Godzilla’s American breakthrough was less a grand plan than a gamble. As Godzilla Minus Zero approaches cinemas, Toho chief Hiro Matsuoka has revealed how a conversation with US exhibitors persuaded the Japanese studio to release its predecessor there itself.
Speaking at the Tokyo International Film Festival on 29 October, Matsuoka recalled being told Hollywood was not making enough films to satisfy audiences. The exhibitors suggested Japanese animation. Toho also had a rather larger attraction waiting in the wings.
“It wasn’t a strategy; we just tried,” he said, in Variety’s account of the conversation. Some colleagues had worried about the move after earlier international disappointments. Godzilla Minus One went on to earn US$57.1 million in North America, with the revenue returning to Toho.
Takashi Yamazaki’s sequel now has a broader international operation behind it. Toho-owned GKIDS opens Godzilla Minus Zero in North America on 6 November. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, Anime Limited has IMAX previews from 3 November before the general release on 6 November.
Set two years after Minus One, the follow-up finds Japan’s fragile recovery interrupted by another threat. Yamazaki returns as writer, director and visual-effects supervisor. The monster is familiar; its overseas ambitions have grown.
