Godzilla Minus One’s critical and public acclaim has skyrocketed it to box-office heights—heights so worthy of such a titanic being that Toho has had to dash its plans to bring the film’s theatrical run to an end and extend screenings. But now the King of All Monsters is now also the king of live-action Japanese cinema in the U.S., to boot.
Now having brought in $14.36 million at the American box office—almost the entirety of the film’s production budget, and bringing its worldwide total to approximately $41 million—Toho has confirmed (via Deadline) that Minus One is now the most successful live-action Japanese film in U.S. box office history. Minus One had already broken records on its debut to take in the biggest opening weekend of a foreign film in the U.S. this year, trumping the Demon Slayer movie To the Swordsmith Village, which brought in $10.1 million when it debuted in March.
While the movie’s got a long way to go to catch up with the animated Japanese films that dominate America’s box office history, it’s still an unprecedented success—so unprecedented that Toho has had to announce it’s actually expanding screenings for the film. Originally set to begin bowing out of theaters this week, Minus One will stick around for at least a second weekend in the U.S., and actually expanding its availability from 2,308 screens to 2,540.
Suffice to say, between Minus One, Apple TV+ series Monarch, and the recent trailer for upcoming feature The New Empire, it’s a very good time to be a fan of all things Godzilla. Long live the king!
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