The Big Picture
- Godzilla Minus One is on track to surpass $100 million at the global box office, surpassing the success of previous Godzilla films.
- The movie has been a hit domestically, grossing over $45 million in the US and gaining positive reviews for its emotional themes and visual effects.
- Despite a lower budget of $15 million, Godzilla Minus One has been a successful addition to the Godzilla franchise, becoming one of the top non-English live-action movies at the domestic box office.
After edging past the lifetime global haul of 2016’s Shin Godzilla, Toho’s word-of-mouth blockbuster Godzilla Minus One is continuing its march towards the coveted $100 million mark at the global box office. The movie is expected to gross between $3 million and $4 million across the extended New Year’s weekend domestically, and registered a soft 10% drop despite losing over 700 theaters.
The film’s running domestic total now stands at just over $45 million, while its overseas haul remains stable at $35 million. Godzilla Minus One has now grossed $81 million worldwide, despite only playing in a handful of international territories. The movie had generated over $30 million in its home country, Japan, prior to its stateside debut last month. It is now among the top non-English live-action movies of all time at the domestic box office, having recently overtaken Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, and will now set its sights on passing Parasite’s $53 million haul in 2019.
Set in postwar Japan, Godzilla Minus One is the 37th overall installment in the Godzilla franchise, and the fifth in the series’ Reiwa era. It takes the iconic character back to its beginnings in 1954, when the first Godzilla film served as an allegory for the nuclear bombs that ended World War II. Reviews for the movie have been excellent; Godzilla Minus One sits at a “certified fresh” 98% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Takasha Yamazaki, the movie has been appreciated for its emotionally resonant themes and spectacular visual effects, with Collider’s Chase Hutchinson calling it “one of the most thrilling takes on the character in recent memory.”
Can ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Hit the $100 Million Mark Globally?
Unlike most Hollywood blockbusters of its kind, which are routinely produced on budgets of around $200 million these days, Godzilla Minus One reportedly cost just $15 million. For instance, budgets for Legendary’s parallel MonsterVerse movies usually range between $180 million and $250 million, although those movies admittedly end up delivering considerably greater global grosses as well. The pandemic’s Godzilla vs. Kong, for instance, generated nearly $500 million worldwide despite being released simultaneously on streaming.
The MonsterVerse recently expanded to the small screen, with the franchise’s first live-action series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, debuting on Apple TV+. The series will continue next year, with director Adam Wingard’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. You can watch Godzilla Minus One exclusively in theaters, and 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.
- Release Date
- December 1, 2023
- Director
- Takashi Yamazaki
- Cast
- Ryûnosuke Kamiki , Minami Hamabe , Yûki Yamada , Sakura Andō
