The 2026 NY Film Festival will host the world premiere of Takashi Yamazaki‘s Godzilla Minus Zero.
The sequel to sleeper hit Godzilla Minus One will screen as the Spotlight gala selection on Sept. 26 at the 64th annual event.
Godzilla Minus One revived the Godzilla franchise in 2023 and went on to win the Oscar for best visual effects in 2024, beating out a number of big-budget Hollywood tentpoles, and become the highest grossing live-action Japanese film in North American theaters.
Godzilla Minus Zero picks up two years after the events of Godzilla Minus One, in 1949, and continues the story of the Shikishima family as they face a new threat.
“An experience that demands the big screen, featuring even more astounding effects choreography than its predecessor, Godzilla Minus Zero cranks up the terror while always keeping its post-WWII Japan narrative at human eye level,” the festival said in Tuesday’s announcement.
GKIDS will release Godzilla Minus Zero on Nov. 6 in the U.S. and Nov. 3 in Japan.
“More than 70 years after the first Godzilla movie, Takashi Yamazaki continues to prove that there’s life in the old franchise yet, returning to its postwar roots to locate a haunting, primal terror,” NYFF artistic director Dennis Lim said in a statement. “Like its predecessor, Godzilla Minus Zero is a throwback blockbuster, a showcase for human drama and innovative craft, and we are excited to have its world premiere as this year’s NYFF Spotlight gala.”
Yamazaki added, “It is truly an honor to introduce our film to a global audience for the first time in a place of such history and prestige. I am filled with both awe and excitement to see how far the power of Japan’s Godzilla can terrify audiences around the world, and whether they will resonate with what lies beyond that fear.”
The 64th New York Film Festival will open with the North American premiere of James Gray’s Paper Tiger, screen Tony Gilroy’s Pedro Pascal starrer Behemoth! as the centerpiece film and close with the world premiere of Ava DuVernay’s 14th. The 2026 NYFF is set to run from Sept. 25-Oct. 12.
