The King of Monsters is back, and he’s wrecking havoc in the best way possible. Godzilla Minus One, the Japanese kaiju film directed and written Takashi Yamazaki (Parasyte: Part 2, Lupin III: The First), marks the titular monster’s return in glorious fashion, racking up a whopping US$1.2 million from 49 IMAX screens across Japan. This means the film will go into history’s books as the biggest IMAX opening ever for a Japanese live-action title, as well as the fourth-highest live-action IMAX opening in the country.
It’s a fitting comeback for the first domestic Japanese Godzilla film since 2016’s Shin Godzilla, which opened in Japan on 3 November 2023. The feature currently has a 7.8 IMDB rating against 215 entries, and is set for a nation-wide release in the U.S. on 1 December. As of now, there’s no word of screening dates in Singapore, or if it’s even debuting here.
Godzilla Minus One will focus on post-war Japan dealing with a new and formidable rising threat, with Toho promising the return of a Godzilla that is “a terrifying and overwhelming force”. The upcoming movie is the 37th addition to the franchise, which dates back all the way to 1954. Since then, the kaiju has grown to become a household name and cultural icon for the tokusatsu entertainment genre.
For Western audiences, the familiar equivalent would be the sub-franchise of Godzilla, parked under Legendary’s MonsterVerse. The lineup includes titles like Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla vs. Kong, as well as the upcoming Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Godzilla and the Titans. In the meantime, fans of the other kaiju can tide over the wait with the first episode of Monarch: Legacy of the Monsters, due to arrive on Apple TV+ on 17 November.
Check out the latest trailer for Godzilla Minus One here:
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
