Godzilla Minus Zero reaches 90 decibels in IMAX, attendee reports

An Australian IMAX attendee reported getting 90 decibel noise alerts on a smartwatch while watching Godzilla Minus Zero, describing the feature as the loudest film they had ever seen. The film, which features a marketing spend of under $10 million in North America, arrives as a major theatrical event, with 74 percent of IMAX and premium large format auditoriums driving its $32 million opening after a $14.5 million Friday.

Film soundtracks possess a much wider dynamic range than television or laptop speakers typically produce.

Large entities on screen require low-frequency sounds like deep rumbles to convey scale. Sound designers utilize cinema subwoofers so audiences can feel physical vibrations alongside high frequencies that add detail to falling buildings and cracking structures. Akira Ifukube achieved the original 1954 Godzilla roar by dragging a resin-coated glove across double bass strings, utilizing low frequencies to suggest mass and reverb to emphasize scale.

Godzilla Minus Zero Features Custom IMAX Audio Engineering

Godzilla Minus Zero joins a select group of projects specifically produced for the format. Variety noted that it stands as the first Japanese production ever filmed for IMAX. In 2025, at least 14 films were specifically filmed for IMAX out of 122 releases in those theaters worldwide. Enhanced IMAX with Laser theaters feature 12-channel sound systems with overhead and extra side channels, which allows deep bass to give monster footsteps tangible presence while surround sound places environmental effects around the audience.

Films are mixed in dedicated dubbing theatres where engineers balance dialogue, music, and effects for reproducible playback. Traditional theatrical calibration uses a reference level of roughly 85 decibels for a test signal played through a single front speaker. Alison Cole, a composer and lecturer in Screen Composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, explained that this reference ensures playback consistency rather than keeping the entire film fixed at 85 decibels.

Cinemas are not legally bound to preserve an exact volume and routinely adjust levels based on audience comfort, room acoustics, and business logistics. While smartwatches can detect high sound levels, they cannot measure the overall sound exposure required to determine hearing risk. Hearing damage depends on both sound intensity and exposure time, while immediate permanent damage from a single sound is unlikely as it requires levels above 140 decibels.

Godzilla Minus Zero Drives Strong Opening Weekend Box Office

Deadline reported that 74 percent of IMAX and premium large format auditoriums are driving the opening weekend gross of Godzilla Minus Zero, which earned $14.5 million on Friday. Variety noted the Toho-produced sequel is tracking to earn $30 million from 3,254 North American theaters. These figures are in line with the box office performance of 2024 Telugu fantasy titles such as “Kalki 2898 AD” ($5.6 million), “Devara Part 1” ($5.6 million), and “Pushpa: The Rule – Part 2” ($5 million). In contrast, the opening weekends for 2018’s “The Grinch” and 2012’s “The Lorax” reached $67 million and $70 million respectively, without accounting for inflation.

The film picks up in 1949, two years after the events of Godzilla Minus One as the creature regenerates and resurfaces. The Hollywood Reporter detailed that the feature played as the centerpiece film of the Tokyo International Film Festival at Hulic Hall Tokyo, where lead actors Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe took the stage. Minami Hamabe told audiences at the festival that protecting family leads to hard decisions when Godzilla appears. Hamabe added, “I’m very happy to have met you all here today, and I hope you will enjoy the story of what happens to the Shikishima family — and also, the Godzilla experience, of course!”

Critical response remains strong, with the film holding a 92 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes from 52 reviews, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The publication's chief critic, David Rooney, called the film a “radioactive blast” and “a crackling kaiju epic every bit as exciting as its predecessor.” Avclub noted that the sequel introduces the three-headed kaiju King Ghidorah to the postwar narrative, though the added complexity leaves characters dealing with post-traumatic stress during shifting monster attacks. Director and writer Takashi Yamazaki did not abandon the found family that gave the predecessor its heart, including Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), his wife Noriko (Minami Hamabe), and their daughter Akiko (Sae Nagatani).

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