Godzilla Minus One, one of the best movies of 2023 (and maybe the best Godzilla movie since the 1954 original), is now streaming on Netflix.
The streaming release came with no advance notice on Saturday which IndieWire notes is “very unusual” for Netflix: “That suggests the contractual agreement between Toho and Legendary Pictures (the producers of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), which called for delayed availability for the Japanese title, specifically set June 1 as the earliest for home release.”
We’re living in a golden age of ‘Zilla.
Godzilla Minus One, which is directed Takashi Yamazaki and stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, and Kuranosuke Sasaki, was a surprise box office sensation, earning over $115 million worldwide on a reported $15 million budget. It’s also the first Godzilla film to win an Oscar, taking home Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards. He even wore a little bowtie.
“We looked at a lot of different Godzillas throughout the years and as a team we wanted to get the essence of what we thought most actually represented what Godzilla is about,” Yamazaki said at the ceremony. “Godzilla, if you trace back to its origins, is a symbol of terror, war and nuclear power. I wanted to make sure that when audiences saw Godzilla, that fear would be instilled on them.”
Godzilla Minus One is streaming on Netflix now.