‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ and ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’ Turn a Global Box Office Showdown Into a Landmark Weekend

Not long ago, a Japanese kaiju sequel and an Indian mythological epic landing in theaters on the same day would have looked like a scheduling headache. Distributors usually run from clashes like that. Some films were reportedly postponed to avoid going up against ‘Ramayana’ this season.

This time, both films stayed put and chose to face each other. The two were set for a face-off on Nov. 6, 2026, with early buzz suggesting both would draw serious crowds. Industry watchers expected fierce competition for IMAX and other premium-format screens in key international markets.

The pressure was easy to understand. The original film behind this sequel, ‘Godzilla Minus One,’ earned over $116 million worldwide on a modest sub-$15 million budget, while the same report noted that the budget for ‘Ramayana’ is far higher. ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’ has also been billed as the most expensive film in India’s history, with a push to move beyond the Bollywood market.

The results are now in, and Variety’s weekend report on the pair, the story shared on X, lays out how both films fared overseas. ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ stomped into theaters with a $31.6 million weekend, a record debut for a foreign-language film at the North American box office. The film also reached $63 million worldwide, while ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’ pulled in $8.6 million in the U.S. and $55.6 million globally.

That domestic number is a big leap for the franchise. It is nearly triple the $11.4 million opening of ‘Godzilla Minus One’ in December 2023, and it makes the film the 4th non-English title to reach No. 1 on the U.S. weekend chart. It also topped the live-action mark previously held by 2004’s ‘Hero,’ which launched with $17.9 million.

Premium screens clearly mattered. ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ generated $21.3 million globally, or 34% of its take, from IMAX. Back home in Japan, it grossed about $17 million over the weekend.

‘Ramayana’ made its own history in a different way. The weekend marked the widest North American release ever for an Indian film. The first part of a two-part Indian epic, it opened with $8.6 million over 3 days and $12.1 million over 4 days. Sony Pictures also positioned it as the first Indian film to carry the ‘Filmed for IMAX’ label.

On the North American chart, the two films landed far apart. ‘The Cat in the Hat’ took 2nd place with $20.5 million, and ‘Ramayana’ finished 5th with $8.7 million. ‘Ramayana’ was in a tight race for the No. 4 spot with A24’s ‘You Can See Everything,’ a race it narrowly lost.

The numbers also point to a broader shift in who fills American seats. ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ added to the trend of international, non-English productions drawing U.S. audiences to cinemas. Two films in two languages with very different budgets and fan bases share one weekend headline, and neither has to sit out a global release to find an audience.

For a business long built on English-language tentpoles, that is a notable moment. The question now is whether studios take the hint and give more international films the same wide, premium-screen treatment, since this weekend suggests audiences will show up for them.