Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus Zero will make its world premiere at the 64th New York Film Festival as a Spotlight Gala selection, with a screening set for September 26 at Alice Tully Hall. The festival runs September 25 through October 12. Dennis Lim serves as artistic director of the festival, which is programmed by Film at Lincoln Center. (Deadline)

The film is the sequel to Godzilla Minus One, a surprise sensation that grossed $116 million worldwide and became the third-highest-grossing foreign-language film at the US box office. Godzilla Minus One was released in North America by GKIDS, an independent distributor specialising in animated and international cinema. Yamazaki, who wrote and directed the first film, made history at the 2024 Academy Awards when he became the first director since Stanley Kubrick to win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects — a category usually dominated by large effects houses rather than individual film-makers. (Deadline)

Godzilla Minus Zero picks up the story in 1949, two years after the events of the first film, and continues to follow the Shikishima family. TOHO, the Japanese studio that has owned the Godzilla franchise since the character's creation in 1954, will release the film theatrically in Japan on November 3, 2026. GKIDS will follow with a wide North American release on November 6 — three days later. (GKIDS)

The first trailer dropped at CinemaCon, the annual trade convention where studios pitch upcoming releases to theatre owners. (Variety/Facebook)

Yamazaki's path to this moment has been long. His directorial debut was the 2000 film Juvenile, and his filmography includes Always: Sunset on Third Street, The Eternal Zero, and Stand by Me Doraemon — titles that have collectively collected numerous Japan Academy Film Awards. The jump from beloved Japanese mainstream cinema to a Godzilla sequel that premièred at a major American festival puts Yamazaki in rare company. (Deadline)

The NYFF gala slot is a signal of where distributor GKIDS sees the film's awards potential. The festival has a track record of launching prestige titles into the autumn corridor — the window between September and December when studios and independents position their most ambitious releases for both audiences and Academy voters. A Spotlight Gala screening at Lincoln Center, followed by a November theatrical opening, puts Godzilla Minus Zero squarely in that lane.

Separately, Film at Lincoln Center has announced a one-night-only event at the festival featuring an archival 35mm print of Howard Hawks's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, presented in partnership with Piper-Heidsieck Champagne. The evening will include a fundraiser auction with Marilyn Monroe-themed art, memorabilia, and an exclusive trip to Champagne, France with a behind-the-scenes Piper-Heidsieck experience. (Film at Lincoln Center)