Inside Godzilla Minus Zero’s $31.6M Foreign-Language Record
Godzilla Minus Zero opened to $31.6 million in North America, the biggest debut for a live-action foreign-language film there. GKIDS president Dave Jesteadt explains how the distributor built on the 2023 predecessor's audience and why the film is bringing subtitle-averse viewers into theaters.
Godzilla Minus Zero earned $31.6 million in North America on its opening weekend, the biggest debut ever there for a live-action foreign-language film. The figure nearly triples the domestic opening of its 2023 predecessor, Godzilla Minus One.
It is a milestone for GKIDS, the specialty distributor handling the film in the United States and Canada. Dave Jesteadt, the label's president since 2017, says the result shows what a monster movie can do for subtitled cinema.
Who is behind the release
GKIDS was founded in 2008 and built its name on foreign-language animation. Its best-known catalog is the North American rights to the Studio Ghibli library.
Jesteadt has been with the company since day one. GKIDS is now part of the Toho Group, the Japanese film giant behind Godzilla, and Minus Zero opened bigger than some studio blockbusters this year, according to the interview.
What GKIDS learned from Minus One
Godzilla Minus One grossed $57 million in North America. Jesteadt says GKIDS had a Miyazaki film, The Boy and the Heron, in theaters a week after it opened, so the two teams already knew each other.
When GKIDS joined the Toho Group, it took in the team that worked on Minus One. GKIDS re-released Shin Godzilla in 2025 as a test for bringing modern Japanese Godzilla films back to theaters. Planning for Minus Zero followed.
The lesson, Jesteadt says, is that theaters can drive conversation "as a source of celebration and community."
Reaching new and core fans
Jesteadt would not give a marketing budget. He said GKIDS is "very efficient and very mindful" of how to reach audiences directly.
Toho International owns and operates Godzilla.com and oversees merchandise licensing. That gives the company a direct line to American Godzilla fans.
The second goal is to reach viewers who skipped Japanese Godzilla films before. GKIDS pitched director Takashi Yamazaki's films as speaking to broader feelings today, with festival credentials and strong reviews behind them.
Minus Zero had a premiere at the New York Film Festival. It also posted a historic haul from Imax and other premium large-format auditoriums.
Jesteadt says the reaction is what he hoped for. "Godzilla brings us together," he told the interviewer. "If we're spreading the gospel of foreign cinema, and Godzilla is a vehicle to get people to engage with great films and deep themes, then I'm all for it."
