'Godzilla Minus Zero' Eyes $30M-$33M U.S. Opening, a Foreign-Language Record

· Entertainment · United States · Japan

Gkids' "Godzilla Minus Zero" is heading toward a $30 million-$33 million domestic opening after a $13.5 million Friday from 3,254 theaters, including $6.7 million in previews. At that level, it would be the biggest-ever opening for distributor Gkids and would set a record for a live-action foreign-language film in North America. The result would mark a strong commercial performance for a Japanese-language title released in U.S. theaters with a wide screen count.

Why it matters：A record foreign-language opening would show exhibitors and distributors that subtitled, non-English films can perform at wide-release scale in the U.S., a market usually dominated by English-language tentpoles.

Key points

  • Friday gross included $6.7 million in previews.
  • The opening would be distributor Gkids' biggest to date.

Sources (original reporting)

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