The film Godzilla Minus Zero grossed $31.6 million in its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, setting a new record for the largest opening of a live-action foreign-language film in North America. The result surpassed the previous record held by the Chinese film Hero, released in 2002, which grossed $17.8 million.
Distributed in the United States by Gkids and produced by the Japanese studio Toho, the feature was screened in 3,254 movie theaters. The box office take represents a significant jump compared to Godzilla Minus One, released in 2023, which debuted with $11.4 million in the North American market and finished its run in the region with $57 million, in addition to grossing $113 million worldwide and winning the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. The predecessor was directed by Takashi Yamazaki.
One of the main factors for the commercial performance was the demand for screenings in premium formats. IMAX theaters accounted for $12.7 million of the domestic box office, representing about 40% of the total opening weekend. The production also made history as the first Japanese film shot specifically for the IMAX format. When combined with options like Dolby theaters, premium screening spaces accounted for 74% of the gross in the United States and Canada.
In the plot, the story takes place two years after Japan is reduced to zero by the war and plunged into the negative by Godzilla. While the country tries to achieve recovery and return to normalcy after agonizing struggles, a new threat emerges and shatters the hard-won peace.