‘Godzilla Minus One’ Roars New Life Into the Domestic Box Office
Chad Collins
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This past weekend, Wonka swaggered into theaters and grossed an impressive $35 million domestic in its debut. While it’s nice to see movie musicals resonate with audiences, the biggest delight was the weekend’s fourth-place feature. Several weeks after release, Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One managed to add another $5 million to its domestic gross, bringing its total stateside tally to just over $30 million. While it might not seem that impressive considering the towering behemoth at its center, $30 million for a foreign language feature is nothing to scoff at.
Per IMDB:
Post-war Japan is at its lowest point when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster, baptized in the horrific power of the atomic bomb.
Godzilla Minus One demands to be seen in a theater. The scale here is unprecedented, giving new meaning to what blockbuster action can entail. Everything about it looks and sounds great, and while much has been said about the theatrical experience in recent years, Godzilla Minus One really does benefit from the theatrical setting. Sit back and let the King of the Monsters wash over you.
Distributor Toho is so impressed with the success that they recently announced their intentions to keep the film in U.S. theaters through the beginning of January. Japanese audiences are in for an additional treat, with plans to re-release the feature in nostalgic black and white starting January 12 of next year. While there’s no news yet on a release here, it will likely be released after the Japanese debut, or at the very least on a home video release. Basically, I’m demanding Godzilla Minus One in black and white now.
In our review of the film, Joshua Meyer wrote, “Below the mushroom clouds and black rain, Godzilla Minus One peels back another intimate layer, bringing the audience down to the human level where the survivors are.” Godzilla Minus One is as much a human story as it is a monster one, and with the release of Apple’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and next year’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, it’s a great time to be Godzilla.
What do you think? Have you seen Godzilla Minus One yet? Are you going to go again (I am)? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins.
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