Godzilla Minus One (2023)

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Godzilla Minus One See alternate titles Directed by Takashi Yamazaki Producer Minami Ichikawa et al. Written by Takashi Yamazaki Music by Naoki Sato, Akira Ifukube Visual effects by Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya Funded by Toho Production companies TOHO Studios, ROBOT Distributor TohoJP, Toho InternationalNA Rating GJP, PG-13US Budget Over ¥1 billion Box office $115.8 million (not final earnings) $48.2 millionJP (not final earnings) $56.4 millionNA Running time 125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes) Aspect ratio 2.39:1 2.39:1 / 1.90:1IMAX Rate this film! 4.94 (109 votes)

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“	Postwar Japan. From zero to minus. (戦後、日本。無 (ゼロ)から負 (マイナス)へ。)	„
	— Tagline

Godzilla Minus One (ゴジラ-1.0 (マイナスワン),   Gojira Mainasu Wan, lit. "Godzilla-1.0") is a 2023 Japanese kaiju film written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, with visual effects supervised by Yamazaki and directed by Kiyoko Shibuya. Funded by Toho and produced by TOHO Studios and ROBOT, it stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, and Kuranosuke Sasaki. It is the 30th mainline installment in the Godzilla series, 37th Godzilla film overall, and fifth film in the franchise's Reiwa era.

The film premiered on November 1, 2023, closing out the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival. Toho released it to more than 500 Japanese theaters beginning that November 3, the same day that the original Godzilla premiered in 1954. The film had its U.S. premiere at the Directors Guild of America on November 10, while Toho International brought it to over 2,300 North American screens beginning December 1. Though the film's Japanese release coincided with the Godzilla franchise's 69th anniversary, it officially commemorates the 70th anniversary, which will occur in 2024. A regraded black-and-white version of the film, Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color (ゴジラ-1.0 (マイナスワン)／C (マイナスカラー),   Gojira Mainasu Wan/Mainasu Karā, lit. "Godzilla-1.0/C"), premiered in Japanese theaters on January 12, 2024, and opened in North America on January 26.

The first live action Japanese Godzilla film since 2016's Shin Godzilla, Minus One sees "an already devastated postwar Japan facing a new threat in the form of Godzilla."

Description

“

The worst despair in the series' history strikes Japan! After the war, Japan has been reduced to zero. Godzilla appears and plunges the country into a negative state. The most desperate situation in the history of Japan. Who?　And how? Will Japan stand up to it?

„

Plot

During the final days of World War II in 1945, a Zero fighter lands on Odo Island, the site of a repair base for kamikaze planes. After the mechanics there inspect it, Sosaku Tachibana reports to its pilot, Ensign Koichi Shikishima, that no issues were found. Shikishima is defensive, having lied about a malfunction to save his life. Shortly afterwards, another mechanic says he wishes there were more soldiers like him, as the war is all but lost already. Shikishima then witnesses several dead deep sea fish in the waters around the island.

That night an air-raid siren sounds, heralding the arrival of a dinosaur-like creature the Odo Islanders call "Godzilla." He demolishes the guard tower after its searchlight illuminates him; Shikishima and the others seek shelter in a trench. Tachibana urges Shikishima to use his plane’s 20mm gun against Godzilla, but he freezes up once in the cockpit as the monster stands in front of him. The panicked repairmen open fire on Godzilla themselves, enraging him and causing him to brutally dispatch them with his jaws, feet, and tail. Godzilla throws the plane during the battle, the explosion knocking Shikishima unconscious. He awakens to find only one other survivor: Tachibana, who blames him for failing to act. On the troopship taking them home following Japan's surrender to the Allied Powers, Tachibana gives Shikishima the photos he found with the slain men.

Shikishima returns to his Tokyo neighborhood and finds it in ruins, his own house little more than rubble. His neighbor Sumiko Ota, recalling his kamikaze assignment, berates him for his cowardice. She has lost all of her children to the American bombings, and tells him that his parents met the same fate. He reflects that in a letter to him, they told him to come back alive.

Some days later, Shikishima has built a rudimentary shelter from the rubble. At the black market, a woman pursued by several men for stealing blankets leaves a baby in his arms. He considers leaving her in the market, but decides to take her with him and promptly encounters the woman again, who had been waiting nearby for him to leave. Impressed that he didn't abandon the baby, she follows him home and he begrudgingly cooks a meal for them, but insists she leave afterward. When he inquires about her husband, she explains that she isn't married; in fact, the baby isn't even hers, but was adopted from a dying mother during the Tokyo air raids. She introduces herself as Noriko Oishi and the baby as Akiko. Like Shikishima, her own family is gone. She falls asleep during a lull in their conversation and ends up spending the night.

The next day, Ota sneers at Shikishima for taking in Oishi and Akiko, saying it's too late to play the hero. She changes her tune upon learning Oishi is not the child's mother, giving them a bag of rice for Akiko. In March 1946, Shikishima returns home to Oishi and Akiko and announces he's found a well-paying job detonating unexploded mines in the waters around Japan. She's aghast at the danger he'll be putting himself in right after surviving the war, but he sees no other way to keep them all from starving.

At the dock, Shikishima is startled to find he'll be serving on the Shinseimaru, a small wooden boat. Former navy technical officer Kenji Noda explains that its composition is to ward off American magnetic mines. He then meets Captain Seiji Akitsu and Shiro Mizushima, the latter too young to have served in the war. They head out on the water and Akitsu explains their work. A cable suspended between their boat and the Kaishinmaru allows them to clip mine wires and bring them to the surface, where they can be exploded from a distance with machine gun fire. Shikishima quickly proves himself a skilled marksman, taking over from Akitsu. At Shikishima's recollection of flying fighter planes, Mizushima muses that he wishes the war had lasted longer so he would have been able to enlist, prompting a sharp rebuke. That night, Shikishima has a nightmare about his encounter with Godzilla on Odo Island. As Oishi comforts him, he questions whether he died on Odo Island and everything since has been the real dream, so aggressively that she's forced to throw him off her.

In July 1946, an American nuclear test at Bikini Atoll, part of Operation Crossroads, mutates Godzilla. The Shinseimaru continues its minesweeping work as Oishi raises Akiko at home. Shikishima is soon able to afford a motorcycle and major renovations to their house. When his crewmates visit for dinner one night, Noda snaps a picture of Oishi. The men assume her to be Shikishima's wife and are startled to learn of their living arrangement. When Akiko calls Shikishima her father, he tells her not to call him that, to their alarm. They encourage him to accept that he's found a family, but he angrily refuses.

Oishi takes a desk job in Tokyo's prospering Ginza district in March 1947, explaining to Shikishima that she wants to be able to support herself, lest she keep him from finding a wife. He asks what she plans to do about Akiko, and she answers that Ota has already excitedly offered to take care of her while they're both at work. Meanwhile, Godzilla destroys multiple ships, including several American military vessels, as he swims towards Japan. Despite the danger, the U.S. refuses to intervene, concerned that a military buildup in Japan would damage relations with the Soviet Union.

By May 1947, the Shinseimaru and Kaishinmaru are dispatched to find Godzilla, searching near the Ogasawara Islands. They first come upon a massive American ship he has ravaged. After the crewmates debate what could have caused such damage, Shikishima spots deep sea fish on the surface. He shares with them what happened on Odo Island, which was covered up after the war ended; in the process, they learn that he was a kamikaze pilot. Mizushima is horrified that the Japanese government expects them to fight Godzilla in their tiny boats. Noda explains that their job is simply to delay his advance until the cruiser Takao can arrive from Singapore, having been returned to Japan to respond to the crisis. Their orders suggest they use the mines they recover as weapons - and, to Akitsu's disgust, forbid them from telling anyone else about the mission. After they collect two mines, Noda commiserates with Shikishima about the war, saying he also has trouble sleeping. The pilot is struggling with his fear of Godzilla, though he hopes to avenge his comrades on Odo Island. As larger deep sea fish surface all around them, they urge Akitsu to flee, but he's determined to face the monster, not wanting to see Tokyo destroyed again. Then Godzilla suddenly surges out of the water, sinking the Kaishinmaru in an instant, and he takes their advice. Godzilla chases after them, unfazed by the first mine they detonate against his dorsal fins and their machine gun. Noda gets the idea to set off the next mine in Godzilla's mouth. When the detonator switch fails to work, Shikishima explodes it with the machine gun. The blast destroys Godzilla's left eye and a large part of his cheek, while the ensuing wave rocks the Shinseimaru so severely that both Shikishima and Mizushima are injured. Godzilla appears dead in the water, only for the wound to regenerate before the crew's eyes. He rises out of the water and roars at them, but is cut off by the guns of the Takao. Godzilla turns his rage to the cruiser and pulls himself onto it, tearing it apart viciously with his claws. The ship's guns unload on Godzilla again, causing him to fall backward into the sea. However, the creature swims underneath the Takao and obliterates it in an instant with an explosive heat ray. Godzilla surfaces amid the ashes and smoke, wounded but triumphant, and continues to swim towards Tokyo.

Shikishima wakes up in a hospital after the battle and is greeted by his crewmates. He wants to alert the populace, but Noda tells him the government is still covering up the creature's existence, as no one is willing to be responsible for the panic that would ensue. At home, he tries to dodge Oishi's questions about what happened to him. He finally tells her everything, ending by saying he shouldn't have lived. She counters that everyone who survived the war was meant to live, echoing her parents' final words to her. Wracked with guilt, he again wonders if he died on Odo Island and dreamed everything since in his final moments. She holds him and repeats that he's still alive.

The next morning, he watches Oishi tenderly feed Akiko soup, then turns to his parents' altar and asks if he can finally let the past go. That same day, Godzilla effortlessly passes through a mine blockade and enters Tokyo Bay before making landfall in Ginza. Shikishima, at home with Akiko, hears the news on the radio as sirens blare. Oishi's train is forced to stop when Godzilla throws another train car into its path, and she sees the monster for the first time. He advances towards her train, trampling countless civilians in the process, and bites down on it. Left dangling above a river as he stands up, she lets herself fall, narrowly avoiding the car as he drops it. Godzilla continues his frenzied rampage, destroying the Nippon Theater and killing several reporters broadcasting from a rooftop. As he approaches Oishi, she freezes up until Shikishima comes to lead her away. Tanks positioned in front of the National Diet Building fire on Godzilla, but he weathers the assault, to the dismay of the civilians nearby. They can only brace themselves as his dorsal fins begin to protrude from his back and emit a blue glow one by one. In a split second, his dorsal fins retract and he thrusts his head forward, firing a blue atomic heat ray from his mouth that strikes the tanks and produces a nuclear explosion that flattens most of the surrounding area. Noriko is swept away in the shockwave after pushing Shikishima to safety. As Godzilla roars at the mushroom cloud he created and a black rain falls, Shikishima screams in grief amidst the ruins of Ginza.

Godzilla returns to the sea, leaving an estimated 30,000 civilians killed or injured and 20,000 houses and other buildings destroyed. The area of his rampage is cordoned off due to the high radiation levels. Following a memorial service for Oishi, Ota struggles to comfort Akiko and Shikishima sinks further into despair. Staring at the pictures of the slain Odo Island mechanics, he believes that they have yet to forgive him. Noda informs him that a group of private citizens is formulating a long-shot plan to destroy Godzilla. He attends a meeting, along with Mizushima, Akitsu, and many former navy personnel. Tatsuo Hotta, an ex-destroyer captain, explains that Japan has negotiated the return of four destroyers, albeit stripped of their weapons. To the surprise of his crewmates, Noda himself explains Operation Wada Tsumi, which he devised. He proposes luring Godzilla above the deepest part of Sagami Bay and tying canisters of Freon gas to him, which when ruptured would lower the water's buoyancy and forcibly sink Godzilla to a depth of 1,500 meters, crushing him with the sudden pressure change. He is unable to guarantee this will kill Godzilla, to the dismay of many attendees, including Shikishima, who nearly leaves. Noda elaborates that the operation requires two destroyers to circle Godzilla and wrap him in cables which the canisters will be attached to. He reassures them he has built in a back-up plan: giant balloons provided by Toyo Balloon would be inflated under him to rapidly bring him to the surface and destroy him via explosive decompression. Representatives of the company dramatically exhibit one of the balloons in action. Hotta apologizes for again asking to men to go into battle - but neither the U.S. nor the Japanese government is willing to defeat, or capable of defeating, the monster threatening their country. Some of the attendees leave, but most stay; one heartens the others by saying that a plan that has a chance of succeeding is better than the odds they faced in the war.

The crew of the Shinseimaru goes out for drinks, where Noda voices the belief that Godzilla will return to Japan in as soon as 10 days, since he now considers Tokyo part of his territory. To lure the monster to the trap point, he plans to use acoustic minesweepers to play recordings of his roar. Mizushima suggests using the destroyers to pull Godzilla to the surface instead of balloons, but Noda dismisses him, saying the monster is too heavy. He admits that his plan could fail in many different ways, but challenges them to come up with a better one. Shikishima finally speaks up, offering to help with the luring operation if Noda can procure a fighter plane. Akitsu asks whether Shikishima has a death wish, then grabs him, saying he can't avenge Noriko; he missed his chance to marry her, which would have kept her out of Godzilla's path. Shikishima explains that he wanted to, but his war isn't over.

Noda soon invites Shikishima to a hanger where the nimble Local Fighter Shinden sits. Developed at the end of the war as an anti-bomber fighter, only a few prototypes saw use, as Japan surrendered before the Allies could invade the mainland. Years in storage have left the plane inoperable; Shikishima recommends Tachibana to repair it. Unable to find the mechanic's current address, he resorts to sending inflammatory letters to comrades from Tachibana's postings before Odo Island. Tachibana soon turns up at his house and beats him, furious that he would blame him for the Odo Island massacre. When Shikishima explains the true purpose of the letters, Tachibana initially refuses. He relents when Shikishima reveals his own plan: based on the damage Godzilla sustained from the mine detonated in his mouth, he should be able to kill him if he flies the Shinden, loaded with explosives, into his mouth. He gathers a team to begin work on the fighter the next day. Watching the destroyers loaded up with supplies, Noda is pessimistic about his plan, but Akitsu reassures him that the volunteers are in high spirits despite the risk, glad at the chance to finally make a difference.

Radiation-detecting buoys herald Godzilla's return in less than a day. Unsure if their balloons will be ready in time, the employees of Toyo Balloon offer to ride on the destroyers, so as to make use of the final hours. Noda orders the volunteers to spend the night with their families. He reflects that Japan treated life cheaply during the war, including the use of kamikaze planes, but hopes to execute Operation Wada Tsumi with zero casualties. After the meeting, Noda and Akitsu tell Mizushima, still injured, that he'll be staying home tomorrow. When he protests, Akitsu tells him that having never seen combat should be a badge of pride. Working on the Shinden, Tachibana takes a closer look at something in the cockpit. At home, Akiko gives Shikishima a drawing she made of them and Oishi, then begins to cry.

The morning of the operation, Shikishima leaves a letter next to Akiko while she sleeps and slips out. At the hangar, Tachibana explains that he replaced some of the plane's nonessential components with two bombs. Sitting in the cockpit, Shikishima realizes that part of him wants to live; Tachibana reminds him that the mechanics on Odo Island wanted to live too. Shikishima takes out the mechanics' pictures and the drawing made by Akiko, whose future he wants to protect. Tachibana shows him the bomb's safety and one more thing. Ota finds Akiko by herself and opens the letter, which contains a large sum of money and a note instructing her to take care of the child.

The acoustic minesweepers deploy in Sagami Bay after a buoy there detects Godzilla. Aboard one of the destroyers, Noda voices his concerns about Shikishima to Akitsu. The captain reassures him that he'll stay alive for Akiko. Just then, Godzilla throws one of the minesweeper ships ashore, having reached the shore faster than anticipated. After placing Noda's photo of Oishi in the cockpit, Shikishima exchanges salutes with Tachibana and takes off. Noda orders the destroyers to set sail, with the task of bringing Godzilla into position now entirely up to Shikishima. After declining to reply to Akitsu's order to survive the operation, he comes upon Godzilla terrorizing the countryside. At the same time, Ota receives a telegram which she reads with astonishment. Shikishima flies his fighter perilously close to Godzilla, evading his jaws and then his tail while peppering him with machine gun fire. Godzilla turns around to chase him, with the Shinden luring him all the way to the trap point in Sagami Bay.

Two of the destroyers speed towards Godzilla; unbeknownst to him, both are unmanned. He expends his atomic breath on the harmless ships, leaving him unable to use it again while he regenerates from his self-inflicted wounds. The other two destroyers encircle Godzilla and tie a cable attached to Freon canisters around him while Shikishima continues to buzz him. The ships scrape against each other as they complete the circle. As Godzilla prepares to fire his atomic breath again, the canisters are ruptured, forcibly pulling him underwater. Upon surpassing the target depth, Godzilla freezes in place and stops charging his atomic breath, but remains alive. Noda then has the balloons inflated under him, rapidly drawing the monster to the surface. When Godzilla tears through the balloons, the destroyers try pulling him the rest of the way themselves, but as Noda predicted, the monster's weight is too great and one of the cranes collapses. His plan seems hopeless until a fleet of tugboats, led by Mizushima, arrive to help the destroyers. Upon surfacing, Godzilla is heavily mutilated, having suffered critical damage to his body from decompression, but is not dead. Noda and the others accept their deaths as an enraged Godzilla courses with power and prepares to unleash his atomic breath. Shikishima intercedes, flying his plane towards Godzilla as Oda and Akitsu shout for him to stop. He thinks of Oishi just before his plane lodges in Godzilla's mouth and explodes - and all involved in the operation are overjoyed to see that he ejected, having followed Tachibana's order to live.

The smoke clears moments later, revealing that the top of Godzilla's head has been destroyed, after which the accumulated atomic energy overloads, causing the rest of his body to crumble. Spontaneously, the crews of all the ships salute. They return to port to find a jubilant crowd waiting, including Mizushima, who reunites with his crewmates. Shikishima spots Oda, carrying Akiko, in the crowd, and she hands him the telegram. He and Akiko rush to a hospital and find Oishi in one of the rooms, injured but still alive. She asks if his war is finally over before he tearfully embraces her, not noticing a veiny pattern resembling Godzilla's dorsal fins on her neck.

In the depths of Sagami Bay, a surviving fragment of Godzilla's flesh begins to regenerate.

Staff

Main article: Godzilla Minus One/Credits.

Staff role on the left, staff member's name on the right.

• Directed by   Takashi Yamazaki
• Written by   Takashi Yamazaki
• Executive producer   Minami Ichikawa
• Co-executive producers   Hisashi Usui, Shuji Abe
• Planned and produced by   Kenji Yamada, Kazuaki Kishida
• Produced by   Go Abe, Keiichiro Moriya
• Line producer   Hiroshi Sakurai
• Music by   Naoki Sato, Akira Ifukube
• Cinematography by   Kozo Shibasaki
• Edited by   Ryuji Miyajima
• Production design by   Anri Jojo
• First assistant director   Kohei Adachi
• Visual effects supervisor   Takashi Yamazaki
• Visual effects director   Kiyoko Shibuya
• Co-VFX director   Sho Funabashi
• 3DCG director   Masaki Takahashi

Cast

Actor's name on the left, character played on the right.

• Ryunosuke Kamiki   as   Ensign Koichi Shikishima, ex-kamikaze pilot
• Minami Hamabe   as   Noriko Oishi, Shikishima's girlfriend
• Yuki Yamada   as   Shiro Mizushima, apprentice Shinseimaru crewman
• Hidetaka Yoshioka   as   Kenji Noda, former navy technical officer
• Munetaka Aoki   as   Sosaku Tachibana, former Imperial Navy Air Service mechanic
• Sakura Ando   as   Sumiko Ota, Shikishima's neighbor
• Kuranosuke Sasaki   as   Seiji Akitsu, captain of the Shinseimaru
• Mio Tanaka   as   Tatsuo Hotta, captain of the Yukikaze
• Yuya Endo   as   Tadayuki Saito
• Kisuke Iida   as   Akio Itagaki, Toyo Balloon representative
• Sae Nagatani   as   Akiko, Shikishima and Oishi's adopted daughter

Appearances

Monsters Godzilla Unmutated form Deep-sea fish

Weapons, vehicles, and races Shinseimaru Kyushu J7W Shinden Takao-class cruiser (Takao) Kagerō-class destroyer (Yukikaze) Nagato-class battleship (Nagato) Minekaze-class destroyer (Yūkaze) Fubuki-class destroyer (Hibiki) Matsu-class destroyer (Keyaki) Ukuru-class escort ship (Ikuno) Kaishinmaru Mitsubishi A6M Zero Type 4 Chi-To medium tank USS Lancaster (unknown destroyer class) Balao-class submarine (USS Redfish)

Development

A new Toho kaiju film to be directed by Takashi Yamazaki, codenamed Blockbuster Monster Movie, was announced on February 18, 2022 through a casting call posted on production company ROBOT's website, as well as on the Godzilla+ application. Few details were given of its premise beyond that it would involve kaiju and be set in postwar Japan between 1945 and 1947. On November 3, during Godzilla Fest 2022, the project was revealed to be the next entry in the Godzilla franchise, with a release date set for exactly one year later on November 3, 2023. Subsequent reports confirmed that Yamazaki would also write the film's script and supervise its VFX, and that TOHO Studios would carry out production alongside ROBOT. Toho held a press conference on December 13 to announce its domestic film slate for 2023, during which the head of its Planning & Production Department, Hisashi Usui, hinted at a possible relation between the new film and the original Godzilla from 1954.

On July 11, 2023, alongside the reveal of the film's title as Godzilla Minus One, Toho announced that the film will be released to theaters in the United States that December 1. Fansite Toho Kingdom later relayed a clarification from Toho that its American subsidiary, Toho International, will be handling distribution. Also on July 11, Toho's Kazuaki Kishida announced via Twitter that he produced the film. On August 29, the Tokyo International Film Festival announced that Godzilla Minus One would be screened as the closing film of its 36th festival on November 1, two days ahead of the film's Japanese theatrical release.

Seven of the film's starring actors, the names of their characters, and the composer and other key staff were released on September 4.

Yamazaki named Shusuke Kaneko's Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), his favorite installment of the Godzilla series, as an unconscious influence on the plot of Godzilla Minus One. Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris (1999), also directed by Kaneko, gave Yamazaki precedent for showing on-screen human death in a kaiju film.

Production

As revealed through a casting call, scenes involving extras were shot from March to June of 2022. Known shooting dates and locations from that casting call included:

• March 17-19: Aoba, Yokohama, Kanagawa (outdoors, daytime)
• March 30-31: Kasama, Ibaraki (indoors and outdoors, all-day)
• April 11-13: Seijo, Setagaya, Tokyo (indoors, all-day)
• April 17-18: Nishio, Aichi (indoors, daytime)
• May 4-5: Inashiki, Ibaraki (daytime)
• May 9-11: Okaya, Nagano (indoors and outdoors, all-day)
• May 12: Okaya, Nagano (outdoors, all-day)
• May 12: Okaya, Nagano (outdoors, daytime)
• May 13: Okaya, Nagano (indoors and outdoors, daytime)
• May 16-20: Chikusei, Ibaraki (outdoors, daytime)
• May 28-30: Chikusei, Ibaraki (outdoors, daytime)
• June 5-6, 11: Chiba

VFX company Shirogumi later opened an online recruiting call for effects designers and compositors. The webpage estimated that post-production work would take place between August 2022 and January 2023, but this was subsequently changed to between November 2022 and February 2023 before the page was taken down completely. The film was confirmed to have entered post-production during the Toho press conference that was held on December 13, 2022.

A 1:1 scale model of the Kyushu J7W Shinden was created for use in the film, as the only surviving example of the aircraft in existence is located in an incomplete state in the collection of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.. After production wrapped, this scale model was donated to the Tachiarai Peace Memorial Museum in Tacharai, Fukuoka in 2022. Toho kept their involvement in the construction of the replica a secret until after Minus One was released.

Marketing

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On June 12, 2023, daily profiles of the numerical Godzilla films began being posted to Twitter through the newly launched account @godzilla20231103 and to Godzilla+, beginning with the series' 29th and most recent entry Shin Godzilla (2016), and counting backwards. This culminated in a short teaser video on July 11, the day corresponding to the 'zeroth' film in the countdown, which announced that further information would be released eight hours later at 4:00 JST. Despite this, the film's title and an English-language poster were revealed by Forbes three hours early. Of the film's concept, Toho International President Koji Ueda explained, "Japan, which had already been devastated by the war, faces a new threat with Godzilla, bringing the country into the ‘minus.’" A Japanese poster and teaser trailer followed at the expected time. Director Takashi Yamazaki also provided comment, stating:

"Postwar Japan has lost everything. The film depicts an existence that gives unprecedented despair. The title Godzilla Minus One was created with this in mind. In order to depict this, the staff and I have worked together to create a setting where Godzilla looks as if "fear" itself is walking toward us, and where despair is piled on top of despair. I think this is the culmination of all the films I have made to date, and one that deserves to be "experienced" rather than "watched" in the theater. I hope you will experience the most terrifying Godzilla in the best possible environment."

The following day, July 12, a host of merchandise for the film was unveiled, giving the first look at Godzilla's full body. On July 14, a 2.3-meter tall statue of the Minus One Godzilla was put on display at TOHO CINEMAS Hibiya in Chiyoda, Tokyo, where it was scheduled to stay until August 31. The film also has a presence at the exhibition "The Visual World-crafting of YAMAZAKI Takashi, Film Director," which opened in Yamazaki's hometown of Matsumoto, Nagano on July 15 and will run until October 29. Another statue of Godzilla is placed at the entrance, with a 50-centimeter tall model used for onset reference, concept art, and a rough storyboard on display inside. Yet a third statue was displayed at Wonder Festival 2023 Summer in Chiba on July 30. On August 4-6 and 8, a 3.6-meter tall Godzilla float created by artist Hiroaki Fukushi was paraded at the Goshogawara Tachineputa Festival in Aomori. Afterwards, the float, which took roughly a month to complete, was moved to the Tachineputa Museum.

Collaborations

On August 18, Japanese baseball team the Yomiuri Giants announced that a collaboration with Godzilla Minus One would be held during their game against the Tokyo Yakult Swallows at the Tokyo Dome on October 1. Along with the installation of a 2.6-meter tall statue of Godzilla, costumed Godzilla and Chibi Godzilla performers made appearances, and a special video was shown at the stadium. A further report was released on September 15, adding that star Ryunosuke Kamiki would appear to throw the first pitch, that tickets for special "Godzilla Seats" would be sold beginning the next day, that the film's most recent trailer would also be played, and that the first 10,000 visitors to the game would receive promotional sheet protectors ("clear files").

Various company and brand partnerships were announced throughout September. Godzilla, in suit form, joined other celebrities at the red carpet premiere of musician Yoshiki's directorial debut Yoshiki: Under the Sky, held at TOHO CINEMAS Roppongi Hills on September 5. A promotional image combining the film's poster artwork with Godzilla Minus One's was released the following day. On September 19, Japanese alcoholic beverage company Oenon Holdings announced a collaboration with its Tantakatan brand, issuing 1,800- and 720-milliliter bottles of its shiso shochu liquor with limited edition Godzilla labels beginning October 2. On September 22, Fujita Kanko announced a campaign at the Riverwalk Kitakyushu shopping center, which will include the installation of a Godzilla statue from October 7 to 17 and an exhibition of panel artwork from October 7 onward. Finally, on September 26, the Hakone Kowakien Yunessun hot spring theme park announced that it will hold a campaign from October 20, 2023 to January 8, 2024, including its own Godzilla statue as well as other interior decorations, exclusive drinks, and a Godzilla-inspired bath.

Film re-releases

On August 23, it was announced that Tokyo's Ikebukuro HUMAX Cinemas would screen four prior Godzilla films personally selected by Takashi Yamazaki, with a talk given by Yamazaki and a special guest after each. The first two films announced were the 2014 digital remaster of the original Godzilla (1954), to be shown on September 15 with Shin Godzilla (2016) co-director Shinji Higuchi, and a 35mm print of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964), to be shown on September 29 with monster modeler Keizo Murase. Though unannounced, Murase was also joined onstage by collaborator Daisuke Sato. The next two films were announced on October 3 and included Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), to be shown on October 13 with its director Shusuke Kaneko, and "SHIN GODZILLA:ORTHOchromatic", a new black-and-white version of Shin Godzilla to be shown on October 27 with director Hideaki Anno. The full talk with Anno was also streamed live to six other theaters in the nation: TOHO CINEMAS Hibiya and TOHO CINEMAS Shinjuku in Tokyo, TOHO CINEMAS Umeda in Osaka, Midland SQUARE CINEMA in Aichi, T-JOY HAKATA in Fukuoka, and Sapporo Cinemafrontier in Sapporo. The movie itself, sans talk, played twice more at all seven theaters on October 28 and 29.

Additionally, Cast reported on September 15 that it had organized double feature screenings of Yamazaki's first two films, Juvenile (2000) and Returner (2002), to be held at the Cine Nouveau mini theater in Osaka on September 30 and October 1 in celebration of Godzilla Minus One's impending release.

Print coverage

Godzilla and Ryunosuke Kamiki on the cover of Kinema Junpo #1932 (October 19, 2023)

Godzilla Minus One has been promoted in the following print publications:

• Weekly Magazine CINEMA (September 11, 2023) - Takashi Yamazaki interview
• Adult Digital TV Navi (September 22) - Takashi Yamazaki interview
• Nikkei Entertainment! (October 4) - Minami Hamabe cover and interview
• PICT-UP (October 13) - Takashi Yamazaki interview
• Kinema Junpo (October 19) - Ryunosuke Kamiki and Godzilla cover, Kamiki and Takashi Yamazaki interview(s)
• SCREEN (October 20) - Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, and Takashi Yamazaki interview(s)
• SWITCH (October 20) - Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yuki Yamada, Takashi Yamazaki, Kazuaki Kishida, and Kiyoko Shibuya interview(s)
• AERA (October 23) - Godzilla cover and Takashi Yamazaki interview
• KEIZAIKAI (October 23) - ROBOT President Shunjiro Nagase interview
• SKY PerfecTV! TV Guide BS+CS (October 24) - Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe cover and interview(s)
• SKY PerfecTV! TV Guide Premium (October 24) - Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe interview(s)
• Channel Guide (October 25) - Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe cover and interview(s)
• Figure King (October 26) - Godzilla cover and Takashi Yamazaki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yuki Yamada, Daijiro Harada, and Tomoko Ai interview(s)
• SCREENα (October 27) - Godzilla cover, special feature, and Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, and Takashi Yamazaki interview(s)
• Biz Life Style (October 27) - Ryunosuke Kamiki cover and interview
• The Yomiuri Shimbun (October 28) - Takashi Yamazaki and Shinsuke Kasai interview(s)
• The Yomiuri Shimbun (November 1) - Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, and Takashi Yamazaki interview(s)
• J Movie Magazine (November 1) - Takashi Yamazaki interview
• CINEMA SQUARE (November 1) - Takashi Yamazaki interview
• The Yomiuri KODOMO Shimbun (November 2) - Special feature and Takashi Yamazaki interview
• Nikkei Entertainment! (November 4) - Takashi Yamazaki interview
• an an (November 8) - Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe interview
• Showa 40 Otoko (November 10) - Godzilla cover, and special feature
• Big Comic (November 10) - Illustrated Ryunosuke Kamiki cover
• Animage (November 10) - Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe interview(s)
• +act. (November 10) - Ryunosuke Kamiki and Yuki Yamada interview
• Godzilla and Toho Tokusatsu Official Mook (November 10) - Takashi Yamazaki interview
• Location Japan (November 15) - Ryunosuke Kamiki cover and interview, and Takashi Yamazaki interview
• juniorAERA (November 15) - Takashi Yamazaki interview

Television coverage

TV Shinshu's Channel 4 broadcasted a segment including footage from the set of Godzilla Minus One on October 7.

Gallery

Main article: Godzilla Minus One/Gallery.

Soundtrack

Main article: Godzilla Minus One/Soundtrack.

Releases of the Godzilla Minus One soundtrack were announced on October 4, 2023. It became available on streaming platforms and on a CD by Rambling RECORDS on November 4.

Alternate titles

• Godzilla-1.0 (alternate rendering based on Japanese title)
• G-1.0 (Japanese on-screen title)
• G Minus One (International on-screen title)
• Blockbuster Monster Movie (超大作怪獣映画,   Chōtaisaku Kaijū Eiga, working title)
• Godzilla Zero (ゴジラ・ゼロ,   Gojira Zero, early unconfirmed title adopted by fans)

Theatrical releases

• Japan - November 1, 2023 (Tokyo International Film Festival); November 3, 2023; January 12, 2024 (Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color)
• United States - November 10, 2023 (premiere); November 29, 2023 (early access); December 1, 2023; January 26 (Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color)
• Canada - December 1, 2023
• Australia, New Zealand - December 1, 2023
• Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland - December 1, 2023
• Benelux, France, Italy, the Nordics, Poland, Serbia, Spain, etc. - December 1, 2023
• Brazil - December 14, 2023
• United Kingdom, Ireland - December 15, 2023
• Mexico, Chile - December 28, 2023

Premium formats

• 4DX
• 4DX Screen
• D-Box
• Dolby Cinema
• IMAX
• MX4D
• ScreenX

Foreign releases

North American release

Godzilla Minus One premiered in the United States on November 10, 2023 at the Directors Guild of America in Los Angeles, California. The film played in Japanese with English subtitles written by Anthony Kimm, who also provided the translation for 2016's Shin Godzilla. Though the event was invite-only, tickets could be requested through 1iota Productions, and game journalism website Polygon gave out free tickets to the first 40 people who applied to a contest. Takashi Yamazaki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Godzilla: King of the Monsters director Michael Dougherty, actor Seth Green, and Monsterverse Godzilla performance capture artist TJ Storm were among the attendees. A second California screening was hosted by Polygon on November 27, at the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana. Tickets were first made available to Frida Cinema members, but a small number could be claimed for free by the general public. Like with the premiere, Polygon also held a contest for free tickets, this time presented to the first 100 applicants.

The earliest fully-public screening of Godzilla Minus One was put on by Japan Society in Manhattan, New York City on November 28, 2023. Toho International began distributing the film in 2,308 North American theaters on December 1, including Canada, making it the first wide release of a Toho-produced Godzilla film in the region since Godzilla 2000 in 2000. Early Access Fan Event Screenings also took place in the U.S. on November 29 at select IMAX and other large format screens. The film's box office success led to more theaters booking it for its second and third weekends. The regraded black-and-white version of the film, Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color, opened in the region on January 26 for one week, concluding the theatrical run of both versions of the film. For the film's color release, Toho International's export version was utilized, which rendered date and location supers and the film's title in English accordingly, while the release of Minus Color presented the Japanese visuals as is with additional subtitles. The film exited theaters in the region eight weeks before the release of the Legendary Pictures film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, reportedly as a requirement of the contract between Toho and Legendary granting the latter use of the Godzilla character.

German release

peppermint anime GmbH distributed Godzilla Minus One to theaters in Germany as well as Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg on December 1, 2023. The film was made available in Japanese with German subtitles, in Japanese with English subtitles, or with a German dub.

Brazilian release

Sato Company distributed Godzilla Minus One to theaters in Brazil on December 14, 2023, with either Portuguese subtitles or Portuguese dubbing. It was the first Japanese Godzilla film to be released in theaters in Brazil since Terror of Mechagodzilla in 1976. The film was well-received by both the critics and the public in the country.^{[citation needed]} Attendees of preview showings on December 1 received free mini-posters. The film came in second place at the box office during its opening weekend.

Latin American release

Konnichiwa! Festival distributed Godzilla Minus One to theaters in Mexico and Chile on December 28, 2023, with either Spanish subtitles or Spanish dubbing recorded in Mexico.^{[citation needed]}

United Kingdom and Ireland release

Anime Limited, also known as All the Anime, distributed Godzilla Minus One to theaters in both the United Kingdom and Ireland on December 15, 2023. The company originally planned to release the film at 200 to 250 locations, though this was ultimately expanded to 469 screens following the film's success in the U.S. The film played in Japanese with English subtitles. Toho International's export version of the film was utilized, replacing most of the Japanese visuals with the exception of the Toho logo and end credits. Tickets were also available on a website made to promote the release of the film, which also included the UK trailer, a synopsis, and a gallery.

Box office

Godzilla Minus One led all films at the Japanese box office on its opening weekend with a gross of ¥1.02 billion, one of the highest openings for a live-action Japanese film in 2023. The film's IMAX screenings were especially well-attended, exceeding the opening weekend returns in that format of any live-action Japanese film. The film remained in the #1 spot in its second weekend and has stayed in the top 10 through nine weekends, accumulating the equivalent of $36.8 million in that time. While domestically it will finish well below the ¥8.25 billion gross of Toho's last live-action Godzilla film, Shin Godzilla (2016), its much wider international footprint has allowed it to outgross that film overall. It is the first Toho-produced film in the Godzilla series to gross over $100 million worldwide.

In the United States and Canada, Godzilla Minus One opened to $11.4 million, a figure spanning five days instead of the usual four due to IMAX Early Access Fan Events. It finished third, behind Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, while enjoying the largest opening-weekend for a foreign-language film in the market in 2023. As in Japan, it was highly successful in IMAX and other premium formats, which made up 45% of its opening weekend sales. The film again finished third in its second weekend, adding with Renaissance replaced by The Boy and the Heron in first and The Hunger Games remaining in second. The box office strength of The Boy and the Heron and Godzilla Minus One, both Japanese films, was noted by commentators, as the pair combined for almost a third of the weekend's total ticket sales. Godzilla Minus One fell to fourth in its third weekend, and a flurry of new releases pushed it out of the top 10 during the long Christmas weekend. It returned to ninth place in its ninth weekend with a $2.6 million gross, boosted by the black-and-white Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color reissue, which increased its footprint from 535 theaters to 2,051. It is the highest-grossing Japanese-language film ever released in the market, having surpassed the $49.5 million gross of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, while ranking fourth among all foreign-language films and first among Toho Godzilla films. Other major overseas markets for Godzilla Minus One include Mexico ($5.5 million), where it also set a record for highest-grossing live-action Japanese film; the United Kingdom ($3 million); and Australia ($1.3 million).

Reception

Godzilla Minus One was widely lauded by critics. On the Aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the film's Tomatometer score shows that 98% critics received it positively based on 173 reviews. The site's Critic Consensus reads, "With engaging human stories anchoring the action, Godzilla Minus One is one kaiju movie that remains truly compelling between the scenes of mass destruction." Metacritic, another aggregator site, gave it a score of 81 out of 100 based on 35 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim."

The level of acclaim from critics was almost comparable among the audience. Rotten Tomatoes' Audience Score is a 98% based on over 2,500 verified reviews.. Metacritic's User score is an 8.4 out of 10 based on 299 user ratings, and much like the critic score, indicates "universal acclaim."

Accolades

	Rework awards table to less closely resemble the one on Wikipedia.

Godzilla Minus One is the first Godzilla film to be nominated for an Academy Award, as well as to win the Award outright. Its 12 nominations at the Japan Academy Film Prize also set a record for the Godzilla series, surpassing the 10 nominations Shin Godzilla (2016) received.

Accolades for Godzilla Minus One

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s)	Result	References
Academy Awards	March 10, 2024	Best Visual Effects	Takashi Yamazaki Kiyoko Shibuya Masaki Takahashi Tatsuji Nojima	Won
Asian Film Awards	March 10, 2024	Best Visual Effects		Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Minami Hamabe
		Best Sound	Natsuko Inoue
Austin Film Critics Association Awards	January 10, 2024	Best Film	Godzilla Minus One	Nominated
		Best International Film		Won
Blue Ribbon Awards	February 2024	Best Film
		Best Director	Takashi Yamazaki	Nominated
		Best Actor	Ryunosuke Kamiki	Won
		Best Supporting Actress	Minami Hamabe
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	December 12, 2023	Best Use of Visual Effects	Godzilla Minus One
		Best Foreign Language Film		Nominated
Chicago Indie Critics Awards	January 20, 2024	Best Foreign Film	Kenji Yamada Kazuaki Kishida Minami Ichikawa Keiichiro Moriya
		Best Visual Effects	Kiyoko Shibuya Takashi Yamazaki	Won
Columbus Film Critics Association Awards	January 4, 2024	Best Film	Godzilla Minus One	Nominated
		Best Foreign Language Film
		Best Score	Naoki Sato
Critics' Choice Awards	January 14, 2024	Best Foreign Language Film	Godzilla Minus One
Denver Film Critics Society Awards	January 12, 2024	Best Sci-Fi/Horror		Won
		Best Visual Effects		Nominated
		Best Non-English Language Feature		Won
DiscussingFilm Critic Awards	January 6, 2024	Best International Film		Nominated
		Best Visual Effects		Won
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards	December 21, 2023	Best Visual Effects
		Best Foreign Language Film		Nominated
Georgia Film Critics Association Awards	January 5, 2024	Best Picture
		Best International Film		Won
Golden Reel Awards	March 3, 2024	Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Foreign Language Feature	Natsuko Inoue	Nominated
Greater Western New York Film Critics Association Awards	January 2, 2024	Best Foreign Film	Godzilla Minus One	Nominated
Hawaii Film Critics Society Awards	January 12, 2024	Best Visual Effects
		Best Horror Film
		Best Sci-Fi Film		Won
		Best Foreign Language Film		Nominated
Hōchi Film Awards	December 11, 2023	Best Picture
		Best Director	Takashi Yamazaki	Won
		Best Leading Actor	Ryunosuke Kamiki	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actress	Minami Hamabe
Houston Film Critics Society Awards	January 22, 2024	Best Picture	Godzilla Minus One
		Best Foreign Language Film
		Best Visual Effects
Indiana Film Journalists Association Awards	December 18, 2023	Best Film
		Best Foreign Language Film		Nominated
		Best Musical Score	Naoki Satō	Nominated
Japan Academy Film Prize	March 8, 2024	Picture of the Year	Godzilla Minus One	Nominated
		Best Director	Takashi Yamazaki
		Best Screenplay
		Best Lead Actor	Ryunosuke Kamiki
		Best Lead Actress	Minami Hamabe
		Best Supporting Actress	Sakura Ando
		Best Cinematography	Kozo Shibasaki
		Best Music	Naoki Sato
		Best Lighting	Naruyuki Ueda
		Best Art Direction	Anri Jojo
		Best Sound Recording	Hisashi Takeuchi
		Best Editing	Ryuji Miyajima
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards	December 13, 2023	Best Horror/Sci-Fi Movie	Godzilla Minus One	Won
		Best International Movie
		Best Visual Effects		Nominated
		Best Action Movie
Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Awards	February 12, 2024	Best International Film		Nominated
		Best Visual Effects
Mainichi Film Awards	February 14, 2024	Excellence Award		Nominated
		Best Director	Takashi Yamazaki
		Best Film Score	Naoki Satō
		Best Recording	Hisashi Takeuchi
		Best Art Direction	Anri Jojo	Won
		Best Cinematography	Kozo Shibasaki	Nominated
Music City Film Critics' Association Awards	January 15, 2024	Best International Film	Godzilla Minus One	Won
		Best Action Film		Nominated
Nikkan Sports Film Awards	December 27, 2023	Yūjirō Ishihara Award
		Best Supporting Actress	Minami Hamabe
North Carolina Film Critics Association Awards	January 3, 2024	Best Narrative Film	Godzilla Minus One
		Best Foreign Language Film
		Best Special Effects	Kiyoko Shibuya	Won
North Dakota Film Society Awards	January 15, 2024	Best Visual Effects	Kiyoko Shibuya Takashi Yamazaki	Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards	January 22, 2024	Best Visual Effects	Godzilla Minus One
		Best Film Not in the English Language
Philadelphia Film Critics Circle Awards	December 18, 2023	Philips Steaks Cheesesteak Award		Nominated
Phoenix Critics Circle Awards		Best Foreign Language Film		Nominated
Portland Critics Association Awards	January 15, 2024	Best Film Not in the English Language
		Best Science Fiction Feature		Won
		Best Visual Effects		Nominated
		Best Stunts or Action Choreography
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards	December 19, 2023	Best Foreign Language Film		Nominated
		Best Visual Effects		Won
		Best Sound Design		Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Society	January 8, 2024	Best International Film	Takashi Yamazaki	Won
		Best Visual Effects	Takashi Yamazaki Kiyoko Shibuya
		Best Action Choreography	Takashi Yamazaki	Nominated
		Villain of the Year	Godzilla	Won
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards	December 17, 2023	Best Visual Effects	Takashi Yamazaki	Nominated
Utah Film Critics Association Awards	January 6, 2024	Best Non-English Feature	Godzilla Minus One	Nominated
		Best Visual Effects		Won
Visual Effects Society Awards	February 21, 2024	Outstanding Animated Character in a Photoreal Feature	Kosuke Taguchi Takashi Yamazaki (for Godzilla)	Nominated

Novelization

Main article: Novel Version: Godzilla Minus One.

A novelization of the movie written by director Takashi Yamazaki was announced on September 22, 2023. It was published by Shueisha on November 8.

Video releases

Toho 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray (May 1, 2024)

• Region: A (Blu-ray)
• Discs: 4
• Audio: Japanese (Dolby Atmos, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, audio description)
• Subtitles: Japanese
• Special features: Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color, three behind-the-scenes featurettes; seven special event videos; four Takashi Yamazaki Selection Godzilla Screening introductions; trailers and TV spots; booklet; "special disaster countermeasure materials"; stickers of famous lines from the film (limited edition); Amazon-exclusive acrylic stand and visual sheet; Godzilla Store-exclusive gold Movie Monster Series Godzilla (2023) figure
• Notes: Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color is included solely on a Blu-ray. The standard release is a digipak with a case.

Toho Blu-ray (May 1, 2024)

• Region: A
• Discs: 3 or 2
• Audio: Japanese (Dolby Atmos, 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio, audio description)
• Subtitles: Japanese
• Special features: Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color (3-disc version only); three behind-the-scenes featurettes; seven special event videos; four Takashi Yamazaki Selection Godzilla Screening introductions; trailers and TV spots; stickers of famous lines from the film (limited edition); Amazon-exclusive acrylic stand and visual sheet; Godzilla Store-exclusive gold Movie Monster Series Godzilla (2023) figure
• Notes: The three-disc version is packaged in a digipak with a case, while the two-disc version is in a standard Blu-ray case. Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color is also available as a separate single-disc Blu-ray with the same audio options, but no special features besides a trailer for that version of the film and optional retailer-exclusives.

Toho DVD (May 1, 2024)

• Region: 2
• Discs: 3
• Audio: Japanese (5.1 Dolby Digital, 2.0 Dolby Digital, audio description)
• Subtitles: Japanese
• Special features: Three behind-the-scenes featurettes; seven special event videos; four Takashi Yamazaki Selection Godzilla Screening introductions; stickers of famous lines from the film (limited edition); Amazon-exclusive acrylic stand; Godzilla Store-exclusive gold Movie Monster Series Godzilla (2023) figure
• Notes: Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color is available as a separate single-disc DVD with the same audio options, but no special features besides a trailer for that version of the film and optional retailer-exclusives.

Videos

Main article: Godzilla Minus One/Videos.

Trivia

• Although the fifth film in the Godzilla franchise's Reiwa era, Godzilla Minus One is only the second live action film in the era.
• While Godzilla Minus One is the first Godzilla feature film Takashi Yamazaki has directed, he has helmed two previous projects involving Godzilla:
  • Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007), which features Godzilla in a dream sequence and, like Minus One, was released on November 3.
  • The short film Godzilla the Ride: Giant Monsters Ultimate Battle (2021), created for a motion simulator ride at the Seibuen amusement park.
• Godzilla Minus One's runtime of 125 minutes ties it with Godzilla Final Wars (2004) as the longest Japanese Godzilla film.
• This is the first Godzilla movie to be primarily set before 1954. It is not the first time that an earlier setting has ever been depicted, however, as Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah involves characters time traveling to 1944.
• In his rampage through Ginza, Godzilla destroys the Wako headquarters. The same building has appeared in several other pieces of Godzilla media, including the original Godzilla (1954).
• Due to a miscommunication, Forbes' initial announcement of Godzilla Minus One suggested that it was in the same continuity as Shin Godzilla. It has since been corrected to say that it merely "follows [up]" that film.
• On March 17, 2022, since-suspended Japanese Twitter user @raserkey alleged to have participated in the film as an extra and seen the title "Godzilla Zero" on staff documents. Though they accurately predicted that the project would be a Godzilla film before its confirmation that November, the title did not ultimately match the one which was revealed. By the time of the title announcement, however, "Godzilla Zero" had caught on in both the Japanese- and English-speaking Godzilla fanbases.
• Some of the letters in "Minus" in the Godzilla Minus One English logo use the Sijusto font.
• Godzilla Minus One is only the fifth Godzilla film in which Godzilla is the sole giant monster present, after the original Godzilla (1954), The Return of Godzilla (1984), GODZILLA (1998), and Shin Godzilla (2016).
  • The aforementioned films and GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters (2017) are also the only films in which Godzilla does not fight another monster.
• Similar to Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), Godzilla Minus One first shows Godzilla as a dinosaur-like creature on a remote Pacific island in World War II, although he battles Japanese repairmen instead of American soldiers. He is also confirmed to have been mutated by American nuclear testing in the Pacific, but this time in 1946, not in 1954.
• The scene in which Godzilla clashes with the Takao is similar to the Tasman Sea battle scene from Godzilla vs. Kong. In both cases, Godzilla clambers onto a military vessel, is repulsed and knocked back into the ocean, then fires his atomic breath to destroy the ship from below.
• The real Takao was scuttled in 1946, one year before its battle with Godzilla in this film.
• Director Takashi Yamazaki's favorite Godzilla film is Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001), and he acknowledged it as an unconscious influence on Godzilla Minus One. In both films, Godzilla intentionally destroys cities and tramples on fleeing humans, his atomic breath creates a mushroom cloud, the finishing blow against the monster is dealt by a single-pilot craft attacking him from the inside as he attempts to fire his atomic breath, and the final shot of the film shows that a small piece of him is still alive.

External links

• Official site
  • United Kingdom site
  • German site
• Official Twitter account
  • AmeGoji campaign account
• Official Instagram account
• Official TikTok account
• ROBOT casting call webpage (archived)

References

This is a list of references for Godzilla Minus One. These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: ^[1]

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