Godzilla (2014 film)

After the release of 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars, marking the 50th anniversary of the Godzilla film franchise, Toho announced that it would not produce any films featuring the Godzilla character for ten years. Toho demolished the water stage on its lot used in numerous Godzilla films to stage water scenes.[60] TriStar Pictures, which had made the 1998 Godzilla film and held the rights to make a trilogy of films, let its rights expire in 2003.

In August 2004, Yoshimitsu Banno, who had directed 1971's Godzilla vs. Hedorah, announced that he had secured the rights from Toho to make a Godzilla IMAX 3D short film at his Advanced Audiovisual Productions (AAP) production company. The film was tentatively titled Godzilla 3D to the Max, and was to be a remake of the Godzilla vs. Hedorah story.[61] In 2005, American Peter Anderson, ASC was added to the project as cinematographer, visual effects supervisor and co-producer by an independent producer Kenji Okuhira who represented Banno.[61] In the same year, American producer Brian Rogers signed on to the project after the meeting with Banno arranged by Okuhira and Anderson.[62]

In 2007, also through Anderson, Kerner Optical then came on board to develop the technology and to produce the 3-D film[63] and with Kerner's backing, in the fall of 2007, the team met with Toho in Tokyo where they re-negotiated their license to allow the release of a feature-length 3-D theatrical production.[64] In 2008, Kerner was facing financial troubles that threatened to cancel the production. In 2009, Rogers, Anderson and the then-proposed director Keith Melton met with Legendary Pictures to get their backing on a 3-D theatrical film.[65]

In 2010, it was green-lit by Legendary to go to production.[66] From the Godzilla 3D production team, Banno and Okuhira would remain on the project as executive producers and Rogers as a producer. In November 2013, Banno stated that he still planned to make a sequel to Godzilla vs. Hedorah;[67] however, Banno passed away on May 7, 2017.[68]

Director Gareth Edwards promoting the film at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con.

In August 2009, rumors surfaced that Legendary was in talks with Toho to produce a new American Godzilla film to be released in 2012,[69] and on March 29, 2010, Legendary officially announced its acquisition of the Godzilla license. According to Hideyuki Takai, president of Toho Co.: "We are delighted in rebooting the character together to realize its much-anticipated return by fans from all over the world. We are anxious to find out where Godzilla’s new stomping will take us."[57] Legendary announced it would reboot the franchise with Warner Bros. co-producing and co-financing.[56] Legendary announced it would make the new film closer in style to the original 1954 film rather than the 1998 film and its "iguana-like creature".[70] According to Thomas Tull, chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures, "Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop culturally relevant for as long as it has."[71] Film producers Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Doug Davison and Legendary's Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni were added to the project to work with Rogers, Banno and Okuhira.[72]

At the 3D Summit conference held in September 2010 at Universal Studios, producer Brian Rogers confirmed a targeted release date for 2012, the reboot will be a live-action project featuring a fully computer-generated Godzilla battling two other monsters rather than simply the military as seen in Emmerich's 1998 film. Rogers also confirmed that the two Godzilla head designs online rumored to have been designed by Legendary and sent to Toho for approval were fake. Rogers also stressed his and Legendary's wish to revive Godzilla in the same fashion Legendary had revived Batman.[73]

In October 2010, it was rumoured that Guillermo del Toro was approached to direct the film, which del Toro later denied.[74][75] In January 2011, Gareth Edwards was announced as the director for the film.[76] In an interview publicizing the DVD release of Monsters, Edwards discussed the new film: "this will definitely have a very different feel than the 1998 film and our biggest concern is making sure we get it right for the fans because we know their concerns. It must be brilliant in every category because I'm a fan as well."[77] Edwards further stated, "Without addressing anything specific, everyone knows how important it is to get it right."[78][79][80]

The film remained in development into 2012, missing the planned release date. Edwards worked on his vision for the film at a stage at the Warner Bros. lot. The production team developed Godzilla models, artwork and pre-visualizations of the action scenes of the movie. From the lot, Edward directed a short teaser video, shown to Legendary executives and later shown at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2012.[81]

In 2010, David Callaham pitched his take on Godzilla to Legendary and Warner Bros.[82] and was hired to write the first draft.[75][83][84] Speaking of his draft, Callaham stated, "Godzilla is a pretty cut and dry, giant monster that smashes stuff. But the reason I got excited about it is because I saw themes and relationships to the modern world that I could tell in this story that was important." Callaham did research on Godzilla's history, animal documentaries, as well as natural disasters and local government disaster plannings in order to depict the events as close as possible to real-life disasters.[82]

When Edwards' signing was announced, it was also announced that Callaham's first draft would be rewritten by another writer.[80][85][86] In July 2011, David S. Goyer was attached to rewrite the script.[87] Goyer only worked a few weeks on the script and did not get any credit, stating, "[I was involved with Godzilla] a little bit. I mean I did three or four weeks of work on Godzilla, it wasn’t a page-one rewrite or anything like that. The term is ‘script doctoring,’ is what I did on it."[88] In November 2011, Max Borenstein was hired to continue work on the script.[89] In October 2012, Legendary announced that writer Drew Pearce would polish the script, making the principal characters older to suit the actors that Legendary had intended to cast.[90]

In January 2013, Frank Darabont was hired for a final rewrite.[91] In interviews, Darabont described his plans for Godzilla as returning it to a "terrifying force of nature". The film would add a "very compelling human drama" and that Godzilla would be tied to a "different contemporary issue" rather than the original atomic bomb testing.[92] In addition to contributing to the script, Darabont mainly focused on the emotional aspect and further development of the characters. Commenting on Darabont's work, Edwards stated, "We blocked out the whole story and Frank did a pass at helping the characters and emotions. He delivered on that. Frank brought a lot of heart to it and soul." Edwards additionally confirmed that one particular scene from Darabont's rewrite convinced Bryan Cranston and Juliette Binoche to join the film.[29] Edwards felt it was not believable that a creature as giant as Godzilla could go undetected by humanity, so the writers conceived of the idea that the monster's existence had been covered up by the United States government, and as such their nuclear tests in the Pacific during the 1950s were actually an attempt to kill the creature.[93]

In July 2013, Edwards confirmed an origin story for the film.[94] He also confirmed that Godzilla would be an antihero rather than a villain or a hero. He also discussed the themes incorporated into the film, stating "Godzilla is definitely a representation of the wrath of nature. We've taken it very seriously and the theme is man versus nature and Godzilla is certainly the nature side of it. You can't win that fight. Nature's always going to win and that's what the subtext of our movie is about. He's the punishment we deserve".[29] Actress Elizabeth Olsen discussed how the film returns to the roots of the original Godzilla film and its themes as well, stating, "There's a strong theme about the importance of family in it as well as the theme of trying to control nature and how that backfires in the end."[95]

Actor Bryan Cranston praised Edwards' vision, tone, and pitch for the film and titular character. In an interview with Canada's Entertainment Tonight, he compared Edwards' approach similar to Steven Spielberg's style in Jaws where the film does not immediately show the beast but rather build up to its appearance while still delivering an eerie and terrifying off-screen presence.[96]

In licensing Godzilla to Legendary, Toho set down some specific conditions: that Godzilla is born of a nuclear incident and it be set in Japan. The film has a title montage set in 1954, and then moves forward to 1999 and deals with a mysterious disaster at a fictional Japanese nuclear power plant named Janjira.[97] Legendary rejected an origin story where a Godzilla carcass would be found entombed in Siberia. The idea was rejected after the production learned that Man of Steel had a potentially similar scene.[98] The US Army reviewed the script, suggesting corrections for accuracy.[99] Tony Gilroy contributed some additional uncredited rewrites to the script.[100][101]

Godzilla's final design, officially revealed on the cover of Empire

Producer Thomas Tull made it clear that Godzilla's design had to be accurate, stating, "We had to make triply sure we got it right. Godzilla had to look like Godzilla. Period." Tull was also puzzled at the design direction of Emmerich's Godzilla, stating, "I’m always puzzled as a fan when you take things so far it’s unrecognizable."[102]

Edwards and the design group reviewed all previous incarnations of Godzilla's design for inspiration. Edwards stated, "The way I tried to view it was to imagine Godzilla was a real creature and someone from Toho saw him in the 1950s and ran back to the studio to make a movie about the creature and was trying their best to remember it and draw it. And in our film you get to see him for real." He went on to say that his Godzilla remains true to the original in all aspects.[103] Edwards also stressed that, "It was important to me that this felt like a Toho Godzilla" and concluded by wishing, "I'd love ours (Godzilla) to be considered as part of the Toho group."[29]

In October 2013, toy and collectible web sites offering pre-orders of merchandise for the film revealed aspects of the other creatures to appear in the movie. The other creatures are, as a group, known as "MUTOs", with some having the ability to fly and being multi-limbed.[104] The filmmakers specified that Godzilla would be 350 feet (106.7 meters) tall, the tallest incarnation of Godzilla to date at the time.[105] According to special effect chief Jim Rygiel, the mechanics of Godzilla's fighting style is based on the study of animals, primarily bears and Komodo dragons.[105] The height of the creature finally turned out to be 355 feet (108.2 meters).[106]

For Empire magazine's April 2014 issue, the magazine cover featured a picture of Godzilla, revealing the monster's design. According to Edwards, elements of the faces of bears, dogs and eagles were incorporated into the design of Godzilla's face.[107] Motion capture by the special effects firm The Imaginarium was also utilized in the movement of the movie's monsters in film sequences.[107] Andy Serkis provided consultation on the film's motion capture sequences in order to "control the souls" of the creatures. Serkis stated that the film's performance capture had already been filmed before he was approached.[108][109]

The Godzilla roar was revamped for the movie. According to Edwards, sound designer Erik Aadahl improved on the original sound effect provided by Toho.[110] Aadahl and fellow sound designer Ethan Van Der Ryn spent six months over the three-year production getting the roar right. Using microphones that could record sound inaudible to humans, the team found sounds to match the initial shriek and the finishing bellow. The new roar retains the musical key and cadence of the roar, going from a C to a D. The final version was the 50th the team produced. The pair tested the roar on a back lot at Warner Bros., using a tour speaker array for The Rolling Stones, and estimated that it could be heard 3 miles (4.83 km) away.[111] In IMAX theatres, the roar was integrated into the sound of the "Welcome to IMAX" sequence shown before Godzilla showings.[112]

In an interview with The Verge, Edwards commented that it took over a year to design the MUTO creatures because the crew wanted to create something new and different for contemporary audiences. Edwards and the design team looked to creatures from such films as Jurassic Park, Alien, Starship Troopers and King Kong for inspiration, reflecting on what made their designs so iconic. From this, the design for the MUTOs kept evolving and "mutating," according to Edwards, into a cohesive design.[113]

T.J. Storm provided the performance capture for Godzilla[40][41] while Matt Cross and Lee Ross provided additional motion capture performances.[114]

In late 2012, the plans for the film's filming, release and distribution were revealed. In September 2012, Legendary announced a theatrical release date of May 16, 2014, in 3-D.[86][115] IMAX announced that the film would also be released in IMAX 3D on May 16, 2014.[116] Warner Brothers distributed the film worldwide, except in Japan, where it was distributed by Toho.[86] At that time, Legendary Pictures added Alex Garcia and Patricia Whitcher as executive producers.[86] In December, Dan Lin revealed that the film would likely start filming in Vancouver in March 2013.[81]

Legendary turned its attention to casting parts for the movie. On January 7, 2013, it was reported that Joseph Gordon-Levitt had turned down being cast in the film in the fall of 2012. It was reported that Henry Cavill, Scoot McNairy, and Caleb Landry Jones comprised the shortlist for lead of the film.[19] On January 10, it was first reported that Legendary Pictures was interested in Aaron Taylor-Johnson for the lead role.[117] It was reported that Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen were also in talks to co-star.[118] Olsen confirmed her involvement at the 2013 BAFTA awards.[119] Juliette Binoche and David Strathairn were then signed on to join Taylor-Johnson, Cranston and Olsen in the film.[120][121]

In January 2013, Mary Parent joined the project as a producer for Disruption Entertainment.[91][122] and producers Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Doug Davison were dismissed from the project.[123] According to The Hollywood Reporter, the producers left over creative and financial differences with Legendary Pictures, and Legendary was buying out their producer contracts, a move which led to court.[124] On January 9, Legendary Pictures filed a 'Complaint for Declaratory Relief' lawsuit against Lin, Lee and Davison in California State Court to spell out any fees owed to the individuals, who had signed an agreement with Legendary and were working with Legendary on the film's development. According to the complaint, Legendary had decided in the fall of 2012 to not employ the three as producers on the film and the three were not eligible for any producer fees.[125] The three filed a counter-claim, that the agreement cited by Legendary was not in force and that the original working agreement was breached by Legendary. The three argued that the suit should be decided in open court, not in arbitration, and that Legendary should be responsible for damages for breach of contract.[126] At court, the judge dismissed the arbitration and ordered mediation followed by jury trial if necessary.[127] Legendary appealed the decision and lost the appeal in March 2014, leaving the case in California Superior Court for trial.[128] In June 2015, on the eve of the trial, the parties came to a settlement, terms of which were not disclosed.[129]

At the start of principal photography in March 2013, Legendary formally announced the cast and producers.[130][131] Yoshimitsu Banno, Alex Garcia, Kenji Okuhira and Patricia Whitcher were formally named as executive producers and Legendary announced the addition of Ken Watanabe to the cast.[130] After filming started, Richard T. Jones and Sally Hawkins were added.[132][133] From the film set, a photograph of actor Akira Takarada (star of the original Godzilla, including five sequels) with Edwards was released. Takarada had publicly appealed to be part of the production and the photo indicates some sort of role for the Japanese actor in the reboot. In April 2014, Takarada said in an interview that his role was cut from the final version of the film. He had the role of an immigration officer.[134] Edwards later admitted regretting cutting out Takarada's cameo.[43]

Principal photography began on March 18, 2013, in Vancouver, under the working title of "Nautilus,"[130] with scenes shot at the Vancouver Convention Centre,[135] inside BC Place, and at Hi-View Lookout in Cypress Provincial Park, West Vancouver (as San Francisco's Bay Area Park). This was followed by filming in the Richmond neighborhood of Steveston. A large battle scene was shot on Moncton St, involving approximately 200 soldiers and many military vehicles. Another scene was filmed at the fisherman's wharf along Finn Slough. Additional shooting took place on Vancouver Island, around Nanaimo[136] and Victoria in British Columbia. Additional filming involving extras took place around industrial areas of Coquitlam, British Columbia.[137]

The scenes at the Convention Centre stood in for the Honolulu and Tokyo airports, while other locations in Vancouver were used to simulate scenes in San Francisco, Tokyo and the Philippines. Filming also used the stages of Burnaby's Canadian Motion Picture Park, (CMPP) where crews built a San Francisco Chinatown street, a giant sinkhole set used for the Philippine mine and the MUTO nest and a 400 feet (120 m) section of the Golden Gate Bridge.[138] The Chinatown street was built on the site of the New York City set built for the Watchmen film.[139]

A wooden mock-up of a U.S. Army Stryker armoured fighting vehicle parked on Moncton St. in Richmond, BC during the shooting of Godzilla.

Further on-location filming was done in June and July 2013 in Honolulu, Hawaii.[140] On June 2, 2013, over 2,000 people applied at an open casting call in Hawaii to be cast as extras.[141][142] Over 200 extras were hired for the expected three weeks of shooting in Hawaii, which included dressing up Waikiki Beach as the site of disaster.[143] Eastern Oahu was used as a double for the Marshall Islands.[138] According to The Hollywood Reporter, principal photography on Godzilla wrapped on the weekend of July 13–14.[144]

In an interview, Aaron Taylor-Johnson described the filming as mostly on-location, with very little use of green screens. He described the film crew as fairly small compared to other films he has worked on, "almost an independent production." CGI was used to add elements later.[17]

Seamus McGarvey served as the film's cinematographer, shooting the film digitally using Arri Alexa cameras with Panavision C-Series anamorphic lenses. Sequences of the film set in the year 1954 were shot using vintage lenses from the early 1960s in order to give the film a "distant period feel."[145] This effect was enhanced though the digital intermediate's colour grading, as McGarvey noted that the "look I wanted was a peeled look with muted colors and diffusion on the highlights, a sense of period distance. I found a lot of photographs and magazines, and I knew that I wanted the blacks to be imbued with a tint of magenta."[145] Though the film was made to be released in 3D, it received a predominantly 2D release. McGarvey himself decided to shoot the film as if it were only 2D, because he dislikes working with 3D filming equipment and the experience of watching 3D films in theatres.[145]

The U.S. Navy cooperated in the making of the movie and filming took place on three U.S. Navy aircraft carriers: the USS Carl Vinson, the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan.[146] Part of the opening sequence was filmed on the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor.[147] The U.S. Army also participated in the movie with the support of three technical advisors.[99] The U.S. Marine Corps, which had participated in the 1998 film, declined to participate after reviewing the script, which featured Navy personnel.[14] Taylor-Johnson was put through a "mini-bootcamp" by retired Marine Sgt. Maj. James D. Dever, one of the film's military technical advisers, to "ensure he had good military bearing". Dever also helped stuntmen train for high-altitude, low-opening jumps.[14]

Director Gareth Edwards has said that he "intentionally placed humans in shots to give the scene a sense of scale, as everyone knows the size of a human, so we know the size of a creature or a building." He has also asserted that "we wouldn't place a camera anywhere it would be impossible to get one. We would say 'Imagine it was a news story, or a sports event, cameramen would put cameras where they could in a hurry, and get any shot they could.' This is what we wanted [Godzilla] to feel like, as if people were filming glimpses at any chance they could." He also found himself "Doing things [I] think are cliche; panning up just as a roar happens, or getting the perfect shot, things I shake my head at when watching other people's films. Especially when [Godzilla] is first seen, we wanted a build up, and then pan up, we see him, and then we don't see him. I love that."

Visual effects on the film were supervised by visual effects supervisor Jim Rygiel, best known for his work on The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.[148] Rygiel has stated that the effects are in the spirit of the original series, with the blessing of Toho, although the monster would be "more dynamic than a guy in a big rubber suit."[149] Visual and special effects companies working on the picture include the Moving Picture Company (MPC),[150] Double Negative,[151] Weta Digital, Amalgamated Dynamics, ComputerCafe/CafeFX, Lidar VFX, Scanline VFX, Stereo D and The Third Floor.[152] Production of the movie was completed in the last week of March 2014.[153]

To create a CG version of Godzilla, MPC studied various animals such as bears, Komodo dragons, lizards, lions and wolves which helped the visual effects artists visualize Godzilla's body structure like that of its underlying bone, fat and muscle structure as well as the thickness and texture of its scale.[154]

The production used high-quality panorama photos of the San Francisco skyline, and built a three-dimensional map of the city. The map was used in the background of sequences shot on the bridge set in Vancouver. According to Jim Rygiel, "this technique gives you a real city that is accurate down to every piece of mortar in a brick building, so, using that, we were able to composite the live action shots with the key frame-animated monsters destroying digital buildings into a seamless whole."[138] Army vehicles, including tanks were provided by CGI and are not real vehicles. The studio digitized actual military equipment from the 7th Infantry Division of the Army.[99] The film's title sequence was designed by Kyle Cooper, who had done the title sequence for Godzilla: Final Wars.[155] The film's sound was mixed at Warner Bros.' studio in Burbank, California. The tracks were mixed by Gregg Landaker in the Dolby Atmos surround-sound format for exhibition in theaters with Atmos-equipped sound systems.[156]

In June 2013, Variety reported that Warner Bros. Consumer Products and Legendary Entertainment had assembled a large team of partners to make licensed merchandise to be released in conjunction with the film. Bandai America produced a line of toys, and other products were produced by NECA, Jakks Pacific, Bioworld, Trevco, Rubie's and Sideshow Collectibles.[185] Bandai and NECA produced toys inspired by the film; JAKKS Pacific produced large-scale figures and other toy products; Rubie's produced Godzilla costumes; and Sideshow Collectibles produced collectible statues.[186]

A novelization, written by science-fiction writer Greg Cox, was published by Titan Books in May 2014, to coincide with the film's release.[187] Cox has previously written novelizations for movies, including Legendary's own The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel. Two other books were scheduled for release including Godzilla: With Light and Sound! for children, and Godzilla: The Art of Destruction, a collection of artwork, plus interviews with the director and cast members.[188]

Legendary announced in January 2014, along with a video message by Edwards, a tie-in graphic novel to be released on May 7, 2014, one week before the movie.[189] Entitled Godzilla: Awakening, the novel's events take place decades before the events seen in the film.[190] It is co-written by Greg Borenstein and the film's screenwriter Max Borenstein, with cover art by Arthur Adams and interior art by Eric Battle, Yvel Guichet, Alan Quah and Lee Loughridge. The tagline is "Delve into an incredible mystery, generations in the making. At the dawn of the atomic age, humanity awakens lifeforms beyond imagination, unleashing monumental forces of nature."[190]

Pictures of the line of toys, including a Godzilla "Atomic Roar" model by Bandai, were leaked to the internet in March 2014. The Godzilla model has "atomic fire breath".[191] The toys shipped in March 2014.[192] A S.H.Monsterarts version of the 2014 Godzilla is also announced by Bandai, which is released in September 2014.[193] A tie-in game for mobile devices was announced in March 2014. The game, titled Godzilla Smash 3, allows moves by matching three items of a similar type in a row. It is being made by Rogue Play and features puzzle-based gameplay similar to Candy Crush Saga. Above the game board, a view of Godzilla destroying various military vehicles is featured and the different attacks correspond to the combinations the player scores. The game was released in May 2014.[194] Legendary's Godzilla was featured as a playable character in Bandai Namco's 2014 video game Godzilla as "Hollywood Godzilla".[195][196]

Godzilla had its red carpet premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on May 8, 2014.[197] An "Aftermath Afterparty" was held after the premiere, which featured a 22-foot statue of Godzilla made out of rubble erected before the El Capitan Theatre.[198] Godzilla received wide release worldwide in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D beginning May 16, 2014. In the United States, the film was given a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for "intense sequences of destruction, mayhem and creature violence."[199][200] The film was released in China on June 13 and in Japan on July 25, 2014.[201][202] In April 2014, Toho had an early screening of Godzilla and gave a positive review. Edwards said, "They saw it yesterday and I got an e-mail saying they thought it was fantastic! So that was a relief."[203] Legendary also held screenings for the military.[204]

Toho's five-disc limited edition set.

Godzilla was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD formats on September 16, 2014, in North America.[205] It was released for digital HD download on August 26, 2014.[206] Target released their own exclusive edition of the Blu-ray which included an exclusive 30-minute featurette titled Godzilla: Rebirth of an Icon[207] while Walmart released their own exclusive edition which only featured an alternative cover for the DVD.[208] Producer Thomas Tull confirmed plans for an extended cut of the film to be released in the future.[209] Together, the Blu-ray and DVD grossed $42.8 million in domestic video sales.[6]

Toho released the film on Blu-ray and DVD formats in Japan on February 25, 2015, as well as a five-disc limited edition Blu-ray set including the 3D Blu-ray, 2D Blu-ray, DVD, a disc of bonus features (includes the North American special features, as well as additional Japan-exclusive features), a full color booklet with Japanese promotional art, and an exclusive S.H. MonsterArts figure.[210] Warner Bros. released a re-issue of the Blu-ray on February 7, 2017 to commemorate the release of Kong: Skull Island.[211] Warner Bros. released a second re-issue of the Blu-ray on April 9, 2019 to commemorate the release of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.[212] The film is scheduled to be released on 4K Blu-ray on March 23, 2021, to commemorate the release of Godzilla vs. Kong.[213]

Legendary estimated that the film would need to gross $380 million worldwide to break-even.[11] Godzilla grossed $9.3 million in North America at early Thursday screenings, one of the best late-night openings for a non-sequel,[214] and $93.2 million for the entire weekend, making it the fifth highest opening weekend in 2014.[215] Its opening weekend gross broke the records for the highest weekend debuts for a disaster film and a creature feature.[216] It was estimated that approximately half of the gross was in 3D screenings.[217] In its second weekend, which saw competition from X-Men: Days of Future Past, Godzilla had a 66% drop. At the end of its domestic run, Godzilla grossed $200.7 million in North America, the lowest total ever for a movie that opened above $90 million.[218] Godzilla finished as the 13th highest-grossing film of 2014 in North America.[219] By comparison, the 1998 Godzilla finished with a domestic total of $136.3 million through an eight-week theatrical run, equivalent to $198 million in 2014.[220][221]

Also on May 15, Godzilla opened in every major market internationally, with the exception of China and Japan, grossing $103.4 million,[222] giving it a worldwide opening weekend of nearly $200 million. On June 13, the film opened in China and grossed $10.9 million for the largest opening day in that country for 2014,[223] and would open with $37 million for the weekend. The film finished with $77.6 million as the 18th highest-grossing film in that country for the year.[224] On July 25, Godzilla finally opened in Japan, where it opened at number one and grossed $6.95 million for the weekend, the second-highest opening weekend in Japan of any foreign film in 2014.[225] Considered a "robust debut", this helped push the film's global box office to over $500 million.[226] It eventually finished with just shy of $30 million in Japan, making it the 12th highest-grossing film in that country for the year.[227] Godzilla finished its global run in theaters with $328.4 million from international markets, giving it a worldwide total of $529 million and making it the 14th highest-grossing film of 2014 worldwide.[6][228] Calculating in all expenses, Deadline Hollywood estimated that the film made a profit of $52.477 million.[229]

Critics praised Edwards' tone and direction while others criticized the underdeveloped characters, lack of thematic depth, turning Godzilla into a secondary character, insufficient screen-time for Godzilla, and cutting away from the start of battles to the aftermath.

Screen Rant described early reviews as "very positive,"[230] as well as "decidedly mixed" and "mostly positive."[231] Vulture called reviews "largely positive."[232] The Los Angeles Times stated that reviews called the film a "solid if not smashing reboot" and that the film is "better than the 1998 version."[233]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 76% based on 326 reviews, with an average rating of 6.70/10. The site's critical consensus states, "With just enough human drama to anchor the sweeping spectacle of giant monsters smashing everything in sight, Gareth Edwards' Godzilla satisfyingly restores the franchise's fire-breathing glory."[234] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average based on selected reviews, the film has a score of 62 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[235] CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[236]

Alex Pappademas of Grantland called the film "the first truly joyous popcorn action movie of the season" and praised Edwards' directing, stating, "I admired Edwards’s restraint, a quality I’m not accustomed to admiring in $160 million summer action movies."[237] Richard Roeper stated, "Edwards and his team produce consistently stunning visuals", but admitted that he "would have liked to see more of Godzilla" but stated that the film is "leaps and bounds ahead of the 1998 bomb" and awarded the film a B+ rating.[238] Keith Uhlich of The A.V. Club named Godzilla the second-best film of 2014.[239] Stephanie Zacharek of the Village Voice stated "Godzilla is one of those generic, omnipresent blockbusters that's undone by the very spectacle it strives to dazzle us with: Everything is so gargantuan, so momentous, that nothing has any weight."[240] A. O. Scott of the New York Times stated the film "is at once bloated and efficient, executed with tremendous discipline and intelligence" and found that "it surpasses Roland Emmerich’s 1998 Hollywood version" but felt the characterization was "thin" and the performances were "squandered" but felt that the "soul" of the film "dwells with the monsters".[241] Tom Russo of the Boston Globe felt the film "is an uneven spectacle that can’t sustain its solid first-half character moments" but did state the film "can also flash a surprising, often clever sense of legacy, and is intermittently capable of thrilling us."[242]

Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune awarded the film three and a half stars, finding that the film "makes up" for the 1998 version and praised Edwards' directing and build-up, and defended Godzilla's screen-time, stating, "Is there enough Godzilla in Godzilla? Folks, there is. There is just enough."[243] David Blaustein of ABC News Radio awarded the film three-and-a-half stars out of five, calling it "very good, but not great", criticizing the film's insufficient screen-time for Godzilla, but stated that the film's finale, "more or less, makes it all worth the wait."[244] Matt Zoller Seitz awarded the film three and a half stars out of four and observed how "it's less interested in a giant monster's rampage than in what it might feel like to be a tiny human watching it close up, or far away, or on TV. It is not about Godzilla or the beasts he fights, it's a combination epic horror film and parable of nature in revolt, filled with odd ellipses and surprising but appropriate storytelling choices, such as an early monster duel that plays out mainly on CNN."[245]

Japanese critics and journalists have praised the film for putting "more of an effort to honor the spirit and visual style of the Japanese series" but criticized the film for "complicating the anti-war, anti-nuclear sensibility" and "lack of nerve on the part of the filmmakers to say anything substantial about nuclear weapons or nuclear energy". However, Godzilla illustrator Yuji Kaida called the film "a real kaijū eiga (monster movie) that honored the original in that Godzilla was presented as a force beyond human understanding that maintained the Earth’s natural balance".[246]

William Tsutsui, author of Godzilla on My Mind, discussed the new film in an article in Foreign Affairs magazine. "This latest reboot brings to the screen a Godzilla that remains true to the spirit of the Japanese series while creating a very American, very twenty-first-century monster." He noted that the film "depicts gluttony for food and sex in ways that were never a feature of Japanese productions. There are far more overt displays of affection in the first 15 minutes of the 2014 Godzilla than in the entire Japanese franchise, which totaled one very chaste kiss over 50 years." He also noted that the film is more violent than the Japanese series, showing more carnage. The Godzilla character, in its heroism, is reminiscent of the 1960s and 1970s Japanese Godzilla, but not anthropomorphized like those. Also, the identity of the character as Japanese is lost: "In the 28 films made by Toho, Godzilla is unmistakably identified as one of wareware Nihonjin (we Japanese). After liberating San Francisco from the spawning MUTOs, Godzilla is thus crowned as a defender of the United States."[247]

Ed Godziszewski (author of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Godzilla) felt that the film did not provide much social commentary like previous Godzilla films, stating, "The 2014 film paid superficial lip service at best to the nuclear issue, but really there's almost nothing of substance there. Rather than offering caution about nuclear energy, the new film almost gives you the idea that nuclear weapons are actually the answer to everything". Godziszewski did iterate that he did enjoy the film and praised the monster battles for being choreographed closer to the original Toho films than how Pacific Rim was choreographed.[248]

David Kalat (author of A Critical History and Filmography of Toho's Godzilla Series) felt that Edwards figured out a successful "modern American context" for the film in supporting American troops, stating, "Edwards' Godzilla (2014) takes that concept and weaponizes it: we're used to seeing Godzilla movies where the military fails because they're stupid, but seeing them fail but be heroic while failing is new. It's also something the culture needs—and it's the kind of heretical idea that's otherwise hard to dramatize in pop culture, just like the original Godzilla's anti-American stance was so potent in 1954." However, Kalat criticized the film for giving Godzilla "almost no screen-time".[249]

Steve Ryfle (author of Japan's Favorite Mon-Star) felt that "America is incapable of making an honest Godzilla." Ryfle criticized how the film "contorts and distorts history in order to avoid confronting the uncomfortable facts of American culpability in the monster’s origin." He accused the film of "whitewashing" the source material to "negate the monster’s politics for American consumption" and concluded by stating, "Edwards has claimed that his film’s disaster pornography—digitally realistic images resembling Fukushima, the Indian Ocean tsunami, Katrina, 9/11—contextualizes the story for our dangerous modern world. But his film does not comment on those images or what they might mean, and so they unspool as hollow exercises in technical prowess. Godzilla is said to be a force of nature reawakened, but by what? Without that answer, the latest Godzilla reboot is about nothing."[250]

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