Godzilla Minus One: From Japan to the United States

Premiere and Plot

About a month following the premiere of Godzilla Minus One in Japan on November 3, 2023, the 37th installment in the Godzilla franchise made its way overseas to the United States, where it has experienced surprising success despite a limited theatrical release. The Japanese action film from Toho Studios brings viewers back to the 1940s near the end of World War II. The movie features the mutation and enlargement of Godzilla as a result of the United States's Operation Crossroads nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll. The United States government sanctioned these tests in real life, but they didn't actually create Godzilla (as far as anyone knows).

Godzilla roaring in Godzilla Minus One

Godzilla Minus One premiered in the United States on December 1, and the plan from the beginning was a limited theatrical run. Many reasons could be attributed to the initial arrangement to have the 2023 Japanese film play in theaters for a very short period. However, things changed following its stateside debut, leading to an extended run (that will still likely end up being relatively short compared to other releases).

Hidetaka Yoshioka as Kenji Noda Looking Grave in Godzilla Minus One

Limited Theatrical Run

Godzilla Minus One is only in movie theaters in the United States for a few weeks because, even though it's a Godzilla project, it is a foreign film at the end of the day. Foreign releases don't tend to perform well when up against native language-speaking movies, so Godzilla Minus One's box office expectations were low. Consequentially, the film was only supposed to be screened in a little over 1,000 theaters across the United States for a few weeks before it would be pulled.

The last Godzilla movie from Toho Studios to have a theatrical release in the United States was Shin Godzilla, and its run only lasted a couple of weeks. It set a precedent for Godzilla Minus One, meaning Americans only had a short window to see it at the cinema. But the plan slightly changed following its premiere.

Surprising Success and Extended Run

After the 2023 Godzilla movie was released in the United States, it surpassed its initial box office expectations. The action film has earned $26.7 million at the domestic box office as of the writing of this article, making it the highest-grossing Toho Godzilla movie in the United States. For the past couple of weeks, it has remained in the top five of the domestic box office, which is impressive for any film. As a result, Godzilla Minus One is extending its theatrical run in the United States to 2,600 theaters starting on December 15. But the action movie will likely only be around for another week or two before it disappears from marquees across America.