Godzilla (franchise)
Japanese media franchise From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Japanese media franchise From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Godzilla (Japanese: ゴジラ, Hepburn: Gojira) is a Japanese monster, or kaiju, media franchise consisting of films, television series, novels, comic books, video games, and other merchandise. The franchise is centered on the fictional kaiju Godzilla, a prehistoric reptilian monster awakened and powered by nuclear radiation. The franchise is recognized by the Guinness World Records as the "longest continuously running film franchise", having been in ongoing production since 1954, with several hiatuses of varying lengths.[8] The film franchise consists of 38 films: 33 Japanese films produced and distributed by Toho Co., Ltd., and five American films; one by TriStar Pictures and four films (part of the Monsterverse franchise) by Legendary Pictures.
| Godzilla | |
|---|---|
Current official English brand logo[1] | |
| Created by | |
| Original work | Godzilla (1954)[5] |
| Owner | Toho Co., Ltd.[6] |
| Years | 1954–present |
| Print publications | |
| Book(s) | |
| Comics | Full list |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
|
| Television series | Full list |
| Games | |
| Video game(s) | Full list |
| Audio | |
| Soundtrack(s) | Godzilla: Final Wars (2004) Godzilla (2014) Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) Godzilla Minus One (2023) Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| American series | Monsterverse |
| Official website | |
Official website  | |
The original film, Godzilla, was directed by and co-written by Ishirō Honda and released by Toho in 1954.[9] It became an influential classic of the genre. It featured political and social undertones relevant to Japan at the time. The 1954 film and its special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya are largely credited for establishing the template for tokusatsu, a technique of practical special effects filmmaking that would become essential in Japan's film industry since the release of Godzilla (1954).[10] For its North American release, the film was localized in 1956 as Godzilla, King of the Monsters! and featured new footage with Raymond Burr edited together with the original Japanese footage.
The popularity of the films has led to the franchise expanding to other media, such as television, music, literature and video games. Godzilla has become one of the most recognizable symbols in Japanese pop culture worldwide and a well-known facet of Japanese cinema. It is also considered one of the first examples of the popular kaiju and tokusatsu subgenres in Japanese entertainment.
The tone and themes vary per film. Several of the films have political themes, others have dark tones, complex internal mythology, or are simple action films featuring aliens or other monsters, while others have simpler themes accessible to children.[11] Godzilla's role varies from purely a destructive force to an ally of humans, or a protector of Japanese values, or a hero to children. The name Godzilla is a romanization of the original Japanese name Gojira (ゴジラ)—which is a combination of two Japanese words: gorira (ゴリラ), "gorilla", and kujira (クジラ), "whale". The word alludes to the size, power and aquatic origin of Godzilla. As developed by Toho, the monster is an offshoot of the combination of radioactivity and ancient dinosaur-like creatures, indestructible and possessing special powers (see Godzilla characteristics).
The Godzilla film series is broken into several different eras reflecting a characteristic style and corresponding to the same eras used to classify all kaiju eiga (monster movies) in Japan. The first, second, and fourth eras refer to the Japanese emperor during production: the Shōwa era, the Heisei era, and the Reiwa era. The third is called the Millennium era, as the emperor (Heisei) is the same, but these films are considered to have a different style and storyline than the Heisei era.
Over the series' history, the films have reflected the social and political climate in Japan.[12] In the original film, Godzilla was an allegory for the effects of nuclear weapons, and the consequences that such weapons might have on Earth.[13][14][15][16] The radioactive contamination of the Japanese fishing boat Lucky Dragon No. 5 through the United States' Castle Bravo thermonuclear device test at Bikini Atoll on March 1, 1954, led to much press coverage in Japan preceding the release of the first film in 1954.[17] The Heisei and Millennium series have largely continued this concept. Toho was inspired to make the original Godzilla film after the commercial success of the 1952 re-release of King Kong and the success of The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), the first live-action film to feature a giant monster awakened following an atomic bomb detonation.[18] The success of the Godzilla franchise itself would go on to inspire other giant monster films worldwide.
The initial series of films are named after the Shōwa era (as all of these films were produced during Emperor Shōwa's reign).[19][20] This Shōwa timeline spanned from 1954, with Godzilla, to 1975, with Terror of Mechagodzilla.
The first Godzilla film initially began as a Japanese-Indonesian co-production titled In the Shadow of Glory (栄光のかげに, Eikō no Kage ni).[lower-alpha 2] However, the project was cancelled after the Indonesian government denied visas to Toho's crew due to anti-Japanese sentiments and political pressure.[23] On his flight back to Japan after a failed attempt to renegotiate with the Indonesian government, film producer Tomoyuki Tanaka conceived an idea for a giant monster film inspired by The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and the then-recent Daigo Fukuryū Maru incident.[2] Tanaka then succeeded in convincing executive producer Iwao Mori to replace In the Shadow of Glory with his monster idea, after special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya agreed to do the film.[24]
Tsuburaya initially proposed a giant octopus-like monster,[2] and later a gorilla-like or whale-like monster to reflect the creature's name Gojira, a combination of the Japanese words for gorilla (ゴリラ, gorira) and whale (クジラ, kujira). But Tsuburaya settled on a dinosaur-like monster designed by Teizō Toshimitsu and Akira Watanabe under his supervision.[25] Tanaka handpicked Ishirō Honda to direct and co-write the film, feeling that his wartime experience was ideal for the film's anti-nuclear themes – despite not being Toho's first choice.[2][26] Principal photography ran 51 days, and special effects photography ran 71 days.[27]
Godzilla was first released in Nagoya on October 27, 1954,[28] and released nationwide on November 3, 1954.[29] Despite mixed reviews,[30] it was a box office success. It became the eighth best-attended film in Japan that year,[31] and earned ¥183 million (just under $510,000) in distributor rentals during its initial run,[32] with total lifetime gross receipts of $2.25 million.[31][33] The film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Special Effects at the Japanese Movie Association Awards, where it won the latter.[34]
Starting with Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Godzilla began evolving into a friendlier, more playful antihero (this transition was complete by Son of Godzilla, where Godzilla is depicted as a more virtuous character) and, as years went by, it evolved into an anthropomorphic superhero. Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster was also significant for introducing Godzilla's archenemy and the main antagonist of the film series, King Ghidorah.
Son of Godzilla and All Monsters Attack were aimed at youthful audiences, featuring the appearance of Godzilla's son, Minilla. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla was notable for introducing Godzilla's robot duplicate and the secondary antagonist of the film series, Mechagodzilla. The Shōwa period loosely tied in to a number of Toho-produced films in which Godzilla himself did not appear and consequently saw the addition of many monsters into the Godzilla continuity, three of which (Rodan, Varan, and Mothra) originated in their own solo films and another five (Anguirus, Manda, Baragon, Gorosaurus and Kumonga) appeared in their first films as either secondary antagonists or secondary kaiju.
Haruo Nakajima mainly portrayed Godzilla since 1954 until his retirement in 1972. However, other stunt actors have portrayed the character in his absence, such as Katsumi Tezuka, Yū Sekida, Ryosaku Takasugi, Seiji Onaka, Shinji Takagi, Isao Zushi, and Toru Kawai.[35][36] Eiji Tsuburaya directed the special effects for the first six films of the series. His protege Sadamasa Arikawa took over the effects work for the next three films (with Tsuburaya supervising), while Teruyoshi Nakano directed the special effects for the last six films of the series.
The Criterion Collection released the Shōwa era films as part of a Blu-ray box set in the United States and Canada on October 29, 2019.[37]
Toho rebooted the series in 1984 with The Return of Godzilla, starting the second era of Godzilla films, known as the Heisei series.[38] The Return of Godzilla serves as a direct sequel to the original 1954 film and ignores the subsequent events of the Shōwa era. The Return of Godzilla was released in 1984, five years before the new Emperor, but is considered part of this era, as it is a direct predecessor to Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989), which came out in the first year of the new Emperor's reign.[39]
The Heisei films are set in a single timeline, with each film providing continuity to the other films, and brings Godzilla back as a destructive force of nature that is feared by humans.[38] The biological nature and science behind Godzilla became a much more discussed issue in the films, showing the increased focus on the moral aspects of genetics. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah gave Godzilla's first concrete birth story, featuring a dinosaur named Godzillasaurus that was mutated by nuclear radiation into Godzilla. Godzilla was portrayed by Kenpachiro Satsuma for the Heisei films while the special effects were directed by Koichi Kawakita, with the exception of The Return of Godzilla, for which the effects were directed by Teruyoshi Nakano.
Toho rebooted the franchise for a second time with the 1999 film Godzilla 2000: Millennium starting the third era of Godzilla films, known as the Millennium series.[40][41] The Millennium series is treated similarly to an anthology series where each film is a standalone story, with the 1954 film serving as the only previous point of reference. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla and Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. are the only films in the Millennium era to share continuity with each other and are also connected to 1961's Mothra.
After the release of 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars, marking the 50th anniversary of the Godzilla film franchise, Toho decided to put the series on hiatus for another 10 years. Toho also demolished the water stage on its lot used in numerous Godzilla, kaiju and tokusatsu films.[42] Yoshimitsu Banno, who had directed 1971's Godzilla vs. Hedorah, secured the rights from Toho to make an IMAX 3D short film production, based on a story similar to his Hedorah film. This project eventually led to the development of Legendary's Godzilla. Tsutomu Kitagawa portrayed Godzilla for the majority of the Millennium films, with the exception of Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack, in which Godzilla was portrayed by Mizuho Yoshida. Unlike the Shōwa and later Heisei films, the special effects for the Millennium films were directed by multiple effects directors such as Kenji Suzuki (Godzilla 2000, Godzilla vs. Megaguirus), Makoto Kamiya (Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack), Yuichi Kikuchi (Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla), and Eiichi Asada (Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., Godzilla: Final Wars).
In December 2014, Toho announced plans for a new Godzilla film of its own for a 2016 release.[43] The film is Toho's reboot of the Godzilla franchise, after Legendary Pictures' reboot in 2014; the film is co-directed by Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi (both of whom collaborated on the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion), with the screenplay by Anno and the visual effects directed by Higuchi.[44][45][46] Principal photography began in September and ended in October with the special effects work following in November that year.[47][48] Shin Godzilla was released in Japan on July 29, 2016, in IMAX, 4DX, and MX4D to positive reviews and was a box office success.[49]
After the release of Shin Godzilla, Toho established a "Godzilla Room", a group consisting of 14 individuals that were tasked with studying all the previous films that involved the character and to ensure that further movies would avoid damaging the brand. The group wrote up a new set of mandated guidelines that that all feature films and merchandise had to follow, which involved the prohibition of permanently killing off the character and keeping him from preying on "people or things" to ensure that every appearance remained authentic.[50][51]
In August 2016, Toho announced plans for a trilogy of anime Godzilla films with Polygon Pictures animating the films and Netflix distributing the trilogy worldwide, except in Japan where each film will be given a theatrical release by Toho.[52][53] The first film, titled Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, was released on November 17, 2017.[54] The second film, titled Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, was released on May 18, 2018.[55] The third and final film in the trilogy, titled Godzilla: The Planet Eater, was released on November 9, 2018.[56]
In January 2018, Toho announced its plans to invest ¥15 billion (US$135 million) for the next three years beginning in 2019 to co-produce content with Hollywood and Chinese studios who have licensed Toho's properties, such as Godzilla, Your Name and Pokémon. Toho would invest 25% in production costs and would earn a higher share in revenue and manage creators rights, so its creative input would be reflected in each work.[57] In May 2018, Toho's Chief Godzilla Officer Keiji Ota revealed that a sequel to Shin Godzilla would not happen, but expressed interest in a potential shared cinematic series between Godzilla and other Toho monsters akin to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.[58]
In 2019, Toho invested ¥15.4 billion (US$140 million) into its Los Angeles-based subsidiary Toho International Inc. as part of its "Toho Vision 2021 Medium-term Management Strategy", a strategy to increase content, platform, real-estate, surpass ¥50 billion in profits, and increase character businesses on Toho intellectual properties such as Godzilla. Hiroyasu Matsuoka was named the representative director of the project.[59] In 2019, Toho launched the first official English website and the first official English Twitter and Instagram for the franchise.[60][61]
In June 2019, Toho revealed plans to present the Toho Godzilla at San Diego Comic-Con for the first time to commemorate the franchise's 65th anniversary, as well as being part of its plan to expand the franchise in the United States.[62] At San Diego Comic-Con, Akito Takahashi, the project manager of Toho's Godzilla Strategic Conference, revealed Toho's intentions to have the Toho and Legendary Godzilla films expand together. He also revealed that the option to reintroduce political themes and old or new monsters would be available to filmmakers, should they choose to pursue it. Akito also expressed interest in re-introducing Mechagodzilla and Jet Jaguar in the future.[63][64]
In October 2020, Toho announced plans for an anime series titled Godzilla Singular Point released on Netflix in 2021, revealing artwork for Godzilla and its principal characters. The project was directed by Atsushi Takahashi, with music by Kan Sawada, written by Toh Enjoe, character designs by Kazue Kato, and animations by Eiji Yamamori. The series was produced by Bones Inc. in partnership with Orange Co., Ltd., featured hand-drawn and CG animation, and had no relation to Polygon's anime film trilogy.[65]
On November 3, 2022, during the franchise's 68th anniversary known as "Godzilla Day", Toho announced plans to release a new live-action Godzilla film, Godzilla Minus One, on November 3, 2023, to commemorate the franchise's 70th anniversary. Toho also stated that Takashi Yamazaki was the director, writer, and visual effects supervisor for this new film and that it had entered post-production after recently completed filming.[66] According to Collider, Minus One became the most commercially successful Japanese film in the series and "helped the Godzilla series become more popular than ever before".[67] In 2024, Minus One won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, becoming the first Godzilla film to win an Academy Award, as well as the first Japanese film to win Best Visual Effects.[68]
The producers of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! – Harry Rybnick, Richard Kay, Edward Barison, Paul Schreibman, and Edmund Goldman – purchased the North American rights to the 1955 sequel Godzilla Raids Again but rather than localize or dub the film in English, they chose to produce a new film that would repurpose the effects footage from Godzilla Raids Again; filming was expected to begin in June 1957. Rybnick hired Ib Melchior and Edwin Watson to write a script, titled The Volcano Monsters, that focused on a new story with American characters centered around the effects footage. Toho approved of the idea in early 1957 and shipped the Godzilla and Anguirus suits for additional photography to be shot at Howard A. Anderson's special effects studio. Rybnick and Barison originally made a deal with AB-PT Pictures Corp. to co-finance the film but plans for The Volcano Monsters were cancelled after AB-PT Pictures folded. Schreibman, Goldman, and new financier Newton P. Jacobs, decided to dub Godzilla Raids Again into English instead.[69][70]
In 1983, director Steve Miner pitched his idea for an American 3D production of Godzilla to Toho, with storyboards by William Stout and a script written by Fred Dekker, titled Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 3D, which would have featured Godzilla rampaging through San Francisco in an attempt to find its offspring.[72] Various studios and producers expressed interest but passed it over due to high budget concerns.[73] The film would have featured a full scale animatronic Godzilla head built by Rick Baker, stop motion animation executed by David W. Allen, an articulated stop motion Godzilla figure created by Stephen Czerkas, and additional storyboards by Doug Wildey.[74][75] The production design would have been overseen by William Stout.[76]
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In October 1992, TriStar Pictures acquired the rights from Toho with plans to produce a trilogy.[84] Director Jan de Bont and writers Terry Rossio and Ted Eliott developed a script that had Godzilla battling a shape-shifting alien called "the Gryphon". De Bont later left the project after budget disagreements with the studio.[85] Roland Emmerich was hired to direct and co-write a new script with producer Dean Devlin.
A co-production between Centropolis Entertainment, Fried Films, Independent Pictures, and TriStar Pictures,[7] Godzilla was theatrically released on May 20, 1998, to negative reviews[86][87] and grossed $379 million worldwide against a production budget between $130–150 million.[88][89] Despite grossing nearly three times its budget,[90] it was considered a box office disappointment.[91][92] Two planned sequels were cancelled and an animated TV series was produced instead.[93] TriStar let the license expire in 2003. In 2004, Toho began trademarking new iterations of TriStar's Godzilla as "Zilla", with only the incarnations from the 1998 film and animated TV series retaining the Godzilla copyright/trademark.[87][94]
In 2004, director Yoshimitsu Banno acquired permission from Toho to produce a short IMAX Godzilla film. In 2009, the project was turned over to Legendary Pictures to be redeveloped as a feature film.[95] Announced in March 2010, the film was co-produced with Warner Bros. Pictures and was directed by Gareth Edwards.[96][97]
Godzilla was theatrically released on May 16, 2014, to positive reviews[98][99] and was a box office success, grossing $529 million worldwide against a production budget of $160 million.[100] The film's success prompted Toho to produce a reboot of their own and Legendary to proceed with sequels and a shared cinematic franchise dubbed the Monsterverse:[101] with Godzilla: King of the Monsters released on May 31, 2019;[102] Godzilla vs. Kong released on March 24, 2021;[103][104] the TV series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters released on November 17, 2023, on Apple TV+; and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire released on March 29, 2024.[105]
| # | Title | Year | Director(s) | Effects director(s) | Monster co-star(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shōwa era (1954–1975) | |||||
| 1 | 1954 | Ishirō Honda | Eiji Tsuburaya | — | |
| 2 | 1955 | Motoyoshi Oda | Anguirus | ||
| 3 | King Kong vs. Godzilla | 1962 | Ishirō Honda | King Kong, the Oodako[lower-alpha 5] | |
| 4 | 1964 | Mothra | |||
| 5 | King Ghidorah, Rodan, Mothra | ||||
| 6 | 1965 | King Ghidorah, Rodan | |||
| 7 | 1966 | Jun Fukuda | Sadamasa Arikawa | Ebirah, Mothra, the Ookondoru[lower-alpha 6] | |
| 8 | Son of Godzilla | 1967 | Minilla, Kumonga, Kamacuras | ||
| 9 | Destroy All Monsters | 1968 | Ishirō Honda | King Ghidorah, Rodan, Mothra, Anguirus, Minilla, Kumonga, Manda, Gorosaurus, Baragon, Varan | |
| 10 | 1969 | Ishirō Honda Teruyoshi Nakano |
Gabara, Minilla | ||
| 11 | 1971 | Yoshimitsu Banno | Teruyoshi Nakano | Hedorah | |
| 12 | 1972 | Jun Fukuda | Gigan, King Ghidorah, Anguirus[lower-alpha 7] | ||
| 13 | Godzilla vs. Megalon | 1973 | Megalon, Jet Jaguar, Gigan | ||
| 14 | 1974 | Mechagodzilla, King Caesar, Anguirus | |||
| 15 | 1975 | Ishirō Honda | Mechagodzilla 2, Titanosaurus | ||
| Heisei era (1984–1995) | |||||
| 16 | 1984 | Kōji Hashimoto | Teruyoshi Nakano | Shockirus[lower-alpha 8] (Giant Sea Lice)[110] | |
| 17 | Godzilla vs. Biollante | 1989 | Kazuki Ōmori | Kōichi Kawakita | Biollante |
| 18 | Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah | 1991 | King Ghidorah, Mecha-King Ghidorah, the Dorats, Godzillasaurus | ||
| 19 | 1992 | Takao Ōkawara | Mothra, Battra | ||
| 20 | 1993 | Mechagodzilla, Super Mechagodzilla, Rodan, Fire Rodan, Baby Godzilla | |||
| 21 | Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla | 1994 | Kenshō Yamashita | SpaceGodzilla, Moguera, Fairy Mothra, Little Godzilla | |
| 22 | 1995 | Takao Ōkawara | Destoroyah, Godzilla Junior | ||
| Millennium era (1999–2004) | |||||
| 23 | 1999 | Takao Ōkawara | Kenji Suzuki | Orga, the Millennian | |
| 24 | 2000 | Masaaki Tezuka | Megaguirus, the Meganulons, the Meganulas | ||
| 25 |
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack |
2001 | Shūsuke Kaneko | Makoto Kamiya | King Ghidorah, Mothra, Baragon |
| 26 | 2002 | Masaaki Tezuka | Yūichi Kikuchi | Mechagodzilla[lower-alpha 9] | |
| 27 | 2003 | Eiichi Asada | Mechagodzilla,[lower-alpha 9] Mothra, Kamoebas | ||
| 28 | Godzilla: Final Wars | 2004 | Ryūhei Kitamura | Monster X, Keizer Ghidorah, Zilla, Rodan, Mothra, Gigan, King Caesar, Anguirus, Minilla, Kumonga, Kamacuras, Manda, Hedorah, Ebirah | |
| Reiwa era (2016–present)[lower-alpha 10] | |||||
| 29 | Shin Godzilla | 2016 | Hideaki Anno Shinji Higuchi |
Shinji Higuchi Katsuro Onoue |
— |
| 30 | Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters | 2017 | Kōbun Shizuno Hiroyuki Seshita |
— | Servum, Dogora, Dagahra, Orga, Kamacuras, Anguirus, Rodan, Mechagodzilla |
| 31 | Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle | 2018 | Mechagodzilla City, Servum, Vulture | ||
| 32 | Godzilla: The Planet Eater | King Ghidorah, Mothra, Servum | |||
| 33 | Godzilla Minus One | 2023 | Takashi Yamazaki | Takashi Yamazaki Kiyoko Shibuya[lower-alpha 11] |
— |
| # | Title | Year | Director(s) | Effects supervisor | Monster co-star(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TriStar Pictures (1998) | |||||
| 1 | Godzilla | 1998 | Roland Emmerich | Volker Engel | Baby Godzillas |
| Legendary Pictures / Monsterverse (2014–present) | |||||
| 2 | Godzilla | 2014 | Gareth Edwards | Jim Rygiel | MUTOs (male and female) |
| 3 | Godzilla: King of the Monsters | 2019 | Michael Dougherty | Guillaume Rocheron | King Ghidorah, Mothra, Rodan, Queen MUTO, Behemoth, Methuselah, Scylla[116] |
| 4 | Godzilla vs. Kong | 2021 | Adam Wingard | John "DJ" DesJardin | Kong, Mechagodzilla,[117] Skullcrawler, Warbat,[118] Hell Hawk[119] Titanus Doug |
| 5 | Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | 2024 | Alessandro Ongaro[120] | Kong, Skar King, Shimo, Suko, Mothra, Titanus Doug, Wart Dog, Scylla, Tiamat | |
In 2007, a CGI Godzilla appeared in the Toho slice of life film Always: Sunset on Third Street 2.[121] In an imaginary sequence, Godzilla destroys part of 1959 Tokyo, with one of the main protagonists getting angry that Godzilla damaged his car showroom. The making of the sequence was kept a secret. Godzilla has been referenced in, and has briefly appeared in, several other films.[122][123] Godzilla guest starred in the show Crayon Shin-chan as an antagonist.[124] Godzilla also appears in cave paintings (alongside Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah) in a post-credits scene in Kong: Skull Island. In 2019, Godzilla made an appearance in the anime film Shinkansen Henkei Robo Shinkalion the Movie: Mirai Kara Kita Shinsoku no ALFA-X.[125]
In 1956, Jewell Enterprises Inc., released Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, an American localization of Godzilla (1954). This version removed most of the political themes and social commentaries, resulting in 30 minutes of footage from the Japanese version replaced with new footage featuring Raymond Burr interacting with Japanese actors and look-alikes to make it seem like Burr was a part of the original Japanese production. In addition, the soundtrack and sound effects were slightly altered and some dialogue was dubbed into English.[32] This release is referred to as an "Americanization" or the "Americanized" version by some sources.[126][127][128] Similar localizations (or Americanizations) occurred for the U.S. releases of King Kong vs. Godzilla[129] and The Return of Godzilla, released in the U.S. as Godzilla 1985;[130] the latter which had Burr reprising the role of Steve Martin from Godzilla, King of the Monsters!.[131]
In 1957, the same American producers of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! attempted to produce The Volcano Monsters, a new film that would have repurposed the effects footage of Godzilla Raids Again around a new story with American characters. However, funding from AB-PT Pictures collapsed after the company closed down and Godzilla Raids Again was instead re-cut, dubbed in English, and released in 1959 by Warner Bros. as Gigantis the Fire Monster.[132]
In 1976, Italian director Luigi Cozzi intended to re-release Godzilla in Italy (known by fans as "Cozilla"). Facing resistance from exhibitors to showing a black-and-white film, Cozzi instead licensed a negative of Godzilla, King of the Monsters from Toho and created a new film in color, adding much stock footage of graphic death and destruction and short scenes from newsreel footage from World War II, which he released as Godzilla in 1977. The film was colorized using a process called Spectrorama 70, where color gels are put on the original black-and-white film, becoming one of the first black-and-white films to be colorized. Dialogue was dubbed into Italian and new music was added. After the initial Italian run, the negative became Toho's property and prints have only been exhibited in Italy from that time onward. Italian firm Yamato Video at one time intended to release the colorized version on a two-disc DVD along with the original Godzilla.[133][134]
| Year | Title | Notes | Director(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Godzilla, King of the Monsters! | Re-edited U.S. version of Godzilla (1954) with additional footage | Ishirō Honda Terry O. Morse |
| 1963 | King Kong vs. Godzilla | Re-edited U.S. version of the 1962 film with additional footage | Ishirō Honda Thomas Montgomery |
| 1977 | Godzilla | Re-edited Italian version of Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) | Ishirō Honda Luigi Cozzi |
| 1985 | Godzilla 1985 | Re-edited U.S. version of The Return of Godzilla (1984) with additional footage | Koji Hashimoto R.J. Kizer |
| Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| Godzilla (1998) | 20% (150 reviews)[174] | 32 (23 reviews)[175] |
| Godzilla (2014) | 76% (330 reviews)[176] | 62 (48 reviews)[177] |
| Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) | 42% (354 reviews)[178] | 48 (46 reviews)[179] |
| Godzilla vs. Kong | 76% (392 reviews)[180] | 59 (57 reviews)[181] |
| Monarch: Legacy of Monsters | 89% (84 reviews)[182] | 68 (26 reviews)[183] |
| Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | 54% (235 reviews)[184] | 47 (51 reviews)[185] |
| Film | Year | Box office gross revenue (est.) | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | |||
| Toho productions | |||
| Godzilla | 1954 | $2,250,000 | ¥63 million ($900,000) |
| Godzilla Raids Again | 1955 | ≈ ¥170 million (Japan rentals) |
¥32 million |
| Godzilla, King of the Monsters! | 1956 | ≈ $2,000,000 | $100,000 |
| King Kong vs. Godzilla | 1962 | ≈ $8,700,000 | ¥150 million ($420,000) |
| Mothra vs. Godzilla | 1964 | ≈ ¥3,200,000,000 | ¥123 million |
| Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster | 1964 | ≈ $2,300,000 (US/Japan rentals) |
¥133 million |
| Invasion of Astro-Monster | 1965 | ≈ $4,200,000 (US/Japan rentals) |
¥132 million |
| Ebirah, Horror of the Deep | 1966 | ≈ ¥330,000,000 (Japan rentals) |
— |
| Son of Godzilla | 1967 | ≈ ¥260,000,000 (Japan rentals) | |
| Destroy All Monsters | 1968 | ≈ ¥230,000,000 | ¥200 million |
| All Monsters Attack | 1969 | ≈ ¥260,000,000 (Japan rentals) | — |
| Godzilla vs. Hedorah | 1971 | ≈ ¥300,000,000 (Japan rentals) | ¥100 million |
| Godzilla vs. Gigan | 1972 | ≈ $20,000,000 | $1.2 million |
| Godzilla vs. Megalon | 1973 | ≈ $20,000,000 | $1.2 million |
| Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla | 1974 | ≈ $20,000,000 | $1.2 million |
| Terror of Mechagodzilla | 1975 | ≈ $20,000,000 | $1.2 million |
| The Return of Godzilla | 1984 | ≈ $14,000,000 | $6.25 million |
| Godzilla 1985 | 1985 | ≈ $4,120,000 | $2 million |
| Godzilla vs. Biollante | 1989 | ≈ ¥1,040,000,000 | ¥700 million |
| Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah | 1991 | ≈ ¥1,450,000,000 | ¥1.5 billion |
| Godzilla vs. Mothra | 1992 | ≈ ¥3,770,000,000 | ¥1 billion |
| Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II | 1993 | ≈ $36,000,000 | $9.5 million |
| Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla | 1994 | ≈ ¥1,650,000,000 | ¥1 billion |
| Godzilla vs. Destoroyah | 1995 | ≈ $34,500,000 | ¥1 billion |
| Godzilla 2000: Millennium | 1999 | ≈ $12,900,000 | ¥1.65 billion |
| Godzilla vs. Megaguirus | 2000 | ≈ ¥1,200,000,000 | ¥700-800 million ($7–9 million) |
| Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack |
2001 | ≈ $20,000,000 | ¥700-800 million ($7–9 million) |
| Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla | 2002 | $14,122,958 | ¥1 billion |
| Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. | 2003 | $10,724,345 | — |
| Godzilla: Final Wars | 2004 | $9,167,302 | ¥1.9 billion |
| Shin Godzilla | 2016 | $78,053,145 | ¥1.3 billion |
| Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters | 2017 | $3,285,291 | — |
| Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle | 2018 | ≈ ¥100,000,000 | |
| Godzilla: The Planet Eater | 2018 | $1,523,168 | |
| Godzilla Minus One | 2023 | $115,857,413 | $10–12 million |
| American productions | |||
| Godzilla | 1998 | $379,014,294 | $130–150 million |
| Godzilla | 2014 | $529,076,069 | $160 million |
| Godzilla: King of the Monsters | 2019 | $387,300,138 | $170–200 million |
| Godzilla vs. Kong | 2021 | $470,116,094 | $155–200 million |
| Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | 2024 | $569,927,635 | $135–150 million |
In 1973, Godzilla was featured in Toho's tokusatsu series Zone Fighter, which also featured King Ghidorah and Gigan in a few episodes. Several filmmakers who had worked on previous Godzilla films participated in the series; Tomoyuki Tanaka produced the series, directors Ishirō Honda and Jun Fukuda directed a few episodes – Fukuda also wrote episode four, effects director Teruyoshi Nakano contributed to the special effects, while Kōichi Kawakita (who would direct the effects for Toho's Heisei era films) served as assistant effects director.[186] In 1992, Toho produced a children's educational animated series titled Godzilland which featured live-action segments mixed with chibi-styled animation.[187] In 1997, Toho produced a children's series titled Godzilla Island, centered on Godzilla toys. Toho made the series available worldwide on their official YouTube channel in November 2022.[188] In 2018, GEMSTONE, a web content subsidiary of Toho, held a competition for filmmakers to produce short films based on the Godzilla franchise with finalists receiving a cash prize and the opportunity to work with Toho in an official capacity.[189] One of these finalists, the puppet short Godziban, would become an ongoing YouTube web series in August 2019, with a selection of 20 episodes being offered on Amazon Prime Video and Hulu in Japan in 2024.[190] In October 2020, Toho announced Godzilla Singular Point; an anime series directed by Atsushi Takahashi, written by Toh EnJoe, and animated by Japanese studios Bones and Orange.[191] Godzilla Singular Point aired on Japanese television in April 2021 and released worldwide on Netflix in June 2021.[192] Chibi Godzilla Raids Again, a short anime series produced by Toho and Pie in the sky, aired in 2023.[193]
Godzilla and its likeness has appeared in various television-related media, including Robot Chicken, Roseanne, Animaniacs, South Park, Malcolm In The Middle, Chappelle's Show, Rugrats, a Nike commercial with Charles Barkley battling Godzilla, and multiple appearances on The Simpsons, including a Halloween spoof titled Homerzilla.[194][195]
In 1978, Hanna-Barbera produced the animated series Godzilla and ran for two seasons on NBC.[196] In 2022, Toho made the complete Hanna-Barbera series available worldwide on their official YouTube channel.[197] In 1991, the English dubbed versions of Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (as Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster) and Godzilla vs. Megalon were riffed on Mystery Science Theater 3000.[198] In 1998, Columbia TriStar Television produced Godzilla: The Series; developed by Jeff Kline and Richard Raynis, the series served as a sequel to the 1998 film Godzilla and ran for two seasons on Fox Kids.[199] In January 2022, Legendary Television announced that Apple TV+ had ordered a live-action series set in the Monsterverse titled Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.[200]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Zone Fighter | The series features Godzilla in seven episodes.[186] |
| 1978–1979 | Godzilla | In 2006, Classic Media released the first eight episodes on two volume DVD's as Godzilla: The Original Animated Series.[201] In 2022, Toho International Inc. released the complete series on their official YouTube channel.[197] |
| 1992 | Godzilland | |
| 1993 | Godzilland 2 | |
| 1994-1996 | Get Going! Godzilland | |
| 1997–1998 | Godzilla Island | |
| 1998–2000 | Godzilla: The Series | |
| 2019- | Godziban | |
| 2021 | Godzilla Singular Point | |
| 2023 | Monarch: Legacy of Monsters | |
| 2023-2024 | Chibi Godzilla Raids Again |
A game called Gojira-kun (which was originally going to be titled Gojiraland)[202] was released for the MSX in 1985. In 1990, Gojira-kun: Kaijū Daikōshin was released for the Game Boy. In 1993, Super Godzilla was released for the SNES.[203] In 2004, Godzilla: Save the Earth was released by Atari. In 2007, Godzilla: Unleashed was released for the Wii and DS. The 2014 video game Godzilla was released by Bandai Namco.[204] In May 2022, Call of Duty: Warzone featured a cross-over event for Godzilla vs. Kong.[205] Godzila would be confirmed to play in the Kaiju fighting game GigaBash as a guest character.[206]
A Godzilla series of books was published by Random House during the late 1990s and the first half of 2000. The company created different series for different age groups, the Scott Ciencin series being aimed at preteens and the Marc Cerasini series being aimed at teens and young adults. Several manga have been derived from specific Godzilla films and both Marvel and Dark Horse have published Godzilla comic book series (1977–1979 and 1987–1999, respectively). In 2011, IDW Publishing started a new series, Godzilla: Kingdom of Monsters (published in book form under the same title), rebooting the Godzilla story. It was followed by two sequel series, Godzilla (published in book form as Godzilla: History's Greatest Monster) and Godzilla: Rulers of Earth (published in book form as Godzilla: Complete Rulers of Earth Volume 1 and Godzilla: Complete Rulers of Earth Volume 2), as well as seven five-issue miniseries to date.
To tie-in with the 2014 film, three books were published. Titan Books published a novelization of the film in May 2014, written by Greg Cox. The graphic novel Godzilla: Awakening by Max Borenstein, Greg Borenstein and Eric Battle served as a prequel, and Godzilla: The Art of Destruction by Mark Cotta told about the making of the film. Godzilla has been referenced in The Simpsons comics on three separate occasions. The character is featured in Bart Simpson's Guide to Life where it and other kaiju characters such as Minilla and King Ghidorah can be seen; it is featured in the comic "An Anime Among Us!" and K-Bart. Godzilla is also featured in the comic Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror 7 where it and other kaiju can be seen referenced on the front cover.
Godzilla: The Album, the soundtrack album of Godzilla (1998), sold 2.5 million copies worldwide.[207] The album's lead single, "Come with Me" by Puff Daddy featuring Jimmy Page, sold a certified 2.025 million copies worldwide.[208] Its Japan-exclusive single, "Lose Control" by Japanese rock band L'Arc-en-Ciel, sold 938,401 copies in Japan.[citation needed] Shin Godzilla Ongakushuu, the soundtrack album of Shin Godzilla (2016), sold 43,951 copies in Japan.[citation needed] Mars (1991), an album by the Japanese rock duo B'z featuring a Godzilla-themed song, sold 1,730,500 copies in Japan.[209]
Blue Öyster Cult released the song "Godzilla" in 1977. It was the first track, and the second of four singles, from their fifth studio album Spectres (also 1977). Artists such as Fu Manchu, Racer X and Double Experience have included cover versions of this song on their albums. American musician Michale Graves wrote a song titled "Godzilla" for his 2005 album Punk Rock Is Dead. The lyrics mention Godzilla and several on-screen adversaries such as Mothra, Hedorah, Destoroyah and Gigan.[210] The Brazilian heavy metal band Sepultura has a song titled "Biotech is Godzilla" on its 1993 release Chaos A.D.[211]
Composer Eric Whitacre wrote a piece for wind ensemble titled "Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!" The work was commissioned by Thomas Leslie of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and was premiered in 1996 by the university's wind band. Annotations on the score instruct performers to dress in costume and a "script" is provided for the audience. Since the piece's premiere, it has been performed by notable ensembles including the United States Marine Band and the Scottish National Wind Symphony.[212]
The French death metal band Gojira named the band after Godzilla's name in Japanese.[213] The song "Simon Says" by Pharoahe Monch is a hip-hop remix of the "Godzilla March" theme song. The instrumental version of this song was notably used in the 2000 film Charlie's Angels. The British band Lostprophets released a song called "We Are Godzilla, You Are Japan" on its second studio album Start Something. The American punk band Groovie Ghoulies released a song called "Hats off to You (Godzilla)" as a tribute to Godzilla. It is featured on the EP Freaks on Parade released in 2002.
The American artist Doctor Steel released a song called 'Atomic Superstar' about Godzilla on his album People of Earth in 2002. In 2003, the British singer Siouxsie Sioux released the album Hái! with her band The Creatures; the album had a Japanese theme with a song dedicated to the monster, simply titled "Godzilla!". The record label Shifty issued the compilation album Destroysall with 15 songs from 15 bands, ranging from hardcore punk to doom-laden death metal. Not all of the songs are dedicated to Godzilla, but all do appear connected to monsters from Toho Studios. Fittingly, the disc was released on August 1, 2003, the 35th anniversary of the Japanese release of Destroy All Monsters.
King Geedorah (a.k.a. MF DOOM) released Take Me to Your Leader, a hip-hop album featuring guests from the group Monsta Island Czars, another Godzilla-themed hip-hop group. These albums include multiple Godzilla samples throughout the series. Taiwanese American electronic musician Mochipet released the EP Godzilla Rehab Center on August 21, 2012, featuring songs named after monsters in the series including Gigan, King Ghidorah, Moguera and Hedorah.
In 2019, American rock band Think Sanity released their debut album featuring songs based on Godzilla, Mothra, and Hedorah. The songs are titled "Sad Kaiju", "Mothra", and "Sludge", respectively. The monsters are also mentioned by name on the track "News at Six" in which they are comically described by newscaster Chip Bentley as destroying a nearby town. The band has mentioned in interviews that they have also written songs based on Biollante, King Ghidorah, and Rodan as well.
The largest megamullion, located 600 kilometres to the south-east of Okinotorishima, the southernmost Japanese island, is named the Godzilla Megamullion. The Japan Coast Guard played a role in name, reaching an agreement with Toho who owns the rights to Godzilla. Toho's Chief Godzilla officer Keiji Ota stated that "I am truly honored that (the megamullion) bears Godzilla's name, the Earth's most powerful monster."[214]
Godzilla is one of the most recognizable symbols of Japanese popular culture worldwide and is an important facet of Japanese films, embodying the kaiju subset of the tokusatsu genre. It has been considered an allegory of nuclear weapons. The earlier Godzilla films, especially the original Godzilla, portrayed Godzilla as a frightening, nuclear monster. Godzilla represented the fears that many Japanese held about the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the possibility of recurrence.[215]
As the series progressed, so did Godzilla, changing into a less destructive and more heroic character.[216][217] Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964) was the turning point in Godzilla's transformation from villain to hero, by pitting him against a greater threat to humanity, King Ghidorah.[218] Godzilla has since been viewed as an anti-hero.[216] Roger Ebert cites Godzilla as a notable example of a villain-turned-hero, along with King Kong, the James Bond films' Jaws, the Terminator, and Rambo.[219]
Godzilla is considered "the original radioactive superhero" due to his accidental radioactive origin story predating Spider-Man (1962 debut),[216] though Godzilla did not become a hero until Ghidorah in 1964.[218] By the 1970s, Godzilla came to be viewed as a superhero, with the magazine King of the Monsters in 1977 describing Godzilla as "Superhero of the '70s."[220] In 1973, Godzilla was voted the most popular movie monster in The Monster Times poll, beating Count Dracula, King Kong, Wolf Man, The Mummy, Creature From the Black Lagoon, and Frankenstein's monster.[221]
In 2010, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society named their most recently acquired scout vessel MV Gojira. Toho, the people in charge of the Godzilla franchise, served them with a notice to remove the name and in response the boat's name was changed in May 2011 to MV Brigitte Bardot.[222]
Steven Spielberg cited Godzilla as an inspiration for Jurassic Park (1993), specifically Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956), which he grew up watching.[223] During its production, Spielberg described Godzilla as "the most masterful of all the dinosaur movies because it made you believe it was really happening."[224] Godzilla also influenced the Spielberg film Jaws (1975).[225][226] Godzilla has also been cited as an inspiration by actor Tim Allen and filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton.[227]
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(*) In 1996 Godzilla received an award for Lifetime Achievement at the MTV Movie Awards. Creator and producer Shōgo Tomiyama accepted on his behalf via satellite and was joined by "Godzilla" himself.
"-zilla" is a well-known slang suffix, used to imply some form of excess to a person, object or theme;[239] some examples being the reality TV show Bridezillas and the Netscape-derived web browser Mozilla Firefox.
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