'Godzilla Minus Zero' Wows Critics at NYFF First Screening — SkimNews
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- Godzilla Minus Zero earned rave first reactions at its New York Film Festival press screening, with critics calling it a 'jaw-dropping spectacle' and 'epic cinematic feat' from director Takashi Yamazaki.
- Yamazaki directs the sequel — the 38th film in the franchise and 34th produced by Toho — which features the long-running kaiju series' first R-rated action set pieces.
- The sequel stars Kamiki Ryunosuke and Hamabe Minami and marks the first time a Japanese feature has been shot for Imax screens.
- Set in 1949, two years after 'Minus One,' the film continues the Shikishima family story as an oversized Godzilla rampages through New York City.
- Predecessor Godzilla Minus One grossed $116 million worldwide — the highest-grossing Japanese Godzilla film ever — and won the Academy Award for best visual effects.
- Godzilla Minus Zero opens in U.S. theaters Nov. 6, three days after it begins rolling out in Japan.
Why it matters: Yamazaki's sequel builds on the most successful Japanese Godzilla film ever made — $116 million worldwide and an Oscar for VFX — by adding the franchise's first R-rated sequences and the first Japanese feature shot for Imax, expanding scope to a New York City rampage. The Nov. 6 U.S. release, just three days after Japan, positions Toho to test whether its low-budget, high-impact kaiju filmmaking can sustain Hollywood-tier momentum at a larger scale.
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