Godzilla Minus Zero Sets an Impressive Opening Weekend Box Office Record

Godzilla Minus Zero roared into theaters with a remarkable domestic debut, setting a new opening-weekend record for a live-action foreign-language film. Audiences also showed an unusually strong preference for premium large-format presentations, including IMAX, with an even greater share of ticket sales coming from those screens than for The Odyssey earlier this year.

According to Deadline, the film earned an estimated $32 million over its opening weekend. While several American-made Godzilla films have debuted to larger domestic totals, this is an exceptional result for a foreign-language release. Such films seldom reach this level at the U.S. box office unless they are tied to anime, making Godzilla Minus Zero’s record-setting live-action debut especially notable.

The film’s success also underscores the appeal of movies designed for the biggest screens available. Roughly 74% of its opening-weekend revenue came from IMAX and other premium large-format theaters. By comparison, about 54% of The Odyssey’s opening-weekend gross came from premium formats. The results suggest that audiences in 2026 are eager for grand-scale filmmaking beyond the usual superhero fare.

Which films led the weekend box office?

Beyond Godzilla Minus Zero, the animated Cat in the Hat opened with a relatively modest $20 million. Meanwhile, You Can See Everything held up well compared with the previous week, improving its chances of reaching $100 million domestically. For now, the box office may be in a lull before new Hunger Games, Avengers, and Dune films arrive later this year.

Deadline reported the following top 10 films for the weekend:

1. Godzilla Minus Zero: $32 million
2. Cat in the Hat: $20 million
3. Drummer Boy: $8.8 million
4. You Can See Everything: $7.8 million
5. Ramayana: Rise of a Legend: $7.3 million
6. Clayface: $7.1 million
7. Wildwood: $6.8 million
8. Wild Horse Nine: $4.5 million
9. Wicker: $3.2 million
10. Jimmy: $2.2 million