Thanks to stupendous word-of-mouth and stellar reviews, Toho’sGodzilla Minus Oneis turning out to be this year’s biggest crossover hit. The kaiju film passed significant box office milestones both domestically and worldwide this weekend, and has already emerged as the biggest-ever Japanese live-action release in North America.Godzilla Minus Oneexceeded expectationsin its opening weekend, and seeing the positive response, Toho increased its theatrical footprint and has expanded its run till at least December 14.
Minus Onetook the third spot on the domestic chart in its sophomore frame, behind fellow Japanese filmThe Boy and the Heron, and the holdover hitThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. The film has grossed just over $25 million so far in domestic theaters, and another $26 million from overseas markets — $23 million of which came from Japan — for a cumulative global haul of around $51 million. The 37th overall Godzilla movie and the fifth installment in the franchise’s Reiwa era,Godzilla Minus Onewill next set its sights on passing the $78 million global haul delivered by its predecessor,Shin Godzilla, in 2016.
While these numbers might seem puny in front of the hundreds of millions that Legendary’s unconnectedMonsterVerse franchisehas been generating, it must be pointed out thatGodzilla Minus Onecost less than a tenth of what films this size tend to in Hollywood. And by those standards, it is already a major hit. For context, the movie has already made over $10 million more domestically than last year’s crossover sensation, the Indian period action filmRRR.
‘Godzilla Minus One’ Is Among the Best-Reviewed Films of the Year
Most of its success can be attributed to the positive reviews.Godzilla Minus Onestands at a “fresh” 97% score on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, and earned an excellent A CinemaScore from opening day audiences. Collider’sChase Hutchinsonwrote in hisreviewthat the film “balances sweeping spectacle and tense action with the more complicated themes of war and loss, making it a solid monster movie that hardly ever makes a wrong step.”
Set in 1940s Japan,Godzilla Minus Onetakes the venerable franchise back to its anti-war roots. Godzilla debuted in 1954 as a metaphorical take on the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II, and has since emerged as one of the most enduring characters in pop-culture history. The seriesexperienced a resurgence in recent years, with the MonsterVerse franchise earning billions worldwide and expanding to streaming just a few weeks ago, with the well-receivedMonarch: Legacy of Monstersshow. The MonsterVerse will continue next year, with directorAdam Wingard’sGodzilla x Kong: A New Empire. 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.
