Japanese-language blockbusters passing American studio product at the domestic box office used to be the kind of thing that happened once a generation. Godzilla Minus One cracked that door open in 2023 when it became the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film ever released in the States, and the question hanging over its sequel was whether that run was a fluke of timing or proof of a real audience. The answer, at least by one measure, arrived this week.
Godzilla Minus Zero Just Cleared a Surprising Marvel Milestone
Godzilla Minus Zero has now out-grossed Avengers Endgame: Encore domestically in 2026, with the kaiju sequel sitting at roughly $42 million against the Marvel re-release’s $40 million haul. Encore is a seven-year-old movie that already lives on Disney+, re-released in September with five to six minutes of new footage bridging into Avengers: Doomsday. Its $26 million domestic opening was one of the biggest ever for a reissue, and its $142.9 million global run did exactly what Disney wanted, pushing Endgame‘s lifetime total to $2.942 billion and reclaiming the all-time crown from Avatar.
By the standards of re-releases, it was a clear win, so nobody at Marvel is likely losing sleep over this particular milestone. Still, Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel is a subtitled Japanese production with a reported budget somewhere in the $13 to $18 million range, which means its entire cost is a rounding error against what Endgame spent on its third act. It opened Nov. 6 to $30.6 million, the best domestic debut in history for a live-action foreign-language film, and crossed the Encore threshold in just over a week.
Toho’s U.S. Box Office Momentum Looks Increasingly Real
For a 135-minute R-rated drama that asks mainstream American audiences to read, that’s arguably the more impressive trajectory regardless of what the Marvel number represents. The honest caveat is that Minus Zero‘s road from here looks bumpier than its opening suggested. The film cratered an estimated 86% on its second Friday and is tracking toward a roughly 75% sophomore weekend drop, which would rank among the steepest for any Godzilla release. What seems safer to say is that the Minus One phenomenon was not a one-off.
Twice now, Toho and GKIDS have put a modestly budgeted Japanese Godzilla film into wide American release and watched it compete directly with Hollywood tentpoles. Encore was always going to be fine, and Doomsday will presumably be enormous in December.
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Godzilla Minus Zero
Set in 1949, Godzilla Minus Zero continues the story of the Shikishima family as they face a new disaster following the events of the previous film. Although plot specifics are limited, Oscar-winning filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki, returns to direct, write, and oversee visual effects.
Set in 1949, Godzilla Minus Zero continues the story of the Shikishima family as they face a new disaster following the events of the previous film. Although plot specifics are limited, Oscar-winning filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki, returns to direct, write, and oversee visual effects.
Specifications
- Release Date
- 2026-11-06
- Director
- Takashi Yamazaki (Person)
- Runtime
- 135 minutes
- Cast
- Ryunosuke Kamiki (Person), Minami Hamabe (Person), Min Tanaka (Person), Hidetaka Yoshioka (Person), Yuki Yamada (Person), Kuranosuke Sasaki (Person), Sakura Ando (Person), Miou Tanaka (Person)
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi (Genre)
- Genres
- Horror (Genre), Drama (Genre), Sci-Fi (Genre)
- Writers
- Takashi Yamazaki (Person)
- Prequel(s)
- Godzilla Minus One (Movie, Movies/TV)
- Franchise(s)
- Godzilla (Franchise)
- Character(s)
- Koichi Shikishima (Character), Noriko Oishi (Character), Kanji Murakami (Character), Kenji Noda (Character), Shiro Mizushima (Character), Seiji Akitsu (Character), Sumiko Ota (Character), Tatsuo Hotta (Character)
