Godzilla Minus Zero Targets $30M-$33M Opening as $13.5M Friday Sets Foreign-Language Record Pace
Updated
Updated · Deadline · Nov 6
Godzilla Minus Zero Targets $30M-$33M Opening as $13.5M Friday Sets Foreign-Language Record Pace
3 articles · Updated · Deadline · Nov 6
Summary
$13.5 million on Friday put Gkids’ Godzilla Minus Zero on track for a $30 million-$33 million domestic debut, far above earlier expectations and the distributor’s biggest opening ever.
$6.7 million in previews and a 96% Rotten Tomatoes audience score helped drive the surge, with the film now positioned to set a new U.S. opening record for a live-action foreign-language movie.
Hero’s $17.8 million 2002 launch is the mark it would pass if estimates hold, while Saturday turnout will show whether the audience expands beyond core fans.
The Cat in the Hat trailed in second with a $5 million Friday and a projected $17 million-$20 million opening, followed by Angel Studios’ Drummer Boy at about $9 million.
Could the unprecedented success of Godzilla Minus Zero signal a massive shift where American audiences prefer foreign blockbusters over domestic franchises?
How did a subtitled Japanese monster movie manage to crush Hollywood expectations and shatter a two-decade-old box office record?