The latest Godzilla release has become the first Japanese film to simultaneously top the box office in both North America and Japan on its opening weekend, according to the studio behind the movie. Godzilla Minus Zero took more than ¥2.5bn ($15.8mn) after selling more than 1.6mn tickets in its first six days in Japan, and made more than $30mn in North America in the widest release for a Japanese film.
The 39th instalment of the monster franchise was released in Japan on November 3, known as Godzilla Day, to mark the anniversary of the original film’s debut in 1954. The first Japanese production filmed specifically for Imax took $21.3mn worldwide in that format. The Imax total of $12.7mn in North America accounted for 40 per cent of its weekend take.
The sequel to 2023’s Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One took $63mn worldwide, making it the first Japanese live-action production to top the global weekend box office rankings. The overseas market for Japanese films, games, anime and other content has increased sixfold since 2010 to ¥6.1tn ($38.6bn) in 2024, according to government figures.
Source: Financial Times Companies · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing