Godzilla Minus One returns to theaters on November 1, just in time for Godzilla’s 70th anniversary. Both the original and the black-and-white “Minus Color” version will be available.
Toho has also announced that before the movie, there will be a special visual effects reel showing behind-the-scenes footage. After the credits, stick around for a Q&A with the director, Takashi Yamazaki, and visual effects director, Kiyoko Shibuya. This re-release adds 13 minutes of exclusive content.
This comes on the heels of the film’s critical success, having won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. If you missed it the first time or want to enjoy it again with these extras, you can get tickets now at most major theaters.
Godzilla: Minus One first opened in December 2023. The film brought in over $115 million on less than a $15 million budget.
The flick also shares a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score from both the critics and the fans.
Critics praise Godzilla Minus One for balancing emotional depth with impressive spectacle. Many appreciate its focus on the characters’ inner struggles, like survivor guilt and postwar trauma, which adds a layer of emotional weight to the action.
The film is celebrated not just for its visual effects but for its story about resilience in the face of overwhelming destruction. Several reviewers also note how it brings a fresh perspective to the kaiju genre, blending intimate human drama with the iconic Godzilla destruction.
“The biggest [meaning] is how people rise up from a postwar Japan that is at zero, and then Godzilla arrives, making the situation even worse and more tragic,” Yamazaki explained about the title at the Toho 2023 press conference. “It is set even before the time of the original Godzilla, so in that sense it is also a ‘minus one.’ It is also a ‘minus one’ in the sense of a run-up — a pull-back [that allows you to] get back on your feet in the face of difficult times. It can also be a ‘minus one’ of losing something, and I hope that people will feel the various meanings in this film as they watch it.”
