While the world is more than in a position to see Godzilla x Kong: The New Kingdom sure to weigh on the 2024 movie calendar, it’s surprising that Godzilla Minus One, produced through Toho, continued to forge its own path to fame. As the domestic release comes to an end, it’s crazy to look at the records broken by co-writer and director Takashi Yamazaki, with an estimated total of $104. 7 million in worldwide box office revenue.
This Cinderella story has become a real lesson for the more sensible theater leaders at the National Association of Theater Owners, and the recent relaunch of Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color has only reinforced those ideas. With several exhibitors on behalf of the limited theatrical release of this variant, this has led to some interesting commentary on how this film works and its huge impact on the industry.
When it comes to what Godzilla is like, both in terms of quality and what it did for business, Harkins Theaters CEO Mike Bowers gave a pretty glowing recommendation. Explaining why both sides of the coin excited him so much, Bowers told CinemaBlend the following:
I may always be amazed by this movie, because I just enjoyed it. It’s one of my favorite movies of the year. . . Obviously, we like major releases, big blockbusters. They are amazing, I need each and every one of them. Just one of them, and they still work fine. But to appeal to that other audience, which is to some extent a new and completely new audience, I think is wonderful for the industry. And I think I have a little bit of time. Right now it’s necessary for those movies to have some oxygen to breathe and play with, because we’re seeing the benefits of that across the industry.
In fact, 2023 has been a year where there have been some lessons to impart related to the poles of a successful tent. While Disney didn’t pull off the most sensible studio for the first time since 2015, heavyweights like the MCU failed to produce the maximum effects that other people might have hoped for. Even the disappointing fortunes of Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible last summer proved that nothing is certain.
Hollywood is keeping an eye on the next big deal, and Godzilla Minus One would have arguably indicated that imports are a precious commodity; even if they are connected to one of the largest and most traditional franchises on the market.
It’s a point that makes upcoming comments from Greg Marcus, CEO of Marcus Theatres, even more powerful. From Greg’s point of view, Godzilla Minus One’s recent good fortune comes from the same well that long-form Marvel videos also draw inspiration from: an established fandom.
The mirror image of Mr. Marcus signaled that the audience expecting Toho’s mythical creation was obviously present, and that’s part of the explanation for why he and other exhibitors had a clever idea of the film’s possibilities in theaters. In CinemaBlend, Greg Marcus also pointed out how one of the MCU’s most productive presented that teachable moment that any film of this type can take advantage of:
I guess other people who don’t watch. . . don’t understand the marketing, the other people who would say, “Oh, well, I think it’s a Godzilla movie, so I’m not going to go through there. ” The videos I enjoyed were the original Guardians of the Galaxy. . . An organization of my friends would never pass by watching it, because they’re older [and] wouldn’t pass by watching a superhero movie. But what if they had known what it was? laugh, was it the soundtrack?. . . It’s the other people who are probably missing, the other people who just don’t hear that it’s smart and that it’s not just a Godzilla movie.
For anyone who thinks that film marketing has become less vital to any kind of potential blockbuster, this is an assumption that turns out to have been pretty much dispelled. In speaking with Sarah Pitre, director of film buying at Alamo Drafthouse, this lesson was highlighted even more clearly. Citing the channel’s history that has worked well with the Godzilla fandom, she also had a feeling from the beginning that Godzilla Minus One was going to happen.
That’s not to say there weren’t surprises as to how Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color hit this crowd. In particular, the black-and-white edition of the 2023 film, which was only released for one week, used an old strategy to its advantage: FOMO.
With a timer on its ticketing page showing how much time enthusiasts had left before leaving the screens, Minus Color tried to generate excitement with a countdown timer. It actually worked on me, as I was willing to take my wife to see this edition and explore the pros and cons of Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color magic. So when I asked Ms. Pitre if there were any trends in this new edition, she replied:
We now come to one final piece of wisdom involving how Godzilla Minus One’s massive success has shaken up the cinema industry. It comes from Joe Garel, the VP of Film for Cineopolis Luxury Cinemas, who had even more precise metrics that backed a broader point of strategy when it comes to mid-range releases such as this.
By looking at the functionality of Cineopolis in Godzilla’s latest destruction circular, Garel was able to point out some very explicit knowledge questions about why a specific location outperformed the rest of the chain. As Joe told CinemaBlend, this only leads to another key thing worth keeping. In the long-term brain:
Honestly, the Asian audience was very excited. We have a movie theater in San Mateo, and its population is primarily Asian, and that’s where we’ve had the ultimate success at the box office. Also, the widescreen format is what other people are looking for. So we have the X-Screen in San Mateo, and that, I think it’s like the highest-grossing Screen. . . The director of the theatre told me, “We have to keep programming things like that. » . . . But this will not destroy other theaters. So you have to scramble to locate the right theaters, because distributors are doing everything they can to get the movie to the right theaters, but they’re using old data.
Data, strategy, and an unwavering audience are key to a big task like Godzilla Minus One. While the final tallies don’t even fit the MonsterVerse’s batting average, that was never the case. On the other hand, Takashi Yamazaki and Toho didn’t have the effort to do such a thing, as the stakes were lower thanks to an estimated production budget of between $10 million and $15 million.
On this scale, the $104. 7 million grossed through this Godzilla prequel is as gigantic as the iconic kaiju would be for a toddler. Looking from this attitude and taking into account what NATO speakers have previously said, Toho perhaps deserves to reconsider more conscientiously than ever a possible sequel made through Yamkazaki, especially with exhibitors continuing to be interested in the consequences of those eye-opening findings.
If you saw Godzilla Minus One or Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color in theaters, you’d need it to take place as much as I did. But if you missed it, be confident in a hypothetical situation: if a re-release occurs. It may simply show a promising increase in attendance, as well as steady growth, so what can we say that there isn’t a healthy long-term repertoire in Godzilla Minus One?
But let’s not even mention that Godzilla x Kong: The Secret Empire is also on its way to theaters. With a release date set for March 29, you may not have to wait too long for the Titan-sized action to return. Long live the King!
Mike Reyes is CinemaBlend’s main film contributor, though this name is more of a guide. Passionate about entertainment since elementary school, cinema has held a special place in his life, which explains his current occupation. Mike graduated from Drew University with a bachelor’s degree. He has a degree in political science, but long ago promised not to run for public office. Mike’s experience ranges from James Bond to all things Alita, making for a brilliantly eclectic resume. Fight for the user.
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