Godzilla Minus Zero opens Nov. 6 in about 3,250 U.S. theaters with a $25M-$30M forecast. See the rivals and what to know before you buy.
Godzilla Minus Zero opens in about 3,250 U.S. theaters this weekend, with Thursday previews starting after 10 a.m. local time on Nov. 5. According to Deadline's box office preview, industry forecasts put the R-rated sequel at $25 million to $30 million in the U.S. and Canada, and about $60 million worldwide. Even the low end would be the biggest opening ever for its distributor, Gkids.
When can you see Godzilla Minus Zero in the U.S.?
Now, if you can find a Thursday preview. Deadline reports that Imax fan shows ran on Tuesday and Wednesday, and those are being rolled into Thursday previews. The wide opening is Friday, Nov. 6. Gkids has booked the movie at 3,250 locations, including every Imax auditorium and other premium large-format screens, because Deadline says it was made for Imax.
It is Japanese-language with English subtitles, like the 2023 film, and it is rated R. The story follows King Ghidorah, a winged three-headed monster, wrecking post-World War II Japan while humans look for an ally in Godzilla. Takashi Yamazaki, who directed the Oscar-winning first film, returns. Deadline says critics have it at 89% certified fresh.
How big could the opening be?
The forecast is bigger than most people expected for a subtitled import. Deadline cites industry projections of $25 million to $30 million domestic plus more than $30 million from 23 overseas territories. For scale, Godzilla Minus One opened to $11.4 million in early December 2023 and finished with $57.1 million in the U.S. and Canada, and $113.9 million worldwide, per Deadline. It cost $10 million to make.
Japan is the early proof. Deadline says the film took in $5.7 million on its first day there, more than 590,000 admissions, which Toho calls a live-action opening-day record. Deadline says it cannot verify that claim and notes the first day of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle in July 2025 was larger. The first-day figure is 201% above Godzilla Minus One's, according to the same report. Japanese forecasts see a final above 10 billion yen, about $63.2 million.
What else is opening against it?
Deadline calls this a slower November for the U.S., with no Wicked, Moana or Zootopia in the market. Two other wide releases share the weekend:
- The Cat in the Hat, from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation: about $20 million forecast at roughly 4,000 theaters, including 3D and Dolby Cinema.
- Drummer Boy, from Angel Studios: mid-single-digit millions at 2,840 theaters.
The big overseas wildcard is Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, India's most expensive film, with a reported budget of $420 million to $500 million for the two-part epic. Deadline says projections for its worldwide launch run from $30 million to more than $75 million. Sony has only select territories abroad, including North America, per the report. That is mostly an overseas fight, so it matters less for U.S. ticket buyers than for the global total.
What should you do before you buy tickets?
If you want the biggest screen, book early. Every Imax auditorium is going to Godzilla, so those showtimes are the ones most likely to fill up on opening weekend. Check the listing for subtitles, since it is a Japanese-language release. And note the R rating if you are planning a family outing: The Cat in the Hat is the other option this weekend and carries a very different tone.
Our take
A $25 million subtitled monster movie would have sounded like a stretch not long ago, and this one is getting there on social marketing that Deadline says cost under $10 million in the U.S. We think the real test is the second weekend. The first film built its total slowly, ending at about five times its opening, and word of mouth did the work. If this sequel follows the same pattern, the opening will be a floor and not a peak. That is our reading of the numbers, not a forecast from the studio. Actual figures arrive Sunday, and forecasts can miss in either direction.
Related reading
Picture credit: Toho / Godzilla.com
