(Image courtesy of Toho)
Riding the enormous popularity and acclaim of its predecessor, monster-movie sequel "Godzilla -0.0" (ゴジラ-0.0) stormed theaters around the world last week with a Hollywood-scale rollout. As expected, the film delivered a massive debut, surpassing $63 million worldwide in its opening weekend. That is a rare feat for a Japanese-produced, Japanese-distributed non-English-language film—and further proof of Godzilla’s formidable global appeal.
(Image courtesy of Toho)
In North America alone, "Godzilla -0.0" hauled in $31.6 million, easily claiming the weekend box office crown. It also shattered the record previously held by Zhang Yimou’s "Hero," which debuted with $17.8 million, scoring the biggest North American opening ever for a live-action foreign-language film. The movie is also Japan’s first production filmed for IMAX, and the format accounted for an impressive $12.7 million—or 40% of its total North American gross.