Toho Studios’ kaiju blockbuster Godzilla Minus One just sunk its teeth into a 20-year-old US box office record.
The 33rd entry in Toho’s Godzilla canon opened in North America on December 1. It previously premiered in Japan on November 3.
Critics have overwhelmingly embraced Godzilla Minus One, with several pundits hailing it as the greatest Godzilla outing ever. This praise was reflected in the monster movie’s perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, which it maintained for over two weeks.
As such, Godzilla Minus One’s US ticket sales projections were optimistic ahead of its arrival in the US, despite the creature feature screening in subtitled Japanese.
Godzilla Minus One sets incredible box office record in the US
This optimism wasn’t misplaced, either. According to figures obtained by Collider, Godzilla Minus One grossed $11 million at the US box office – securing it the number three slot on the box office charts.
‘Godzilla Minus One’s Global Box Office Haul Roars to Life https://t.co/3c6QMh135l
— Collider (@Collider) December 3, 2023
As if this wasn’t enough, Godzilla Minus One’s box office haul was enough to secure Toho’s latest kaiju epic the biggest opening for a foreign-language live-action title since 2002’s Hero. However, the King of the Monsters wasn’t quite mighty enough to topple Hero’s $18 million debut.
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Still, Toho executives will likely be more than pleased with Godzilla Minus One’s status as the second-highest-grossing foreign-language live-action film in US history. They’re also no doubt thrilled by the flick’s $35 million global earnings – especially against Godzilla Minus One’s modest budget.
Fans marvel at the size of Godzilla Minus One’s budget
Reports peg Godzilla Minus One’s price tag at $15 million. This is relatively small for such a VFX-heavy movie, particularly those produced in Hollywood. Fans latched onto this on social media, comparing Godzilla Minus One favorably to the likes of $220 million effort The Marvels.
“Godzilla Minus One cost around 1/15th the production budget of The Marvels and is one of the best-looking disaster movies I’ve ever seen,” proclaimed one X user. “Incredible what actual planning and not redoing sequences 1,000 times does for artistic quality and budget,” opined another.
Godzilla Minus One is in cinemas now. For all the latest Godzilla content, check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.
