Godzilla Minus One is being touted as perhaps the best movie featuring the mythical kaiju as the main character in the franchise’s 70-year-long history. This may come as quite a surprise since the film didn’t have such an anticipated release compared to some of its predecessors. Also, it had nowhere near the budget of a typical Hollywood blockbuster film, or even of the upcoming Monsterverse installment of the franchise, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which reportedly has a budget of around $200 million.
This last point is one of the mainstream reasons why people believe that Godzilla Minus One has broken the monster movie mold. A good storyline with intriguing characters can make any movie relevant. But when you’re able to create a monster movie of this scale and it’s created under such small a budget with interesting characters, excellent graphics, and great storyline, the word-of-mouth spreads like wildfire. Here are five ways Godzilla Minus One broke the monster movie mold.
1. Godzilla Minus One is a Monster Movie Based in a Real Historical Context
It’s not new for Godzilla films to be based on a historical context but Godzilla Minus One has taken it to the next level and the director doesn’t shy away from digging into the darkness and horrors of it. Set in post-World War II Japan, The movie presented a major challenge for the production team, which was able to certainly rise to the occasion and deliver a very credible rendition of the time period throughout the film.
Directed and written by Takashi Yamazaki, the film’s story is as much about human resilience, guilt, and redemption as it is about monster battles. The film’s protagonist, a kamikaze pilot named Kōichi Shikishima (Kamiki Ryunosuke), who faces Godzilla and the aftermath of the war, represents a nation grappling with its past and the monstrous consequences of nuclear power. The war’s devastation and atomic bombings have been spotlighted in the most thoughtful and yet horrifying manner, creating a base for not just a great Godzilla film but a film that paints a beautiful picture of a nation rising back up against external threats.
2. The Movie Prioritizes Human Character Development Over Monster Spectacle
Most monster movies going back to the era of the first King Kong and even Godzilla movies relied heavily on showcasing the monster spectacle. They do this without paying much attention to the human element of the story. What’s worse is that since every Godzilla entrance in the film has to be “memorable,” the audience usually has to sit through mindless dialogue between the characters until they have a 500-ft lizard beginning to wreak havoc.
Some of the highlights of other characters in Godzilla movies include Matthew Broderick walking around New York with a confused look on his face for an entire film. That doesn’t necessarily count as human character development. But Godzilla Minus One, on the other hand, is different! It tells the story of a disgraced kamikaze pilot who comes back home alive. This helps play along with the post-WWII theme perfectly and paves the way for a nuanced monster movie that focuses on the protagonist’s character arc really well!
3. It Was Made Under a Budget of $15 Million
There are some conflicting reports as far as how much money actually went into the production of this movie. While the earlier reported production budget of Godzilla Minus One was between $10 million to $15 million, Deadline went on to reveal that this figure was actually closer to $10 million. Yamazaki confirmed this as well, however, he was unable to publicly specify how much of that was devoted to just VFX.
Regardless of what the actual number is, this budget is way lower than what Godzilla vs Kong costed in 2021 whose budget is estimated to be anywhere between 155 to 200 million dollars, very much similar to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’s budget. Now, the sequel to that big-budget monster flick may have major shoes to fill thanks to this low-budget effort that’s wowed audiences.
4. Godzilla Minus One Is Now the Largest Domestic Debut for a Live-Action Japanese Film
Godzilla Minus One broke the record for the largest-grossing foreign language film from Japan by raking in up to 11 million dollars on just the opening weekend in the US. Not just that — on the first day of its US release date (December 1, 2023), Godzilla Minus One actually ended up breaking a 19-year-old domestic box office record with an impressive single-day revenue of $1.23 million. The record was previously held by Jet Li’s Hero which was holding its ground since 2004. When a monster movie, crafted with a modest budget, manages to eclipse a longstanding record of this nature, it underscores the film’s revolutionary departure from traditional monster-genre conventions.
5. The Film Treats Godzilla as a Symbol of Horror — Rather Than Just an Anti-Hero
Since the film’s emphasis is not just on spectacle but on a deep, humanistic exploration of its characters and their struggles, placing Godzilla as a catalyst amplifies the underlying emotional and ethical dilemmas rather than the central antagonist driving the plot. This nuanced portrayal underscores a shift from the typical storylines of many modern monster movies, where the monster functions more as a psychic manifestation of the characters’ internal conflicts and the societal challenges they face, rather than a straightforward villain. By grounding the monster in a real historical context and focusing on the human drama amidst the backdrop of destruction, Godzilla Minus One breaks away from the conventional mold of the monster movie genre. You should also check out why this movie succeeded where other sequels didn’t!
Godzilla Minus One is till running in theaters and hasn’t yet been made available to stream.