Godzilla Minus Zero Sets Record
The film led the box office with a record debut and strong global ticket sales.
November 8, 2026 · Updated 2:30pm ET
The New YorkerHow Takashi Yamazaki Brought Godzilla Back to Life
DeadlineBox Office: 'Godzilla Minus Zero' Roars Toward Record Opening
Breitbart News'Godzilla Minus Zero' stomps to a record-setting $31.6 debut, clobbering 'The Cat in the Hat'
ABC News'Godzilla Minus Zero' stomps to record-setting $31.6M debut
Washington Times‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ stomps to a record-setting $31.6 debut, clobbering ‘The Cat in the Hat’
Associated Press'Godzilla Minus Zero' stomps to a record-setting $31.6 debut, clobbering 'The Cat in the Hat'
VarietyBox Office: ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ Roars With $31 Million Debut, ‘Cat in the Hat’ Fizzles With $20 Million
GizmodoOpen Channel: Tell Us Your 'Godzilla Minus Zero' Thoughts
11%
Left · 1
67%
Center · 6
22%
Right · 2
Pano rates the coverage Mostly Center.
What happened
- “Godzilla Minus Zero” topped the North American box office with a record-setting $31.6 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.
- The live-action foreign-language record excludes “The Passion of the Christ,” which opened with $83.8 million; the animated “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” also opened higher, at $70.6 million.
- Directed by Takashi Yamazaki
Takashi YamazakiJapanese filmmaker and visual effects artist, the film is a sequel to 2023’s Oscar-winning “Godzilla Minus One” and is set in postwar Japan. - Its opening outpaced Warner Bros.’ animated “The Cat in the Hat,” which earned an estimated $20.5 million in North America and $10 million overseas.
- The weekend figures remain estimates, with further box-office updates expected Monday.
How the left told it
Left-leaning outlets were represented only by The New Yorker, which focused on Yamazaki’s artistic revival of Godzilla rather than the box-office results. Its profile emphasized how “Godzilla Minus One” balanced human drama, historical detail and special effects, using Japan’s wartime devastation as the backdrop for a monster movie.
How the right told it
Right-leaning outlets emphasized the record opening, its victory over “The Cat in the Hat” and growing audiences for non-English films. Breitbart News and The Washington Times carried the same AP report, describing Yamazaki as reviving the franchise by bringing it “back to its Japanese roots.”
