Update: This is a follow-up to our Nov. 6 preview, which tracked Godzilla Minus Zero at $25–35 million — the Friday actuals are now in, and they made box office history.

Godzilla Minus Zero is having the opening weekend its predecessor could only dream of. The film earned $13.5 million on Friday across 3,254 North American theaters — including $6.7 million from Thursday previews — and is tracking for a $30–33 million domestic debut, per Deadline.

If that holds, it becomes the biggest opening ever for a live-action foreign-language film at the domestic box office, and just the fourth non-English film ever to top the U.S. weekend chart.

Opening-night audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore — rare for a non-English, R-rated film — tying it for the best audience grade in franchise history alongside Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and Godzilla Minus One.

For comparison: the first film opened to $11.4 million in 2023 and went on to $57.1 million domestically and an Oscar for Best Visual Effects; Minus Zero’s Friday alone already beat Minus One’s entire opening weekend.

The film is 91% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and the first Japanese production filmed for IMAX.

Featured image: The Godzilla statue at Godzilla Square in Hibiya, Tokyo, photographed by Wpcpey, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).