The hit film, Godzilla Minus One, continues to wrack up more accolades and box office records as it comes into 2024. As of Saturday, Jan. 13, the film crossed the $50 million mark at the domestic box office. It is now the highest-grossing Japanese language live-action or animated film ever released in United States history.
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The acclaimed film’s box office total in the US now stands at $50.944 million and counting. It has also made more than $95 million worldwide and counting. The film is now the No. 5 highest-grossing Non-English Language film in the US box office history as well.
GODZILLA MINUS ONE RACKS UP MORE ACCOLADES AT THE BOX OFFICE
While $50+ million may not seem like a lot in comparison to other US blockbusters and films such as the Godzilla installments of Legendary’s MonsterVerse, considering this is a foreign language release from TOHO International with subtitles, it’s fairly unheard of and pretty impressive with how well the film is performing. Godzilla Minus One clearly struck a chord with audiences not just in Japan but in the US and across the globe as well.
As of now, the film is easily on track to surpass $100 million at the global box office, and it should reach that goal in a matter of weeks if not days. For comparison, the last TOHO movie in the Godzilla franchise, Shin Godzilla, released in 2016, made only $78 million worldwide and just $1.9 million for its domestic box office run. The dice roll that TOHO International played with mounting a wide release for Minus One very much paid off for the studio.
Speaking on the news via a press release, Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian said on Minus One’s incredible performance:
“The success of GODZILLA MINUS ONE is the result of a perfectly timed and presented modern riff on a sci-fi classic and North American audiences and critics alike embraced the film that unexpectedly became a must-see movie theater experience and now has impressively crossed the $50 million mark at the domestic box office.”
– Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore Senior Media Analyst
Next up, the film is heading into award season. The franchise reboot is currently on the Academy shortlist for Best Visual Effects. It’s also been nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Critics Choice Awards. It’s already been awarded Best International/Foreign Language Film by the Austin Film Critics Association, Seattle Film Critics Association, Georgia Film Critics, Las Vegas Film Critics Association, and Denver Film Critics.
It should be interesting to see if gets any other major award support in the coming months. The film earned rave reviews from critics and audiences as well. It has a score of 98% on the Tomatometer. Its audience score is also 98% based on more than 2,500 verified audience ratings.
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And between Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Apple TV+, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hitting theaters on March 29, the King of the Monsters franchise is really in its best state and best position in ages. It’s quite possibly in the best position ever. It should be interesting to see what comes with this renewed interest and success for Godzilla.
Godzilla Minus One is still playing in theaters, so there’s still time to check out one of the best films in the franchise ever on the big screen the way it was meant to be seen.
About Godzilla Minus One
Release Date: December 1, 2023 (USA)
Director/Screenplay/VFX: Takashi Yamazaki
Production: Toho Co.
Distribution: Toho Co.
Cast: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki.
Logline: After the war, Japan has been reduced to zero. Godzilla appears and plunges the country into a negative state. The most desperate situation in the history of Japan. Who? And how? Will Japan stand up to it?
What do you think of the news? Have you seen Godzilla Minus One in theaters yet? Do you plan on checking it out again? Let us know your thoughts about the film’s box office accolades on The Illuminerdi’s social media.
SOURCE: TOHO International
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