New Godzilla film announced for 11/032023

[Dai]

I am shock! I figured it might get a very limited release a year from now, but a Japanese kaiju movie getting a UK cinema release barely a month after Japan is (AFAIK) unprecedented. I do wonder how wide this release will be though, since Anime Limited cinema runs are usually pretty small scale. It releasing on a Friday is promising though; the Shin movies generally just had one screening per cinema on a weekday.

[lhb412]

Very impressed with how Toho's managed to wrangle so many international theatrical releases!

[Kailem]

Yeah I'm pleasantly surprised it's getting released in so many territories!

Here's hoping it's not super-limited and far away. I signed up for their "keep me informed" thing, so hopefully it'll be playing somewhere close. I want to see this movie, but I'd rather not have to travel halfway across the country to do it.

[Benjamin Haines]

^ The UK & Ireland release will include IMAX and 4DX screens. Do you live near any of those? The name Anime Limited does suggest a limited release but hopefully it will be a wide rollout as Deadline put it.

The short wait time following the Japanese release of Minus One seems to be unprecedented for every country that's getting a theatrical release!

[Dai]

https://www.screendaily.com/news/godzilla-minus-one-lands-uk-ireland-distribution-deal-sets-opening-date/5187205.article

The UK release will be on 200-250 screens, apparently. That's easily 10 times the number of screens the Shin movies played at, and a lot larger than previous Anime Limited cinema releases. They were bought out by the Embracer Group earlier this year though (for better or worse...), so maybe they have more money or corporate pull for arranging this kind of thing now.

I do wonder where the push to make this such a big international release is coming from, whether it's Toho or the regional licensees.

[lhb412]

I haven't seen the trailer in theaters yet, but it's apparently playing. People have reported seeing in front of Five Nights at Freddy's.

[Benjamin Haines]

Deadline just posted an interview with Takashi Yamazaki as part of their coverage of the Tokyo Film Festival, which is wrapping up now with a screening of Godzilla Minus One.

https://deadline.com/2023/11/takashi-yamazaki-godzilla-minus-one-tokyo-film-festival-2023-toho-1235589356/

[lhb412]

Placeholder pages for the ticket preorders are up for my local theaters. Looks like I'll see it on the 29th in (off brand) IMAX!

[Kailem]

A new trailer will be dropping in just over 12 hours' time!

https://x.com/Godzilla_Toho/status/1719978606225772791?s=20

[lhb412]

Less than a month away... I think I'm good in regards to seeing any more of this film.

[Kailem]

With me not being able to see it until a bit later than that, and with the increased chance of having stuff spoiled on Twitter and stuff anyway that brings, I'm gonna go ahead and watch it!

EDIT: And here it is!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvSrHIX5a-0

THAT ENDING!!! DAMN does this continue to look amazing!!

I'm a little surprised (but in a good way) this trailer doesn't have the heavy focus on imparting more story and character details like a lot of "main" trailers do, and instead seems to be more about just building hype in general by just showing us a bunch more cool stuff. But wow does it do a great job of that!! Crazy, crazy good stuff!

[Benjamin Haines]

That is the best trailer yet, and it doesn't seem to reveal too much. This movie looks so good!

Gareth Edwards went to Japan to promote his new movie The Creator, and he joined forces with Takashi Yamazaki to promote both of their films as a pair of Godzilla directors. There's reportedly a video interview with the two of them playing before some screenings of Minus One in Japan. Here's a link to a Japanese article covering their promotion, with a touched-up Google translation below: https://www.cinematoday.jp/news/N0139647


Hollywood Godzilla director is jealous of Godzilla Minus One
Takashi Yamazaki & Gareth Edwards talk about Godzilla

Takashi Yamazaki, the director, scriptwriter and VFX director of the movie Godzilla Minus One, produced to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Godzilla's birth, had a conversation with Gareth Edwards, who came to Japan with his new science fiction action film The Creator. Director Edwards, who is also known for working on the Hollywood version of Godzilla, was among the first to watch Godzilla Minus One in Japan, and talked with director Yamazaki about the future of Godzilla movies and the series.

Godzilla Minus One, the 30th live-action Godzilla film produced by Toho, is set in postwar Japan, which has lost everything and is reduced to nothing, and depicts how Godzilla brings Japan down. The main character Koichi Shikishima is played by Ryunosuke Kamiki, the heroine Noriko Oishi is played by Minami Hamabe, along with Yuki Yamada (Shiro Mizushima), Takataka Aoki (Sousaku Tachibana), Hidetaka Yoshioka (Kenji Noda), Sakura Ando (Sumiko Ota). A gorgeous cast of actors representing Japan, including Kuranosuke Sasaki (playing the role of Seiji Akitsu), was assembled.

Director Edwards, who watched Godzilla Minus One, said, "There were a lot of things that I thought were very new, and I was feeling jealous the whole time I was watching it," and also added, "This is what a Godzilla movie should be." He says he was able to understand director Yamazaki's message.

"Godzilla Minus One is set in postwar Japan," Edwards said. "I felt like this is how a Godzilla movie should be, as much as I wanted to do that. When I was filming Godzilla, I once told the crew members on set, 'We are making a fictional film about the events that happened in 1954. Please approach the movie with that mindset.' Godzilla Minus One is exactly what I told the crew. I think this is a movie that expresses the experiences of the people who encountered Godzilla. It's a film that captures the whole story from start to finish. There has been repeated debate among fans over the question, 'What is the best Godzilla movie of all time?' I think Godzilla Minus One will definitely be named as the best Godzilla movie of all time."

Director Edwards observes that Godzilla Minus One was influenced by Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jurassic Park and Jaws, as well as Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk. When asked, "Are you influenced by Western movies?", director Yamazaki answered, "I've been watching Western movies as if I was breathing, so I think the style came naturally to me." He revealed that he has been influenced not only by overseas directors but also by famous domestic directors such as Hayao Miyazaki.

In 2024, Godzilla will celebrate his 70th anniversary. In the United States, the story of Godzilla continues to grow with the first live-action drama series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, being created as part of the MonsterVerse, a collaboration between Toho and Warner Bros. & Legendary Pictures. How do directors Yamazaki and Edwards view the future of Godzilla, which continues to evolve?

"I think it would be great if the writers continued to make new things with their own ideas," director Yamazaki said. "Of course, when I was asked, 'Are you going to make another Godzilla movie?', I said, 'I will.' In fact, Godzilla is a fairly flexible intellectual property. The world of Godzilla will continue to expand depending on how many different directors can make movies that are different from others. I think so.''

"If you think about it," director Edwards said, "Godzilla is a pretty crazy idea. At first glance, it seems like a story and existence that wouldn’t work, but there’s something about it that makes sense. In the process of human evolution as mammals, there have always been predators. Even now, as humans have become the most influential beings on the planet, we still unconsciously think about the existence of predators. While there has been a period of peace, I think Godzilla is a symbol of redemption because we believe that someday we will be overtaken by a larger predator, and that is why Godzilla is a symbol of redemption. Those thoughts are engraved in our DNA. I think that by doing so, Godzilla movies will continue to be produced for 100 or 200 years."

The two, who both worked on Godzilla movies and have a lot in common with backgrounds in the VFX field, spoke passionately about each other's movies even though it was a short time. Finally, director Edwards said, "People tend to think of being a film director as a dream job, but I always feel quite stressed out." Does director Yamazaki continue to have fun while making movies? Director Yamazaki said, "Directing is a roller coaster. I think it's a job with huge differences between happy moments and depressed moments. Sometimes I stop and think, 'I'm making a movie myself right now.' When you do that, your happiness level increases tremendously and you feel like 'I'll try again.' I think it's good to reaffirm how happy you are," he told Coach Edwards.

The movie Godzilla Minus One will be released nationwide on November 3rd (Friday/Holiday).

The movie The Creator is now being released nationwide.

[Benjamin Haines]

SciFi Japan reports that Piece of Magic Entertainment will release Godzilla Minus One in theaters throughout 38 different European territories including France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Benelux and the Nordics.

https://www.scifijapan.com/godzilla-toho/godzilla-minus-one-gets-theatrical-release-across-europe

[Kailem]

My friend Mike was lucky enough to be invited to the US premiere on Friday, and he said that yup, it's absolutely amazing and might even be his new favourite Godzilla movie.

Granted I've been staying away from reading any actual reviews for fear of spoilers, but the fact that *everyone* is only saying glowing things about this definitely makes me think it's going to live up to the considerable amount of hype!

[lhb412]

Not looking too closely at reviews and reactions. I'm even avoiding trailer #2. I want to go in fresh!

... but the positive buzz is certainly palpable! Very heartening

[Russzilla]

Man, I remember on this board when many on here said that Toho would never make another Godzilla movie, and look where we’re at now. First Shin, and now this, with the mini movies included.

[Kailem]

Yeah it's kinda crazy to look back on all that now in light of what we're getting/about to get. And it wasn't just one or two people who thought we'd never get another Toho Godzilla again. I remember it being a fairly common sentiment at the time, though not one I ever personally bought into. No matter how hard times might get, Godzilla is a global icon with the kind of brand-name recognition most companies would kill for. Not to mention all the merchandising possibilities that go along with him. Even if we do eventually end up in another "dark age" where nobody is making anything Godzilla-related for a long time, I don't think we'll ever get to the point where Toho will *never* make another film. Godzilla movies are like Godzilla himself. He might occasionally go dormant for a while, but sooner or later he always returns.

That being said though, man were those post-Final Wars years rough! It's insane to think we've just gotten two official Toho-produced Godzilla short films, but today marks the launch of a new live-action Godzilla TV show, we're on the cusp of a new Toho Godzilla movie, and early next year we're getting another American-made Godzilla and Kong film too!

It might have taken a while to get here, but man, we are SO back!

[lhb412]

I remember the immediate end of the Millennium series still being exciting just because of all the home video releases. I was seeing a lot of older stuff for the first time, either entirely or just seeing the Japanese cuts for the first time, and that was consistent for a few years. I even remember responding to a comment back then with something akin to "so what if they never make another film? There's so much old stuff to watch!"

Then we knew Legendary Godzilla was in production in... 2010? So, for me the 'dark age' was only like two years!

[Benjamin Haines]

What sticks out the most to me about Godzilla in the 2000s was the distinct sense of past, present and future. The 1998 Hollywood movie was what made me a fan as a kid, so I went on to discover all of the Showa and Heisei films of the past while watching Godzilla: The Series as it aired on Fox Kids, and then the Millennium Series was present-tense Godzilla through my middle school and early high school years. Final Wars was billed as the last Godzilla movie for at least a decade with no specific forecast for where the character would go in the future, so we were at least prepared for that when the hiatus began. For the rest of my high school and college years, Godzilla fandom for me was about appreciating the long history of the franchise in new ways, from the slow trickle of new DVD releases to eventually meeting Haruo Nakajima at a convention in 2013, all while having this message board as the place to discuss everything.

It was August 2009 when the first rumors surfaced of Legendary Pictures making a Godzilla reboot, and then it took nearly five years for it to finally hit theaters, but there's been no shortage of new Godzilla content in the decade since then. These really are great years to be living in, both with everything new and with the unprecedented availability of it all, new and old.

[Dai]

UK screening times are starting to appear on https://godzillafilm.co.uk/ . To my amazement it's showing at a convenient cinema just a few miles from me. Ticket booked.

[Kailem]

Likewise, I was surprised to see it's going to be showing at my local cinema! Got my ticket booked as well!

[lhb412]

Well, holiday stuff prevented a more thorough rewatch of films to prep for this new one, but I've still managed to squeeze in Return of Godzilla, GMK, and Godzilla '54 in the last few days. I'm fully prepped and ready for a new Toho Godzilla tonight!

[Benjamin Haines]

^ I am jealous of you seeing it before me! I'm seeing it on Thursday next week.

My lady and I haven't been to a movie theater since before the pandemic. I didn't even see Godzilla vs. Kong on the big screen but I really don't want to miss Minus One. We're avoiding any opening weekend fan crowds, and so far the Thursday afternoon showing next week still has all of the seats available. The nearest theater playing Minus One is an hour's drive away, the same Regal where we saw Shin Godzilla.

Dai, Kailem, I'm glad that you'll both be able to catch it too!

[Moonlight SY-3]

Saw it Nov 3 and Nov 23 with my family. Not just a great Godzilla movie, but a great movie, period. Even my wife loved it!

[Benjamin Haines]

^ Awesome.


Godzilla Minus One is on pace for a $10m opening weekend in the US, already matching Godzilla 2000's total $10m haul in North America! That's also already five times Shin Godzilla's $1.9m North American total. This is a big win!

From Deadline:
https://deadline.com/2023/12/box-office-renaissance-a-film-by-beyonce-godzilla-minus-one-hunger-games-1235647651/
"Also bringing up the rear behind Renaissance is a fantastic third weekend hold for Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes of -47%. or an estimated $15.3M, as well as the solid start of Toho International’s first stateside theatrical release, Godzilla Minus One, with $10M. There are also several indie releases posting in the single digits and filling the top ten chart."
...
"Godzilla Minus One is a plus among those who bought tickets, with an “A” CinemaScore, and updated PostTrak exits of 92% positive, 83% definite recommend. Guys leading at 77%, with 63% of the audience between 18-34 and 25-34 the biggest quad at 38%. Diversity demos are 46% Caucasian, 31% Latino and Hispanic, 7% Black, and 15% Asian/other. Godzilla’s chomp on PLF and IMAX screens are repping 45% of the pic’s weekend biz. Even play across the country, though West is the best. Top venue in the country is AMC Lincoln Square, with close to $26K. Friday was $4.7M, which includes $2.1M previews."