The Big Picture

Godzilla Minus One is the top-grossing foreign-language film at the domestic box office, grossing $70 million globally so far. The film was produced on a budget of $15 million, which is significantly lower than its Hollywood counterparts. It is on track to surpass Pan’s Labyrinth and become the sixth-biggest live-action foreign-language release at the domestic box office.

The year’s top-grossing foreign-language film at the domestic box office, Toho’s Godzilla Minus One is continuing its remarkable theatrical run. The period kaiju film is on the verge of passing a major box office record roughly 20 days into its release — Godzilla Minus One recently crossed the $70 million mark globally, and very soon, the film will overtake Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth to become the sixth-biggest live-action foreign-language release of all time at the domestic box office.

Godzilla Minus One has grossed $37 million in North America so far, and another $33 million from overseas markets, for a cumulative global haul of $70 million. Of this worldwide total, $31 million has come from its home country, Japan. While these numbers are negligible as compared to the hundreds of millions that Legendary’s MonsterVerse movies generate regularly, it’s worth noting that Godzilla Minus One was produced on a reported budget of $15 million — roughly a tenth of what its Hollywood counterparts are usually produced on.

In a matter of days, the film will overtake 2016’s Shin Godzilla, which grossed $78 million globally. But before that, it’ll pass Pan’s Labyrinth on the all-time list of the biggest live-action foreign-language films at the domestic box office. Director Ang Lee’s phenomenal Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon remains at the top of this list, with nearly $130 million in its account. Godzilla Minus One is the top-grossing live-action foreign-language film in North America since 2019’s Korean hit, Parasite, which earned more than $50 million in its domestic run, and went on to win a historic four Academy Awards.

Will ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Pass the $100 Million Mark?

Godzilla Minus One made history by delivering the biggest-ever debut for a live-action Japanese film in its first weekend. It has since retained spots in the top five for two more weekends, all while expanding its theatrical footprint thanks to positive word of mouth. The film was initially supposed to play in domestic theaters only for a week. Considering the $75 million international haul that Shin Godzilla ended its run with, Godzilla Minus One can realistically pass the $100 million mark globally by the end of its run.

Its fellow Japanese film, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, passed the coveted milestone after debuting stateside recently. The animated film has since grossed over $25 million domestically. This year has also seen the release of the anime hit Suzume, which grossed $10 million domestically, and a quartet of Indian blockbusters — Pathaan ($17 million), Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani ($10 million), Jawan ($15 million) and Animal ($13 million) — making for a truly diverse time at the movies. 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