Image: Toho
Since “Godzilla Minus One” came to North America in December, it has grossed a lot of money and captured the attention of audiences. Either on his own merits or because the MonsterVerse films have helped keep him on people's minds in recent years, there is a larger Godzilla fever that has made Minus One's reception and turnout a pleasant surprise. And as of this weekend, the film has crossed a new milestone, setting a new benchmark for Japanese-made films in the United States.
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According to a recent press release, Minus One has now grossed $50.6 million in the United States, making it the country's highest-grossing Japanese-language film in live-action (an award it won back in December) and animation. It is also now the fifth highest-grossing non-English language film at the US box office and is expected to end up grossing over $100 million worldwide. (This weekend is the film's re-release in black and white, and man, I would love it to come here in the States for a week or two.)
Toho hasn't said whether they'll expand screenings of the film like they did last month, but they might need to at some point: Late last year, it was announced that “Minus One” was on the shortlist for best VFX at the Oscars. Should it be nominated for this or a larger, non-technical category, people might decide to see what all the fuss is about or do a second (or third, fourth, etc.) iteration. Nominations won't be announced for another week, but the film was also nominated at the Critics Choice Awards (for Best Foreign Film) and won awards from various US critics groups for its VFX, villain, and Best International Film of the year.
Combined with the just-concluded first season of Monarch and the eventual release of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in a few months, it's Godzilla's world we're all living in right now.
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