It appears filmgoers have spoken about what they want to see: giant monsters and superstar performances. Godzilla Minus One broke records and made history with its opening weekend at the domestic box office. By debuting alongside Beyoncé’s Renaissance concert film, this was the first time in 20 years that two films released on the usually slow post-Thanksgiving weekend above $10 million. The musician’s concert film grossed $21 million, while the kaiju devoured $11 million. The last time this happened on this weekend was in 2003 with The Last Samurai ($24.3 million) and Honey ($12.9 million).
Not all of that success was tied to Beyoncé. Godzilla Minus One had the biggest opening for a Japanese live-action movie in the U.S. It is only below Jet Li’s Hero for the biggest non-English opening as the Chinese film grossed $17.8 million in 2004. What it did do was be over five times more than Shin Godzilla, which grossed $1.9 million during its entire U.S. run.
Godzilla Minus One Conquered Devours Domestic Box Office Records
The opening weekend of the latest film from Toho was not the first it had accomplished. During its Wednesday and Thursday previews, the monster movie grossed $2.1 million, which made it the biggest preview for a non-English-speaking live-action domestic release.
It is yet to be seen whether or not Godzilla Minus One will surpass Shin Godzilla in its overall global run after this victorious opening weekend. Toho’s 2016 movie made $77 million. So far, Minus One has grossed $34 million worldwide.
Godzilla is currently dominating the world more than the monster has in years. While we have a new film from the original Japanese studio, America has been investing heavily in giant monsters. The Monsterverse has its Apple TV series running titled Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. This is expanding the universe that will lead into 2024’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which released its first trailer over the weekend.
Godzilla Minus One follows the Japanese people after the devastating bombings from the U.S. As they try to rebuild, a monster attack puts them further back from their progress. The people must take it into their own hands in an attempt to defeat this new threat.
