distributor that Toho bought in 2024 and placed under Toho International.
Filmed for IMAX is an IMAX certification for films shot with IMAX-certified digital cameras and finished for IMAX picture and sound. According to IMAX’s November 9 announcement, Godzilla Minus Zero is the first Japanese film with that designation, and more than half of it is presented in IMAX’s expanded aspect ratio.
| Film (North American opening) | Year | Opening weekend | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pokรฉmon: The First Movie | 1999 | $31.0M | 1 |
| Demon Slayer: Mugen Train | 2021 | $21.1M | 2 |
| Godzilla Minus One | 2023 | $11.4M | 3 |
| The Boy and the Heron | 2023 | $13.0M | 1 |
| Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle | 2025 | $70.6M | 1 |
| Godzilla Minus Zero | 2026 | $30.6M | 1 |
Source: The Numbers weekend charts (nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation).
Why Godzilla Endures, and Why This Sequel Sold So Fast
Godzilla kept reaching new generations
One reason Godzilla has stayed familiar in North America is that it kept arriving in forms local audiences could watch. Film historian Steve Ryfle, writing for the Criterion Collection in October 2019, notes that many of the 1954โ75 Showa-era films played theatrically in North America and elsewhere before years of television syndication made Godzilla a worldwide icon.
Ryfle also traces how the character changed: a lament for the nuclear age in 1954, a children’s superhero by the 1960s, and a destructive force of nature again in recent films. He credits the suit actor who played Godzilla with giving the monster a personality that was part of its global appeal. That flexibility, able to be either a threat or a protector, is one reason the series has lasted 70 years.
The Monsterverse carried the name to today’s viewers. One Reddit commenter argued that the Hollywood films had widened the audience for the franchise. Animated No. 1 films such as Infinity Castle and Pokรฉmon were also known through TV anime and games first; Godzilla’s entry points have been Hollywood films and decades of television.
Why did the first film matter?
What led directly to this No. 1 was the success of Godzilla Minus One, which changed how audiences saw a Godzilla made in Japan. It stayed in theaters for a long time as a subtitled Japanese film and grew to about five times its opening, and its Oscar likely gave people a reason to seek out the sequel.
The first film opened third and grew by word of mouth; the sequel took first place on its opening weekend, a sign that people who had been waiting came out right away.
Human drama and monster spectacle, both praised
GKIDS describes the sequel as a story of postwar Japan told at human eye level, while also promising more spectacular effects than the first film. Rotten Tomatoes’ roundup of audience reviews points to the amount of kaiju action. Some viewers felt the first film had more tension, while others answered that its focus on people is what defines the series.
A release built for opening weekend
The rollout was designed to pull audiences in early: IMAX previews on November 3, Godzilla Day, followed by a wide release on November 6 in about 1,000 more theaters than the first film.
IMAX screens took about 40% of the estimated opening, according to IMAX. Because IMAX tickets cost more, that revenue share is larger than the share of viewers, but it clearly shows that demand to see the film on a huge screen with powerful sound drove the opening.
From a dubbed American version to subtitled screenings
Seventy years ago, most North American viewers saw Godzilla in a re-edited, English-dubbed version. According to Ryfle, the original 1954 Japanese cut got its first major U.S. theatrical release only in 2004, for its 50th anniversary. This time, a Japanese-made Godzilla film reached No. 1 in screenings with Japanese audio and English subtitles.
One Reddit commenter described a moviegoer who passed on the film after learning it was not in English, so the subtitle barrier remains; reaching No. 1 despite it marks a different kind of success from 70 years ago. The next test is the second weekend of November 13โ15 and whether the film passes the first film’s North American total of about $57.14 million. Whether this success spreads to Japanese live-action films beyond Godzilla is another point to watch.
Japanese Reactions to Godzilla Minus Zero
The film opened in Japan on November 3, three days before its North American release. The posts below are Japanese-language posts on X from November 4 to 5, Japan time, just after the Japan release and before the North American numbers came out. They are individual posts, not a measure of opinion in Japan. Each embed is followed by our translation of the full post.
ไบบ้ใใผใใฏ็ธๅคใใใใ็ฒๆซใงใใฉในใใทใผใณใฎใฐใใฐใๆใจใชใใๅซใใชใใ ใใฉใใใใงใใใฉใน่ฉไพกใซ่ปขใใฆใใพใฃใฆใใ
— ใธใงใใใกใผ (@ultramanAT) November 3, 2026
The human part is as shoddy as ever, and I hate the dragging last scene and ending, but I still end up rating it positively.
ใดใธใฉใใคใในใผใญ่ณๅฆใฏใจใใใ่ฆใจใใฆๆใฏใชใใจๆใใ
— ๅจใถใ@skeb (@Tulta_Icon) November 4, 2026
Whatever people think of Godzilla Minus Zero, I’d say it’s worth seeing.
ใดใธใฉ-0.0่ฆณใฆใใใ
— ใฆใค@1GAMEใๅฆๅ่ดไธญ่จใ (@tetsu0722) November 5, 2026
ๆ ็ป้คจใง่ฆณใๆนใ่ฏใใชใใฃใฑใใ
Went to see Godzilla -0.0.
It really is better to watch it in a theater.
Seventy Years of Fame Meets a Japanese-Made Godzilla
Godzilla Minus Zero is the first Japanese live-action film to open at No. 1 in North America. Behind it is a name built over nearly 70 years, from the 1956 American version through television and the Hollywood series.
On top of that, the first film raised the standing of a Godzilla made in Japan, and this time a wider release and demand for IMAX came together on the opening weekend. A long-built name and a film worth seeing in theaters together carried a subtitled film to No. 1 on its opening weekend.
Will the next Japanese live-action film to top North America need a franchise with Godzilla’s long history, or can a strong film with a reason to be seen in theaters get there on its own?
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Godzilla Minus Zero the first Japanese film to open at No. 1 in North America?
No. It is the first Japanese live-action film to do so, according to Eiga.com’s November 9, 2026 report. Animated films such as Pokรฉmon: The First Movie (1999), The Boy and the Heron (2023) and Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (2025) opened at No. 1 earlier, according to The Numbers.
How much did Godzilla Minus Zero make on its opening weekend?
It earned $30,587,672 from 3,254 theaters over November 6โ8, 2026, according to The Numbers as checked on November 10. Deadline’s Sunday estimate was $31.6 million, and IMAX said its screens accounted for 40% of the opening.
Is Godzilla Minus Zero in English?
It is a Japanese-language film, shown in North America in Japanese with English subtitles.
How did Japanese social media react to Godzilla Minus Zero?
In Japanese-language posts on X from the first days after the Japan release, one viewer called the human drama weak but still rated the film positively, another post said it was worth seeing whatever people think of it, and a third said it is better watched in a theater.
Sekahan on YouTube
We publish video summaries of articles like this one, along with short clips built around Japanese reactions.
This eyecatch is an AI-generated illustration. It is not official film artwork or a photograph of an actual screening.
Reference Links
- Weekend Domestic Box Office November 6, 2026๏ฝThe Numbers
- Godzilla Minus Zero (2026)๏ฝThe Numbers
- Godzilla Minus One (2023)๏ฝThe Numbers
- โGodzilla Minus Zeroโ Is A Box Office Hero๏ฝDeadline
- โGodzilla Minus Zeroโ Is King Of The Global Weekend Box Office๏ฝDeadline
- Godzilla Minus Zero Stomps to Biggest Global Opening for a Japanese Film in IMAX History๏ฝIMAX
- ใใดใธใฉ๏ผ0.0ใๆฅๆฌๆ ็ปๅฒไธๅ๏ผๆฅๆฌใจๅ็ฑณใงๅ้ฑๆซ่ๅ1ไฝ๏ฝEiga.com
- Reign of Destruction (Steve Ryfle)๏ฝThe Criterion Collection
- Godzilla, King of the Monsters!๏ฝWikipedia
- Weekend Box Office November 12, 1999๏ฝThe Numbers
- Weekend Box Office April 23, 2021๏ฝThe Numbers
- Weekend Box Office December 8, 2023๏ฝThe Numbers
- Weekend Box Office September 12, 2025๏ฝThe Numbers
- Godzilla Minus Zero Audience Reviews๏ฝRotten Tomatoes
- Godzilla Minus Zero๏ฝCinemark
- Godzilla Minus Zero๏ฝAlamo Drafthouse
- Tickets Now On Sale for Godzilla Minus Zero๏ฝGKIDS
- TOHO and GKIDS Reveal New Trailer for Godzilla Minus Zero๏ฝGKIDS
- TOHO to Acquire North American Animation Distributor GKIDS๏ฝGKIDS
