‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ out-earns ‘Ramayana’ by 260% in US despite costing just 9% of its budget

Japanese monster film ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ has outperformed ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’ at the North American box office, despite being made on a fraction of the Indian epic's reported budget. The Takashi Yamazaki-directed film collected $31.6 million in the US and Canada over its opening weekend, significantly ahead of the Ranbir Kapoor and Yash-starrer, which earned $8.7 million during the same period.

The Japanese production also recorded a stronger worldwide opening, bringing in $63 million compared with ‘Ramayana's estimated $55 million over four days. The figures highlight the contrasting box-office performances of the two films, with ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ achieving its numbers despite not having a South Asian release.

‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ dominates North American box office

‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ topped the North American box-office charts with an estimated $31.6 million from Friday to Sunday, pushing ‘Cat in the Hat’ into second place. ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’, meanwhile, occupied fifth position despite securing the widest US release ever for an Indian film.

The Indian production collected $8.7 million over the three-day weekend, taking its earnings to $12.2 million across its extended opening period. On a comparable Friday-to-Sunday basis, ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ earned approximately 260% more than ‘Ramayana’ in North America.

The difference is particularly striking when their production budgets are considered. ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ was reportedly made for $19 million, approximately 9% of the estimated $210 million spent on ‘Ramayana’. In other words, the Japanese film's reported budget is less than a tenth of the Indian epic's production cost.

‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ leads global opening collections

The North American success contributed to an impressive worldwide debut for ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’, which collected an estimated $63 million during its opening weekend.

‘Ramayana’, however, remained competitive internationally, earning approximately $55 million (around Rs 500 crore) over its four-day opening period. More than $30 million, equivalent to approximately Rs 290 crore in gross collections, came from India.

The Japanese film therefore secured the stronger worldwide opening, although ‘Ramayana's domestic performance helped narrow the difference between the two productions.

‘Ramayana’ crosses Rs 499 crore worldwide in four days

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’ recorded a significant jump on Diwali Sunday, collecting Rs 56.15 crore net in India. The festive-day performance took its four-day domestic net total to Rs 238.85 crore, putting it ahead of Prabhas-starrer ‘Adipurush’, which had earned Rs 237 crore net during its first four days.

According to industry tracker Sacnilk, ‘Ramayana's domestic gross collections reached Rs 285.20 crore. With another Rs 214 crore coming from overseas markets, its worldwide gross stood at Rs 499.20 crore, bringing it close to the Rs 500-crore milestone.

The Sunday figures also placed the film ahead of recent Bollywood Diwali releases in terms of opening-day festival collections. Salman Khan's ‘Tiger 3’ had earned Rs 44.50 crore net on Diwali in 2023, while ‘Singham Again’ collected Rs 43.50 crore in 2024. Ayushmann Khurrana's ‘Thaama’ recorded Rs 24 crore on the festival day last year.

Ramayana's language-wise box-office performance

The film's Rs 56.15 crore Diwali collection came from 21,770 screenings across India, with an estimated 23.53 lakh tickets sold.

The Hindi version accounted for the largest share, earning Rs 36.75 crore from 17,755 shows. The Kannada version contributed Rs 7.25 crore, while the Telugu release collected Rs 6.25 crore. The Tamil and Malayalam versions added Rs 3.15 crore and Rs 2.75 crore, respectively.

Despite Yash portraying Ravana, the Kannada version has not witnessed the expected growth at the box office. After opening at Rs 7.50 crore, its collections have struggled to gain momentum. The Telugu version has performed comparatively better, while the Tamil and Malayalam releases have contributed smaller amounts to the overall total.

What is ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ about?

Set in 1949, ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ follows Japan as it attempts to recover from the devastation of the Second World War. The country faces another threat when King Ghidorah, a massive three-headed, dragon-like creature, emerges.

Godzilla, believed to have been defeated in the 2023 film ‘Godzilla Minus One’, returns after regenerating through radioactive exposure. The monster takes on King Ghidorah, with humans also playing a part in the battle.

Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the film is produced by Japanese studio Toho, with GKIDS handling its North American distribution.

About ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’

Nitesh Tiwari's ‘Ramayana: Rise of a Legend’ is the first instalment of a planned two-part cinematic adaptation of the Indian epic. Ranbir Kapoor plays Lord Rama, Sai Pallavi portrays Sita, Yash appears as Ravana and Ravie Dubey plays Lakshman.

The film is produced by Namit Malhotra's Prime Focus Studios in association with DNEG and Yash's Monster Mind Creations. Sony Pictures is handling its international distribution.

Released worldwide on November 5, 2026, the first part is followed by a second instalment scheduled to arrive during Diwali 2028.