Japanese monster movie Godzilla Minus Zero beats big-budget Indian epic Ramayana at global box office with $63 million start

The Japanese creature feature Godzilla Minus Zero has claimed the top spot at the worldwide box office this weekend. It achieved this success even though it did not release in South Asia, where IMAX screens were dominated by the Indian epic Ramayana. In North America, the Japanese production earned $31.6 million between Friday and Sunday to secure first place, pushing Cat in the Hat into second. Meanwhile, the Nitesh Tiwari directorial venture took fifth place in the region, bringing in $8.7 million over the weekend and $12.2 million for its extended opening. This means Godzilla Minus Zero out-earned the Indian film by 260% in the US market despite having a much smaller footprint. Budget figures show a massive gap between the two releases. Godzilla Minus Zero cost $19 million to make, which amounts to just 9% of the estimated $210 million landing cost for the Indian film. Globally, the Japanese movie grossed $63 million in its opening weekend. The Indian epic matched closer worldwide by pulling in around $55 million, or roughly 500 crore rupees, across a four-day opening frame. More than $30 million of that total, around 290 crore rupees gross, came directly from domestic audiences in India. The narrative of the Japanese movie takes place in 1949 as postwar Japan attempts to recover from conflict. A fresh danger appears when a massive, three-headed, dragon-like creature named King Ghidorah arrives. Godzilla, who was thought beaten in the 2023 film Godzilla Minus One, returns through radioactive regeneration to fight the three-headed beast alongside human allies. Veteran box office analyst David A. Gross noted that this opening weekend performance pushes the Japanese release to nearly triple its previous opening numbers from December 2023.

Background

Takashi Yamazaki directed Godzilla Minus Zero, with production handled by Japan's Toho and North American distribution managed by GKIDS. On the other side, the Indian epic comes from producer Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus Studios, working alongside DNEG and Yash's Monster Mind Creations, with Sony Pictures handling global distribution. The first instalment of this planned two-part project arrived worldwide on November 5, 2026, and the second part is scheduled for a Diwali 2028 release. The star cast features Ranbir Kapoor playing Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita, Yash as Ravana, and Ravie Dubey portraying Lakshman.