'Godzilla Minus Zero' Stomps 'Ramayana' in a Global Box Office Showdown

When two event movies from two different film industries open in the same week, the box office becomes a true clash of cultures. That is exactly what happened as ‘Godzilla Minus Zero‘ and ‘Ramayana‘ arrived in theaters around the world, each carrying big expectations and a premium-format rivalry. It set up one of the most closely watched showdowns of the fall.

Both films had plenty of momentum going in. ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ is the sequel to ‘Godzilla Minus One’, which earned more than $110 million worldwide, including $57.1 million in the US and Canada, and became the first ‘Godzilla’ film to win an Oscar. ‘Ramayana: Part One’, released in the US as ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’, is the first half of a two-part retelling of the Hindu epic, directed by Nitesh Tiwari and starring Ranbir Kapoor as Rama, Sai Pallavi as Sita and Yash as Ravana.

Now the results are in. According to Deadline, ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ took the global weekend crown with $63 million worldwide, ahead of the $55.7 million that ‘Ramayana’ collected. The win was not a blowout, but it was decisive enough to confirm that the monster is still king.

The sequel opened to $31.6 million in North America, which is the biggest debut ever for a live-action movie in a language other than English. It added roughly $31.4 million internationally, with Japan leading the way. Because Tuesday was Godzilla Day in Japan, the film had already collected about 2.7 billion yen, or $17 million, there before the weekend.

Premium screens played a huge role. IMAX accounted for $21.3 million of the global opening, which is 34% of the total and a new record for a Japanese film in the format. Japan alone delivered $4 million in IMAX business, which was described as the best IMAX opening ever in that market.

Audiences loved it even if critics were more mixed. The film earned an A CinemaScore, though it holds a 50% score on Rotten Tomatoes from the small number of reviews counted so far. That kind of gap between viewers and reviewers often signals strong word of mouth.

The new trailer for ‘GODZILLA MINUS ZERO’ has been released. In theaters on November 6. https://t.co/sgaEXweerd
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 8, 2026

‘Ramayana’ did most of its damage at home. India supplied $32 million of the global total, while the film made $12.2 million in the US over four days and another $11.5 million in remaining foreign territories handled by Sony. In North America, it opened to $8.6 million across 1,433 theaters for the weekend.

The film also performed well abroad. Deadline’s report said it had good fortune in Europe, and other coverage indicated it was number one in the UK and Australia. Its IMAX business reached about $6 million, which was reported as an opening record for an Indian film in the format.

The release strategy was part of the story. ‘Ramayana’ opened worldwide on November 5 in the Diwali corridor, and ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ pushed its India release back to November 20 to avoid being squeezed out of premium screens during the epic’s two-week IMAX run. That decision meant the global comparison wasn’t entirely apples to apples.

The weekend carried a bigger lesson than who finished first. For one of the rare times anyone could remember, two non-English films landed in the US top five at once. ‘Ramayana’ even opened in both its original Hindi-language version and an English cut.

Reviews for the Indian epic were solid rather than rapturous, with 76% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 58 on Metacritic. Still, the numbers show a film that reached far beyond its core audience. Producers have also set the second chapter for Diwali in 2028, so this opening is only the start of the story.

Mankind’s greatest story comes to life. Watch the new trailer for RAMAYANA: RISE OF A LEGEND – exclusively in theatres, IMAX and Premium Large Formats worldwide November 5. Tickets on Sale now. https://t.co/VbGEbdSjIZ
— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) October 21, 2026

Meanwhile, ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ now looks poised to surpass its predecessor and become the highest-grossing live-action Japanese movie in history. IMAX captured a combined $29 million from the two films, which shows how much appetite exists for large-format spectacle from outside Hollywood. Whether either film can sustain these numbers will depend on word of mouth over the coming weeks.