U.S. and Canadian release on October 11

[KaijuZoo]

Been there, done that!!

[Shokara]

Just got back from my showing in Bayonne, NJ. It was amazing.

[aphvend]

the movie was just alright.

[Gentleman]

Just got back. Some things I liked, some I hated. Overall I'd give it a level B.

[Mac]

The first hour and twenty minutes, everything up to the "Who will Know" sequence, is fantastic and has this eclectic, sudden-barrage pacing style. Then going to the third act there's this twenty minute chunk that feels really deflated. It's a lot of politicking and minutiae about how to defeat Godzilla, similar to Godzilla 1984. Godzilla's defeat feels a bit perfunctory too.

Overall, it was really good though.

[XvGojira]

I liked it. Not sure if I love it but I definitely enjoyed it. And I've kind of fallen in love with Godzilla's first form, as goofy and ugly as he is.

[GFan]

Wow, just wow! I loved it! Felt like RETURN OF GODZILLA at times but with wayyy better pacing and action. They got one thing above everything else right: Shin Goji is a straight-up bad motherf**ker.

I'm seeing this again tomorrow night.

[canofhumdingers]

WOW. That was crazy. And those subtitles were INTENSE! I quickly gave up on trying to read everyones' titles and just tried to keep up with what was being said.

I'm SOOO glad I stayed spoiler free. It made the movie such a surprise! I think I need some time (and more viewings) to really digest it, but while watching it, I was LOVING it! Walking out of the theater I was pumped with adrenaline and excitement over what I'd just seen! Can't wait to see it again (especially knowing where I really need to pay attention to the subs and where I can relax and just enjoy the scenery).

While I generally vastly prefer original language with subs..... I REALLY hope they include a dub when this hits bluray. I don't know how many times I can sit through all that subtitling!

Now to catch up on all the spoiler threads and posts I've been avoiding....

[lhb412]

Wow, overwhelming!

I'll review it in the spoiler thread, but basically: really good (just shy of great), and a huge step forward for Toho.

[Hybrid Gojira]

This was easily one of worst movies of the franchise. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[JordanGLC]

So what kinds of crowds was everyone seeing when they went? My theater (a Regal cineplex) had no mention of the movie anywhere, so I was thinking the crowd would be on the smaller side. I arrived about 25 minutes early and was pleasantly surprised to see a good number of people already in the theater. By the time it started the place was almost packed.

[lhb412]

^We had one of the bigger theaters in the cineplex, and it was at least half full. I reckon about 3/5th full.

[klen7]

we had a mostly empty theater. Less than 30 people. There were 3 theaters within an hours drive doing showings, but there were 2 or 3 times as many people at the same theater for the first Attack on Titan film last year.

[angilas]

Packed audience. Over 250 people easily. And it was one of 10 theatres showing it in the VA/MD region so I think that bodes well. Most were there early. Diverse crowd of white/black/Asian young/old, obviously more male but not entirely. That being said the theatre I attended was the first to advertise Shin Godzilla in the area and I bought my tickets back in August so I don't know if it was representative of the entire region. I will see it again in MD this' weekend and let you know.

[lhb412]

Think I'll see it again tomorrow. For me Godzilla is, well, Godzilla: the thing I nerd out about the most, so an initial viewing has the hype and expectations and whatnot shrouding it. I'm looking forward to relaxing and digging deeper into the movie in the second viewing.

[jellydonut25]

We had a decent sized audience. Surprising since a LOT of theaters in the area are showing it.

[Outkaster]

I just got home from Regal here. There were about 30 people I would say in one of the smaller theaters in the multi-plex.

[JordanGLC]

While coming in 10th place for Tuesday, it did have the highest average per screen according to Box Office Mojo.

[O.Supreme]

So, I was looking at Funimaitons list of released films on Boxoffice Mojo. Really the only one of significance financially is DBZ: Resurrection F. (8 million) I wonder if Shin Godzilla will match/beat it. It may be a small goal, but a goal nonetheless .

[MekaGojira3k]

So, I was looking at Funimaitons list of released films on Boxoffice Mojo. Really the only one of significance financially is DBZ: Resurrection F. (8 million) I wonder if Shin Godzilla will match/beat it. It may be a small goal, but a goal nonetheless .

I really don't think it will. If it does, I'll be surprised but all theaters nearby showed Resurrection F multiple times and for more days. In Ashland and Johnson City there will only be 5 showings.

[Benjamin Haines]

So, I was looking at Funimaitons list of released films on Boxoffice Mojo. Really the only one of significance financially is DBZ: Resurrection F. (8 million) I wonder if Shin Godzilla will match/beat it. It may be a small goal, but a goal nonetheless .

It would be cool and anything is possible but I feel the need to preemptively urge everyone NOT to hold up DBZ's $8m North American gross as the benchmark for Shin Godzilla's success on these shores.

DBZ made over $1.9m on its first day in 895 theaters and expanded to 913 later that week. Box Office Mojo shows that Shin Godzilla will be in 515 theaters by this weekend and that it made $474,718 from 487 theaters this past Tuesday. DBZ had a per-theater average gross of $2,207 on its opening Tuesday whereas Shin Godzilla's was $975.

Dragon Ball Z is much more of a mainstream franchise in the U.S. than Godzilla is. It was hugely popular when Cartoon Network was still premiering episodes in the early 2000s and that was when it launched its video games series that continues to this day. I was in middle school during that time and I remember it being just as popular among college-aged audiences in those days, so now there's a large swath of people 40 and under that are willing to pay to see a new DBZ movie in a theater.

Here's some encouraging news: Shin Godzilla earned more on its first day than Attack on Titan, Part 1 did during its entire four-day run last year. Although Shin Godzilla had the advantage of playing in more theaters, it also managed to have a higher per-theater average gross on its first day ($975 vs. $896).

[O.Supreme]

Dragon Ball Z is much more of a mainstream franchise in the U.S. than Godzilla is.

This statement right here...may be currently "accurate"...but semantically...is just so wrong. I bet if you took 100 random people off the street in *anytown* USA , more of them would know what Godzilla is as opposed to what DBZ is. Unfortunately the theater I went to had no posters or adverts for the film, I was surprised it was as full as it was. With only 8 days total, who knows...maybe some locations will request additional showings? There's just something wrong if you ask me when we live in a place where DBZ is more popular than Godzilla...

[C.Miller719]

I really don't think it will. If it does, I'll be surprised but all theaters nearby showed Resurrection F multiple times and for more days. In Ashland and Johnson City there will only be 5 showings.

A little off subject, but are you referring to Johnson City, TN? I only ask as I was totally there opening night! Had a few pleasant conversations with some other fellow G-Fans.

[GiganGoji]

Dragon Ball Z is much more of a mainstream franchise in the U.S. than Godzilla is.

This statement right here...may be currently "accurate"...but semantically...is just so wrong. I bet if you took 100 random people off the street in *anytown* USA , more of them would know what Godzilla is as opposed to what DBZ is. Unfortunately the theater I went to had no posters or adverts for the film, I was surprised it was as full as it was. With only 8 days total, who knows...maybe some locations will request additional showings? There's just something wrong if you ask me when we live in a place where DBZ is more popular than Godzilla...

If you ask 100 random people, I'd bet money that more people know Godzilla than DBZ.
However, go into any store, you're more likely to find DBZ things than Godzilla. Heck, when the 2014 film came out, Hot Topic had maybe three shirts, and I had to buy them online because my local store didn't get any in. Yet they have an entire display devoted to DBZ. There's a "Tokyo" store in the local mall that has one Godzilla item: a NECA figure. But they have DBZ items throughout the store (figures, clothing, pens, etc).

[Benjamin Haines]

Dragon Ball Z is much more of a mainstream franchise in the U.S. than Godzilla is.

This statement right here...may be currently "accurate"...but semantically...is just so wrong. I bet if you took 100 random people off the street in *anytown* USA , more of them would know what Godzilla is as opposed to what DBZ is. Unfortunately the theater I went to had no posters or adverts for the film, I was surprised it was as full as it was. With only 8 days total, who knows...maybe some locations will request additional showings? There's just something wrong if you ask me when we live in a place where DBZ is more popular than Godzilla...

Awareness and popularity are two different things. Godzilla is a very well-known and iconic character but the modern fan base has been a niche market in North America for a long time. I would say Godzilla is more popular now than at any other post-GINO time thanks to the 2014 reboot and the corresponding exposure the series got on the internet, television, and home media, but it's not like most people who saw that flick have seen the Toho films before or since. I would even say that King Kong is as well-known a cinematic icon in the U.S. as Godzilla if not moreso but how many average folks have seen all the different Kong movies, or even just the original?

I distinctly remember being in the sixth grade, 2000 to 2001, and how many of my classmates were into Dragon Ball Z, constantly talking about the show, exchanging the uncut VHS tapes, and sharing their fan art of the characters. It wasn't just the nerds, either; it was preps, athletes, the cool kids in the cafeteria. I was very much alone in my love of Godzilla at that time. I guess that's why DBZ being more popular than Godzilla seems like a no-brainer to me.

Godzilla has over 60 years of cultural recognition on his side but that doesn't necessarily translate into mainstream popularity. Dragon Ball Z has more modern inroads to selling new media to the culture at large. The franchise has maintained relevance since the early 2000s with a steady series of hit console video games, the revised Dragon Ball Z Kai series that aired on NickToons and later on Toonami, DVD/bluray collections of the show, and now the newer movies and anime.