Despite dropping out of the top five on the domestic box office chart this weekend, Toho’s word-of-mouth hit,Godzilla Minus One, passed a major milestone. The film has now grossed $40 million domestically, which puts it at the number six spot on the list of highest-grossing live-action foreign-language films in North America, ahead ofGuillermo del Toro’sPan’s Labyrinth, which made $37 million domestically back in 2006.
Godzilla Minus Onegrossed $2.7 million inits fourth weekendat the domestic box office — there was a time when it was only expected to play for one week — and is eyeing over $4 million across the extended Christmas weekend. The movie has also generated nearly $34 million from overseas markets so far, of which $31 million has come from its home country, Japan. This takes the periodkaiju film’s cumulative global gross to $74 million, which puts it just $4 million short of overtaking 2016’sShin Godzillaat the global box office.
While these figures might not seem like a lot, especially in comparison to the hundreds of millions that Legendary’s English-language MonsterVerse movies seem to generate on a regular basis,Godzilla Minus Onealso didn’t cost as much as those films. It was reportedly produced on abudget of just $15 million, which is less than a 10th of what the MonsterVerse’s most recent installments —Godzilla vs. KongandGodzilla: King of the Monsters— were mounted on.
‘Godzilla Minus One’ Is Poised for Serious Awards Consideration
Set in postwar Japan of the 1940s,Godzilla Minus Onehas also been significantly better reviewed than pretty much any major Hollywood blockbuster in recent memory, barring a few, of course. The movie currently sits at a “certified fresh” 98% score on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes. It also earned an excellent A CinemaScore from opening day audiences, and promptedCollider’sChase Hutchinsonto call it“one of the best recent entries in the series.”
Directed byTakashi Yamazaki,Godzilla Minus Oneis the 37th overall film in the Godzilla franchise, which began as an allegorical tale about the dangers of nuclear war in 1954. It is also the fifth entry in the franchise’s Reiwa era, and comes at a time when interest in the iconic character is arguably at an all-time high. TheMonsterVerserecently expanded to streaming with the well-reviewedMonarch: Legacy of Monsterson Apple TV+. The series will continue next year with directorAdam Wingard’sGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire, but before that, fans can expectGodzilla Minus Oneto mount a full-throated awards campaign. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Godzilla Minus One
Post war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb.
