Toho’s monster sequel posts the biggest domestic opening ever for a foreign-language film as India’s ‘Ramayana’ sets a Diwali record.
Three years ago, Godzilla Minus One was a scrappy surprise, a Japanese monster movie that opened to $11.4 million in North America, won an Oscar for its visual effects and became a word-of-mouth phenomenon. Its sequel just made that look like a warm-up. Toho and director Takashi Yamazaki‘s Godzilla Minus Zero stomped to a $63 million global debut this weekend, including $31.6 million in North America, the biggest domestic opening ever for a live-action foreign-language film.
The domestic number, delivered by distributor GKIDS, nearly triples the opening of its predecessor and shatters a record that had stood for more than two decades. Zhang Yimou’s martial arts epic Hero held the previous mark with $17.8 million when it opened in North America in 2004. Minus Zero added $31.4 million from international markets, and with a 90 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and an A CinemaScore, it is set up for a long run. Minus One finished its domestic run with roughly $56 million, a total its sequel could pass within its second weekend.
The story of the weekend was premium screens. Premium large-format auditoriums, including Dolby, accounted for 74 percent of Minus Zero‘s domestic ticket sales, well above the 53 percent share for The Odyssey at its debut this summer. Imax alone brought in $21.3 million worldwide, 34 percent of the film’s global total and a record for a Japanese release. In North America, Imax generated $12.7 million from 429 screens, 40 percent of the domestic haul and the highest Imax share of an opening weekend on record. In Japan, the film set an all-time Imax opening record of $4 million. It is also the first Japanese production filmed for Imax.
Right behind the monster was another history-making debut from Asia. Nitesh Tiwari’s mythological epic Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, starring Ranbir Kapoor and Yash, opened to a studio-reported $55.7 million worldwide over the Diwali holiday, a record for an Indian production. The film sold more than 11 million tickets worldwide, making it the most-watched film on the planet this weekend, and it opened across more than 130 countries and 10,000 screens in 17 languages, the widest release ever attempted for an Indian film.
India led with $32 million, while North America contributed $12.2 million, the second-biggest domestic opening for an Indian film after Dhurandhar The Revenge ($14 million) in March. The film set local records in the U.K. ($3 million), Thailand, the Netherlands and South Africa, and earned $6 million from Imax worldwide, the format’s best global launch for an Indian title. More markets roll out through November, including Indonesia, Hong Kong, Mexico, Brazil, Italy and much of Latin America, which should keep the global total climbing for weeks.
Together, the two films pushed Imax to a $29 million global weekend and underlined a shift that has been building for years: international films, especially from Japan and India, are no longer niche events in North American theaters. They are mainstream releases capable of winning premium screens and topping the global charts.
Warner Bros.’ animated The Cat in the Hat placed third worldwide with $30.5 million, including $20.5 million domestically. Trafalgar Releasing’s concert event Stray Kids World Tour ‘Run It’ Live Viewing took fourth with $13.9 million. Warner Bros. and DC’s Clayface rounded out the global top five with $13.4 million, on the same day the studio announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran are stepping down as heads of DC Studios.
