Godzilla Minus Zero earns $6.7 million in preview screenings
The sequel to 2023's Godzilla Minus One has generated $6.7 million in preview showings and is projected to open with about $30 million this weekend.
The Japanese monster film Godzilla Minus Zero recorded $6.7 million in preview ticket sales ahead of its wide release. Industry estimates suggest the movie could open with roughly $30 million, more than double the $11.4 million opening of its predecessor three years ago. The first installment, also written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, earned $57 million domestically and $113 million worldwide, and won the Academy Award for visual effects, beating titles such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning.
Yamazaki’s sequel, produced by Toho and distributed in the United States by GKids, is the first Japanese film shot for IMAX and is expected to benefit from the format’s recent popularity. Set two years after the earlier film, the story follows Godzilla’s return and the arrival of a new monster.
Other new releases this weekend include Warner Bros. Animation’s The Cat in the Hat, which earned $1 million in previews and is projected to reach $20 million, Searchlight’s Wild Horse Nine, with $900,000 in previews and a limited-release estimate of $4 million to $7 million, and Sony’s Indian epic Ramayana: Rise of a Legend, which posted $3.5 million from Thursday and Wednesday previews and is expected to open with $6 million.