Japanese Films Dominate the US Box Office in a Historic Weekend

Japanese films Godzilla Minus One and The Boy and The Heron dominate the US box office in a historic weekend!

Last weekend, Godzilla Minus One made a triumphant debut at the US box office and became the biggest opening ever for a Japanese live-action film with $11.4 million. History didn’t end here, earlier this week on its fifth day of release, it became the highest grossing Japanese live-action film of all time in the US. On top of that, it reached the top spot at the box office on Monday. It was the first time in 19 years that a non-English language live-action film hit the number one spot in the US. The last time it happened was in 2004 with Hero. Moreover, Godzilla Minus One regained the top spot at the box office staying there for 2-days in a row! This was also the first time it happened in 19 years. The last film to do so was once again Hero in 2004.

And this weekend, Japanese films made history as well! Indeed, both The Boy and The Heron and Godzilla Minus One have reached the top 3 spots. This is an historic moment, two films out of the top 3 are international films and more importantly, these are two Japanese films. It is an impressive achievement. The Boy and The Heron has made it to the top spot with strong $13 million while Godzilla Minus One maintained its third place from last weekend. It grossed a strong $8.6 million on its second weekend. It only dropped by 24.6% from last week. This is an incredible hold. Actuals for the weekend came higher than estimates like last week.

Godzilla Minus One has a cumulative gross of $25.6 million in the US. This is now the highest grossing non-English language film at the US box office in 2023. The worldwide gross stands at $51 million including $26.4 million from Japan. After six weeks in Japanese cinemas, the film has reached 2.7 million in attendance and grossed over 4.15 billion yen ($26.4 million).

Ryunosuke Kamiki as Kōichi Shikishima in *Godzilla Minus One* (C) 2023 TOHO CO., LTD.

THOUGHTS

In our FIVE-STAR review, Thomas said:

Godzilla Minus One is an epic film with breathtaking visuals and a wonderful soundtrack. It is truly one of the best films of the year. At its heart, it is a deeply moving postwar drama that tells a character-driven story. Ryunosuke Kamiki delivers a powerful and heartfelt performance as the lead. He is also supported by a great cast.

In our FOUR-STAR review, Thomas said:

With The Boy and The Heron, Hayao Miyazaki delivers another masterpiece. This film explores dark and mature themes but it is also a beautiful and touching coming-of-age journey.

ABOUT GODZILLA MINUS ONE:

The worst despair in the series’ history strikes Japan! After the war, Japan has been reduced to zero. Godzilla appears and plunges the country into a negative state. The most desperate situation in the history of Japan. Who? And how? Will Japan stand up to it?

It stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Sakura Andor, Hidetaka Yoshioka and Munetaka Aoki. The film was directed and written by Takashi Yamazaki (Lupin III: The First) who also supervised the visual effects.

You can watch the latest trailer below:

ABOUT THE BOY AND THE HERON:

A young boy named Mahito yearning for his mother ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death and creation, in tribute to friendship from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.

The original Japanese voice cast includes Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura and Takuya Kimura. The film was directed and written by Hayao Miyazaki.

You can watch the teaser trailer below: