Godzilla (2014 film)

Godzilla ＧＯＤＺＩＬＬＡ ゴジラ (Godzilla Gojira) is a 2014 American science fiction monster film produced by, and the second American-made Godzilla film, as well as the first in the MonsterVerse. The film was released to American theaters on May 16, 2014, and to Japanese theaters on July 25, 2014.

A sequel to the film titled Godzilla: King of the Monsters is slated for release on March 22, 2019.

Plot
Godzilla was awakened in 1954 by a Russian military submarine accident. Throughout the mid-1950s, the United States and Russian militaries used nuclear weapons in attempts to kill Godzilla and covered them up as atomic tests; thus, his existence was unknown to the public. Godzilla, however, survived every attempt. Film footage shows the preparation and the detonation of a nuclear bomb at Bikini Atoll.

Years later, in 1999, doctor Ishiro Serizawa is called to a mining site in the Philippines along with his assistant, doctor Vivienne Graham. With a small team, he finds a colossal fossilized skeleton and two spores in a large underground cave. One of the spores is found already hatched and a tunnel extends to the surface from its location, followed a large trail that, in turn, extends to the ocean; the other is still unhatched and is taken to Mount Yucca in Nevada, United States, and placed in the nuclear waste repository.

Days later, near Tokyo, Japan, the nuclear power plant at Janjira starts to experience seismic activity. Nuclear physicist and plant supervisor Joseph Brody and his wife, Sandra Brody, make their way to the power plant. Sandra assembles a team to perform a damage check, under Joe's supervision. The power plant is soon breached by an explosion and radiation leak, killing Sandra and her team, leaving Joe and their son, Ford, alone, and bringing the entire area down to ruins. The event is attributed to a large earthquake, and the Janjira area is evacuated and subsequently quarantined.

15 years after the incident, Ford is now an explosive disposal officer for the United States Navy, and is living in San Francisco, California with his wife Elle and son Sam. After returning home, he finds out that Joe was arrested for trespassing in Janjira while looking for an explanation for the catastrophic event years ago. After Ford travels to Japan and bails him out, Joe convinces him to come with him to another trip to Janjira, for Sandra's sake. They soon discover it is not radioactive (as it was supposedly claimed) and, after recovering Joe's old data and finding their old home, they notice the power plant in the distance with its lights on, believing that the plant is being rebuilt. They are soon caught and arrested by security and taken to the power plant.

The power plant now houses a large laboratory for studying a mysterious and strange chrysalis, similar to the one discovered in the Philippines. It is revealed to be the hatchling from the previously-discovered spore and, after breaking out of the chrysalis, the creature wreaks havoc on the lab, killing and injuring many of the personnel. During the chaos, Joe receives critically heavy wounds. After the monster flies away, the military takes Serizawa to the USS Saratoga, who requests that Joe and Ford accompany him on the way, wanting to know what they knew about the situation. Joe later dies from his injuries in the helicopter while en route to the USS Saratoga.

On the Saratoga, Serizawa and Graham are revealed to be part of a secret organization called Monarch. Serizawa reveals that they knew of the creatures beforehand, and explains to Ford what the monster that attacked the plant, now referred to as a M.U.T.O. (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism), is, detailing its ancient origins and that it feeds on radiation and radioactive materials, moving underground and putting itself in a cryptobiotic state when Earth's radiation subsided. Serizawa also explains Godzilla's origins, the numerous failed attempts to kill him with nuclear weaponry and the subsequent cover-up stories. Ford informs Serizawa of what his father knows, explaining that Joe mentioned tracking a form of echolocation within Janjira, leading the team to think that the M.U.T.O. was communicating with something.

Ford is then taken to Honolulu, Hawaii to eventually return to San Francisco. In the midst of a dense forest in Honolulu, a U.S. Navy Special Forces team finds the wrecked remains of a Russian nuclear submarine that, earlier, reported an attack. While there, the winged M.U.T.O. arrives on the island, ripping apart the submarine and feeding on its reactor. After being threatened by the military it sends out an electromagnetic pulse which shuts down all electronics within miles. Meanwhile, Ford is boarding a train, where he witnesses a young boy named Akio being separated from his parents. Ford, holding Akio, assures his parents that he will return their son. After the EMP caused by the M.U.T.O., the train comes to a standstill for a moment before the power returns. Ford and Akio are almost killed by the M.U.T.O., which bites into the tracks and causes the train to derail and hang. On a different side of the city, Godzilla's arrival creates a tsunami which destroys most of Waikiki. The M.U.T.O.'s actions start a chain reaction that leads to mass destruction at Honolulu International Airport, where Godzilla arrives. After a brief fight, the M.U.T.O. flies off with Godzilla pursuing it, and the two monsters are no longer a secret as footage of the brawl airs on the news, which Elle and Sam witness.

Serizawa reports that Godzilla appeared because he heard an echolocation signal and is hunting the M.U.T.O.. They later question why the M.U.T.O. would send out a signal, and soon realize that the other spore is still active and later find out that it has hatched. The resulting hatchling, much larger in size than the first, is then found to have broken out of the repository and started attacking Las Vegas, Nevada. The team concludes that the larger M.U.T.O. is female whereas the winged one is a male and that they plan on nesting in San Francisco. Stenz approves an idea that involves attracting the monsters to a nuclear warhead and detonating it in the ocean, hoping to destroy all three monsters. Serizawa disapproves, claiming that Godzilla could be the only thing that could stop the M.U.T.O.s.

Ford, now on the mainland, journeys on a military train with a group of soldiers to get Elle and Sam out of San Francisco. The train, containing two ICBMs which were hoped to be strong enough to kill the three monsters, is destroyed by the female eight-legged M.U.T.O., who was resting on a nearby cliffside, and Ford is found the next morning, left as the only survivor. One of the warheads is consumed by the creature, while the other warhead is flown by helicopter to San Francisco. The male M.U.T.O. arrives shortly after and steals the warhead immediately after it is armed to detonate.

At this time, citizens in San Francisco are being evacuated on school buses. Elle leaves Sam with a trusted friend while she stays behind to help around in the hospital. The buses then make their way out of the city through the Golden Gate Bridge, where it is blocked off and is surrounded by the military. Godzilla resurfaces near the bridge, where the NAVY opens fire in an attempt to prevent him from entering the city, despite the protests of the soldiers on the bridge due to the presence of civilians. The commotion caused by both the military and Godzilla results in the destruction of the bridge, killing and injuring many people and only leaving two buses intact. Realizing that Godzilla may be the only thing capable of stopping the M.U.T.O.s, the military allow him to proceed into the city.

The M.U.T.O.s meet in downtown San Francisco and start building their nest after a short mating ritual. The male M.U.T.O. is attacked by Godzilla and another conflict ensues. Ford is ordered to go on a HALO drop with a team in order to retrieve the warhead from the M.U.T.O. nest and turn it off so it does not detonate in the city's center. After parachuting into the city they quickly locate the nest. The female M.U.T.O. goes to assist the male against Godzilla, giving the team the perfect time to locate the warhead. After finding it and getting out of the nest, Ford stays and, using a damaged fuel truck, destroys the nest of eggs in a fiery explosion before the baby M.U.T.O.s could hatch. This attracts the female M.U.T.O.'s attention, and inadvertently saves Godzilla, who was being overwhelmed by the M.U.T.O.s. The M.U.T.O.s leave Godzilla and rush to their nest. The female M.U.T.O. spots Ford, but before she can kill him, he is saved by Godzilla, who knocks the female M.U.T.O. back with two blasts of his atomic breath. Before Godzilla can finish her off, the male M.U.T.O tries to attack him again, but Godzilla manages to kill the male by using his tail to slam it into the 44 Montgomery building using his tail. The building then collapses, pinning Godzilla underneath a pile of rubble and dust.

The team gets to the bay and realizes they cannot disarm the warhead, and devise a plan to sail it out into the ocean, far enough to not endanger the population. While loading it onto a boat, the female M.U.T.O. recovers from her injuries, attacks the crew and kills all except Ford. Ford starts to drive the boat, but he is confronted by the female. Wounded and exhausted, he attempts to hold her back with his sidearm. However, Godzilla returns and grabs the M.U.T.O. by her neck. After a brief struggle, Godzilla directs a charged atomic ray into her throat, which causes her neck to explode, ultimately decapitating and killing her. Exhausted, Godzilla throws her head in the water and collapses on the city's shoreline. Ford drives the boat out to sea and is rescued by helicopter before the warhead detonates.

The next day, during the aftermath of the chaos, he is reunited with Sam and Elle. Godzilla is presumed dead until he wakes up in the morning. The media acknowledges Godzilla's actions, hailing him as "King of the Monsters" and debating on his role as the city's possible "savior." Godzilla lets out a final roar before returning to the ocean to lay dormant once again.

Monsters

 * Godzilla (LegendaryGoji)
 * M.U.T.O. (Winged Male; Eight-Legged Female; Unborn offspring)

Weapons

 * Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun
 * Trident-Class Nuclear Cruise Missile

Vehicles

 * Airbus A340
 * Arleigh Burke-Class Destroyer
 * Bell UH-1 Iroquois
 * Bell UH-1N Twin Huey
 * Boeing AH-64 Apache
 * Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
 * Boeing CH-47 Chinook
 * M1A2 Abrams
 * F-18 Hornet
 * F-15 Eagle
 * F-22 Raptor
 * Littoral Combat Ship
 * Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
 * Monarch AgustaWestland AW109
 * Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
 * Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk
 * Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
 * Ticonderoga-Class Cruiser
 * Typhoon-Class Submarine
 * USS Saratoga
 * Unidentified American Fleet Oiler
 * 1 Train

Development
The film was first announced at Comic-Con 2010 where an early concept art impression for the new Godzilla was revealed. Gareth Edwards, director of the movie Monsters was announced as the director. Mr. Edwards stated he knows the importance of getting the film right for the fans. In October 2010, David Callaham was named to write the first draft of the script. After Callaham, four more persons worked on the screenplay during the course film's development.

David Goyer (the story writer for The Dark Knight trilogy) was been announced as a writer for the movie. Many fans were excited about the this choice as they say David Goyer (along with Christopher Nolan) brought justice for the Batman movies using dark themes. However, Goyer only worked a few weeks on the script and did not get a screenwriter credit. In November 2011, Max Borenstein was hired to continue work on the script. In October 2012, Legendary announced that writer Drew Pearce would polish the final script, making the principal characters older to suit the actors that Legendary intends to cast.In January 2013, Frank Darabont (writer-director of The Shawshank Redemption and The Walking Dead), was officially added to work on the film script.

In 2007, film producer Brian Rogers met former Toho company director Yoshimitsu Banno who had the rights to make an IMAX 3D Godzilla film. Rogers then met Toho to arrange a license to produce a 3D Godzilla film. After securing the rights, Rogers approached several film companies and Legendary Pictures agreed to work with Rogers on the project. In August 2009, rumors surfaced that Legendary were in talks with Toho to produce a new American Godzilla film to be released in 2012.

On March 29, 2010, it was confirmed that Legendary had acquired the rights to Godzilla. They plan to reboot the franchise with Warner Bros. co-producing and co-financing. will not be involved in the production because their rights to the character expired in 2003. Legendary plans to make the new film closer in style to the original Japanese character than TriStar's iguana-like creature. 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".

At the 3D Summit conference held in September 2010 at Universal Studios, producer Brian Rogers confirmed the planned date of 2012. The reboot will be a live-action project featuring a computer-generated Godzilla. Godzilla will fight at least one other monster, rather than the United States Army like in Roland Emmerich's film. It was also mentioned that Godzilla will use his atomic breath, a trademark weapon omitted by Emmerich and co-writer/producer Dean Devlin in the previous American film in favor of power breath.

Frank Darabont, the screenwriter, described his plans for Godzilla as returning it to a "terrifying force of nature" in interviews. The film will add a "very compelling human drama" and that Godzilla would be tied to a "different contemporary issue" rather than the original atomic bomb testing. Director Gareth Edwards, at a promotional appearance in 2012, described the tone of the film. "We're just going to take it really seriously. I've wanted to see this movie this way all my life. Imagine if this really happened – as crazy as it sounds – what would it really be like?".

Elizabeth Olsen described the film as "definitely not lighthearted. It's kind of going back to its roots of the original Japanese film" and that "there's a strong theme of the importance of family, as well as the theme of trying to control nature, and how that backfires in the end". Cranston says that he plays a scientist called Joseph Brody that "discovers an anomaly in some sonar, signalings, patterns, and is just starting an investigation when all hell breaks loose".

In an interview with Collider.com, Gareth Edwards said that the U.S. government knew about Godzilla for some time, and that the nuclear tests that they did were actually attempts to kill Godzilla.

During Comic-con 2012, director Gareth Edwards participated in a Godzilla panel, in which they screened a new teaser trailer, described as so, a destroyed city is seen, as Robert Oppenheimer's speech comes in, "I am become death, destroyer of worlds" as a huge dead centipede type creature is smoldering, and finally, a roar is heard, and the camera cuts to Godzilla, true to his Japanese origins, roaring. This same trailer was leaked a year later.

As of September 13, 2012, the movie's release date has been announced. The movie will be released on May 16, 2014.

On October 3, 2012, the movie is set to be in production on March 2013 in Vancouver. Also, Drew Pearce, the screenwriter of Iron Man 3, has been hired to do some rewrites to the script.

On December 18, 2012, a screenshot of, what appears to be the Godzilla trailer was posted on the Tumblr of Jordane Menard, the modeler concept and texture artist for the film. Menard has said "I'm Working on the Trailer of the next Godzilla here at MPC London as Modeler and Texture Artist. I've worked on the foreground on the building and the characters." Also, Drew Pearce was asked, on his Twitter, if there's going to be some scenes where Godzilla breathes fire, destroys buildings, taking out the military, done right and will be nothing like the 1998 film and his response was "There's a lot of of it in the current trailer... but new stuff coming very soon..."

In January 2013, it was reported that Warner Brothers, in a meeting for advertisers, revealed that the film would contain two new monsters in addition to Godzilla, and the plot of the film would revolve around the story of a young U.S. Marine. David Goyer, who is also a screenwriter, stated that there were two other monsters in the script when he worked on it.

Announced on March 13, 2013, the film has started production and filming on Vancouver Island. Also, Jim Rygiel, visual effects supervisor of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, has been hired to do the special effects for this film.

On March 18, 2013, Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures announced the final principal cast for the film, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, David Strathairn and Bryan Cranston. Also, the film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Brothers while Toho will be distributing it in Japan, and the film will be in 3D.

On March 19, 2013, Gareth Edwards has announced that they've finished filming the first scene. Also, reports of a burning helicopter and a nuclear missile being transported by a train have been cited at Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, all of this is rumored to be in the movie.

On March 21, 2013, Richard T. Jones joins the cast of the movie.

On March 28, 2013, Akira Takarada, who starred in previous Godzilla films, joins the cast of the movie.

On April 5, 2013, Sally Hawkins joins the cast of the movie.

On April 17th, 2013, Brian Markinson joins the cast of the movie.

On April 20th, 2013, Yuki Morita joins the cast of the movie.

On April 23rd, 2013, it has been revealed that Godzilla will continue filming for two months in Hawaii.

On April 25th, 2013, Legendary posted a picture in their wall showing a path of destruction Godzilla has left behind.

On May 2nd, 2013, Legendary posted a picture in their wall showing what seems to be a power plant.

On May 16th, 2013, a new photo about people being hospitalized in the FEMA stadium popped up and was confirmed by Gareth Edwards appearing in it in an update.

On May 18, 2013, Legendary posted a new picture in their Twitter. Other sources, like Lainey Gossip, PUNKD Images, Spoilertv, Clayton Perry Photography, and VancityFilming have put up additional pictures and videos. On May 22, 2013, Legendary uploaded a new photo to their Facebook page. It shows top secret documents that do not reveal much, but it also reveals a map of Maintop and Maintop Bay (Farallon Islands), which used to have nuclear waste dumped into them in real life.

On May 24, Legendary was filming a scene with what seems like a ship set.

On June 6, 2013, Legendary uploaded a new photo to their Facebook page.

On June 10, 2013, many pictures appeared on Comicbookmovie.com surrounding the filming of the film.

On June 6, 2013, many pictures featuring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Cranston were uploaded in m.justjared.com.

On June 17, 2013, Variety.com released an article that says that 'Godzilla' will have action figures, with Bandai America Incorporated as the film's master toy partner.

On June 18, 2013, Comingsoon.net released pictures of posters from Licensing Expo 2013, including Jurassic Park 4, Ninja Turtles, and Godzilla.

On June 19, 2013, Legendary posted a new photo on their Facebook showing a closed radioactive containment door.

On June 22, 2013, yvrshoots.com released pictures of Elizabeth Olsen on set.

On Saturday, July 20, 2013, sometime from 10:45 to 1:15 at Comic-Con, Legendary and Warner Bros. showed a preview for the film. "An epic rebirth to Toho's iconic Godzilla, this spectacular adventure pits the world's most famous monster against malevolent creatures who, bolstered by humanity's scientific arrogance, threaten our very existence."

- Warner Brothers' description for the film at Comic-Con 2013

On July 15, 2013, IGN.com released a teaser poster for the Legendary Godzilla.

On July 17, 2013, Deadline.com spotted and released an image of Godzilla from the Godzilla Encounter at SDCC 2013.

On July 17, 2013, Collider.com posted around 75 pictures of what was inside Legendary's Godzilla Encounter museum. Between the many pictures, two concept designs of the Legendary Godzilla can be seen. Again on July 17, 2013, the Official Legendary Godzilla Facebook page released the third official poster for the film which reveals Godzilla's tail.

On July 19, 2013, ShockTillYouDrop.com interviewed Gareth Edwards. They found out the following facts:
 * GODZILLA_2014_Close_to_final_design.jpg picture to the right is close to Godzilla's final design.
 * The last day of filming was July 18, 2013.
 * Godzilla will be a force of nature, not an antagonist or a hero, but an anti-hero. "He's the punishment we deserve".
 * The theme is man versus nature, and Godzilla "is definitely on the nature side".
 * There's a nuclear element in the movie, and the film will be "as realistic as possible".
 * Toho was very involved in designing Godzilla. Edwards said "they feel we've stayed true to their roots. In the encyclopedias and books you read about Godzilla, there's these different groups - all of the Godzillas in one section and then there's the American film. I'd love ours to be considered as part of the Toho group."

On Comic-Con July 20, 2013, in an interview with IGN Edwards has confirmed that this will be the tallest Godzilla ever.

On Comic-Con July 20, 2013, another trailer was shown. Cosmicbooknews.com posted what happened in it:

"Starts off by showing a beach with atomic testing and mushroom cloud with ash falling from the sky with the Godzilla movie logo then shown. Now the footage that was shown at least year's Comic-Con is revealed, described as a "mood piece" (i.e. get the crowd excited). The footage of the destroyed city is shown with Oppenheimer's famous quote, "We knew the world would not be the same. Some people cried. Most people were silent." Gareth Edwards then steps on to the stage followed by Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Cranston. Elizabeth Olsen says she plays a mother and a nurse in Godzilla. Cranston is next kidding that he is the old guy in the film, but loved the movie monster as a kid. Says he was nervous at first about being part of such an iconic character and film. Edwards then mentions that the human characters in the film are close to Godzilla, and then tells a funny story about getting stopped at the Canadian Border with Customs telling him not to F' up the movie when they realized who he was.

Soldiers are shown running through streets and a flooded city. Cranston's character takes off his radiation suit; Olsen is shown crying. The military is then show with paratroopers and soldiers loading missiles. The shot continues, revealing a massive, skinny, four-legged monster. It seemed to have smaller arms on its chest and looked as if it had wings as well.

The next shot is from inside the airport terminal and through the glass walls, we see a plane crashing in a ball of fire right in front of the structure as the monster approaches in the background. Godzilla’s foot lands in view as well.

Next shot is the most clear yet from the front as we see the beast seemingly opening its wingspan as Godzilla – clearly several times larger than the aggressor – rises from behind it, roaring, as if it's going to destroy the creature to protect the land. It cuts to the Godzilla logo. Godzilla's face was not shown."

On July 22, 2013, a video was uploaded to YouTube containing Godzilla's design straight from the Godzilla Encounter.

On July 25, in an interview posted on io9.com, Gareth explains some of the symbolism behind the movie.

On Tuesday, September 10, 2013, an image taken by a Brazilian Godzilla fan revealing the American Godzilla's final design was uploaded to Facebook.

On Wednesday, September 18, 2013, Omelete Entervista uploaded a video to YouTube that revealed about Bryan Cranston's character, called Joseph Brody, as well as Olsen's character and Aaron Taylor-Johnson's characters, named Elle Brody and Ford Brody, respectively. Cranston also said "We think you'll be able to wipe the memory of the old Godzilla 12 years ago or whatever that was, completely out of your system. This Godzilla is very different. Very much a character-driven monster movie, if that makes sense. To combine those types of elements of filmmaking together, and I say 'Why not? It's long overdue'. Instead of just having a monster, if you invest in these characters, and feel for them, care for them, you're going to appreciate and have a better experience when the monster arrives, than when you're like 'Oh it's a person, I don't know who it is that was just crushed, oh okay whatever.', and that's what this Godzilla 2014 does."

On Friday, October 4, 2013, the first teaser trailer for Godzilla was finally leaked. It appears to be the first Comic-Con trailer. On Tuesday, October 8, 2013, a second trailer for Godzilla was leaked.

On November 11, 2013, Moviepilot.com posted an interview with Gareth Edwards, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, and Bryan Cranston.

On Thursday, November 21, 2013, a full body image of the American Godzilla was leaked on an Amazon.ca page for the paperback Godzilla: With Light and Sounds!.

On December 8, 2013, the film's viral marketing campaign finally started with the M.U.T.O. Research website being launched.

On Monday, December 9, 2013, USAToday posted a few pictures from the trailer and two other pictures from the movie. On Monday, December 9, 2013, TotalFilm posted a picture which is part of the viral marketing campaign showing Turkmenistan's infamous burning "Door to Hell", which might have something to do with M.U.T.O.

Marketing
Visitors to the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con received a t-shirt with an image of the new Godzilla design. The image is credited to comics and manga publisher UDON Entertainment. Gonzalo Ordóñez Arias worked with Legendary and Toho for the painting. Visitors to the Legendary Pictures booth at the convention could view an animation of the new Godzilla breathing his atomic breath superimposed over their image captured via a webcam. The augmented reality promotion was designed by Talking Dog Studios of Saskatchewan, Canada.

In the summer, Legendary opened the Godzilla Encounter, a museum where Godzilla props and merchandise can be seen, in summer. They also released a Godzilla Encounter application for iOS, and opened a Godzilla Encounter website.

On December 8, 2013, the film's viral marketing campaign started with the release of the M.U.T.O. Research website.

On Tuesday, December 10, 2013, Legendary finally released the official teaser trailer as well as a new poster and a new official site.

On August 18, 2014, Toho uploaded two more TV spots to their YouTube channel. Both spots featured the MUTOs more so than any previous trailer or TV spot.

$61.8 million were spent to advertise Godzilla through 5,115 airings of TV ads in the United States.

Godzilla made its pay cable debut on January 16, 2015 through Cinemax.

Theatrical releases

 * United States - May 16, 2014
 * Japan - July 25, 2014 (Distributed by Toho)
 * Argentina - May 15, 2014
 * Australia - May 15, 2014
 * Austria - May 16, 2014
 * Belgium - May 14, 2014
 * Bolivia - May 14, 2014
 * Brazil - May 14, 2014
 * Bulgaria - May 16, 2014
 * Canada - May 16, 2014
 * Chile - May 15, 2014
 * China - June 13, 2014
 * Colombia - May 16, 2014
 * Croatia - May 15, 2014
 * Cyprus - May 16, 2014
 * Czech Republic - May 15, 2014
 * Denmark - May 15, 2014
 * Egypt - May 14, 2014
 * Estonia - May 16, 2014
 * Finland - May 16, 2014
 * France - May 14, 2014
 * Germany - May 15, 2014
 * Greece - May 15, 2014
 * Hong Kong - May 15, 2014
 * Hungary - May 15, 2014
 * Iceland - May 16, 2014
 * India - May 16, 2014
 * Indonesia - May 16, 2014
 * Israel - May 15,2014
 * Italy - May 15, 2014
 * Korea - May 15, 2014


 * Latvia - May 16, 2014
 * Lebanon - May 15, 2014
 * Lithuania - May 16, 2014
 * Malaysia - May 15, 2014
 * Mexico - May 15, 2014
 * Netherlands - May 15, 2014
 * New Zealand - May 15, 2014
 * Norway - May 16, 2014
 * Panama - May 16, 2014
 * Peru - May 15, 2014
 * Philippines - May 15, 2014
 * Poland - May 16, 2014
 * Portugal - May 15, 2014
 * Puerto Rico - May 15, 2014
 * România - May 16, 2014
 * Russia - May 15, 2014
 * Serbia - May 15, 2014
 * Singapore - May 15, 2014
 * South Africa - May 30, 2014
 * Spain - May 16, 2014
 * Sweden - May 14, 2014
 * Switzerland (French) - May 14, 2014
 * Switzerland (German) - May 15, 2014
 * Taiwan - May 16, 2014
 * Thailand - May 15, 2014
 * Turkey - May 16, 2014
 * Ukraine - May 15, 2014
 * United Arab Emirates - May 15, 2014
 * United Kingdom - May 15, 2014
 * Uruguay - May 15, 2014
 * Venezuela - May 16, 2014

Godzilla: The IMAX Experience
Godzilla: The IMAX Experience is an IMAX release of Legendary Pictures' American Godzilla film. It was released in theaters the same day as the film, on May 16, 2014.

"The IMAX release of Godzilla will be digitally re-mastered into the image and sound quality of The IMAX Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie."

Box office
Godzilla received the biggest opening day box office results of 2014 when it came out, scoring $38,525,000 on Friday, May 16. The was expected to gather $100 million by May 19, and ended up surpassing it slightly with $103 million. By next Friday, on May 24, Godzilla only received $8.8 million. By the end of the four-day weekend that started on May 25, the movie had collected $38.4 million due to strong marketing, and fell down to $3.3 million the rest of the week and to $12 million on the May-June weekend.

Godzilla earned £10,109,175 ($17,003,642) on its opening weekend in the United Kingdom and a total of 149,098,752 Mexican dollars (US $11,559,835) on its opening weekend in Mexico.

When Godzilla opened in China on June, it received $10.9 million for the biggest opening day of 2014.

Godzilla's opening weekend box office total for Japan was ¥1,657,853,474, or $16,283,798.

By August 3, 2014, Godzilla's worldwide earnings had surpassed half a billion dollars ($500,000,000).

By the end of its theatrical run, Godzilla had earned a grand total of $528,676,069 across all countries ($200,676,069 in the U.S. and $328,000,000 abroad).

Reception
Godzilla has received generally positive reviews by critics and fans alike. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 74% out of 100%.

Mose Persico of CTV says it's "a film not to be missed," Scott Carty of ABC TV deems it "epic for all the right reasons," Shawn Edwards of FOX TV calls it "the most incredible movie of the year," and Nancy Jay of Daybreak USA says it's "an instant classic." IGN gave it 9.0 out of 10.

The movie has also received its fair share of criticism, however. Most of the complaints revolve around the fact that Godzilla gets very little screen time, less screen time than the M.U.T.O.s in fact, and that the battles don't take up much of the movie's running time. In addition, some critics found Ford Brody to be bland and generic, and criticized marketing for leading people to believe that Joe Brody was going to be the main character, though Bryan Cranston's performance has received universal praise.

On opening day in Japan, the film received 3.55 out of 5 stars on Yahoo! Eiga. Shinji Higuchi, director of the upcoming 2016 Japanese Godzilla film, later praised the film as a "masterpiece" in an interview with the Associated Press in July 2015.

Awards
The first award Godzilla received, or rather Legendary Pictures receives for Godzilla, was the 'Japan Cool Content Contribution' award, or J3C, on September 13 at the Consulate General's residence. The award was crated to recognize creatives who popularize Japanese media for worldwide audiences, which the box-office successful Godzilla did. Alex Garcia attended and accepted the award on Legendary's behalf.

Godzilla was a contender for an Oscar nomination for 'Sound Editing.'

Godzilla was also nominated for 'Best Science Fiction Film Release,' 'Best Film Music,' and Sony's Blu-ray Toho Godzilla Collection for 'Best DVD/BD Collection Release' as part of the 41st annual Saturn Awards.

Home media releases
Warner Bros. DVD + Digital HD (2014) Warner Bros. Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD (2014) Warner Bros. 3D Blu-ray + Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD (2014) Warner Bros. (2014)
 * Released: September 16, 2014
 * Region: Region 1
 * Language: English
 * Format: AC, Dolby Digital 5.1
 * Other Details: 16:9 aspect ratio, 123 minutes run time, 1 disc, American version
 * Blu-ray A/1
 * Released: September 16, 2014
 * Language: English
 * Format: AC, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital 5.1
 * Other Details: 16:9 aspect ratio, 123 minutes run time, 2 discs, American version
 * Blu-ray A/1
 * Released: September 16, 2014
 * Language: English
 * Format: AC, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Digital 5.1
 * Other Details: 16:9 aspect ratio, 123 minutes run time, 3 discs, American version
 * DVD & Blu-ray B/2
 * Released: December 31, 2014
 * Region: Region B/2
 * Language: English, German
 * Format: 3D
 * Other Details: 16:9 aspect ratio, 123 minutes run time, 2 discs, American/German versions

Sequels
Gareth Edwards stated that he wanted Godzilla to work as a standalone film with a definitive ending, and opposed suggestions that the ending should leave the film open for a sequel. While Edwards wasn't against the possibility of future sequels, his main concern was delivering a satisfying experience with the current film; "I want a story that begins and ends, and you leave on a high. That's all we cared about when we were making this; just this film. If this film is good, the others can come, but let’s just pay attention to this and not get sidetracked by other things."

On May 18th, 2014, after its successful opening weekend, a sequel was officially given the green light from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Edwards was confirmed to be directing the sequel, but it is unknown if any of the previous cast will be returning. In a previous interview with Gareth Edwards, he said that if the film were to have a sequel that he would like to do a Destroy All Monsters-like film.

On July 26, 2014, the official Legendary Twitter announced that Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah will be appearing in the sequel and showed teaser footage of it.

A piece of "Classified Monarch Footage," a teaser for Godzilla 2, was shown in Comic-Con 2014. According to eye-witnesses, it looked like it was put together in the 1960s, with audio of John F. Kennedy talking about threats and dangers. Text comes on the screen saying that there was one more secret: "There were others." A pterodactyl-like shadow and "CODENAME: RODAN." An extreme close-up of a giant moth creature and "CODENAME: MOTHRA." Then a silhouette and quick cuts around a dragon-like shape figure and "CODENAME: GHIDORAH." Finally, "THREAT ASSESSMENT: CONFLICT INEVITABLE," followed by "LET THEM FIGHT."

On October 14, 2015, Legendary Pictures confirmed the production of a remake of King Kong vs. Godzilla titled Godzilla vs. Kong for a 2020 release. Legendary revealed its plans to create a shared cinematic universe featuring Godzilla and King Kong, with the upcoming film Kong: Skull Island serving as the next entry. Kong: Skull Island will be released in 2017, followed by Godzilla 2 in 2019, and finally Godzilla vs. Kong in 2020. Gareth Edwards has since dropped out of Godzilla 2 to work on other projects, and Legendary is currently in search of a new director.

Trivia

 * This is the second time godzilla fires his atomic breath down another kaiju's throat the first being godzilla vs biollante
 * This film caused Toho to retaliate with their own films once more during 2016 and 2017 with Shin Godzilla, and Godzilla: Monster Planet, respectively.
 * This film would have been actor Akira Takarada's first appearance in a non-Japanese Godzilla film, as he filmed a cameo as a customs officer that would greet Ford Brody in Tokyo. However, his scene was cut from the final film, though Takarada was present at the film's Japanese premiere.
 * Most of the producers for this film were also involved with Pacific Rim.
 * When Ford and Joe are searching through the ruins of the quarantine zone, the word "Mothra" can been seen printed below a glass case.
 * At 355 ft. tall, the Godzilla in this film was the largest yet in the film series. On March 31, 2015, it was confirmed that the Godzilla in Toho's Shin Godzilla would exceed the size of Legendary's Godzilla.
 * This film appears to borrow some plot elements from the script of the unmade 1994 TriStar Godzilla film:
 * In both, Godzilla is believed to be destined to save the Earth from monsters that are more of a threat to it than him (the Gryphon and the M.U.T.O.s, respectively).
 * Both have Godzilla beheading the enemy monster.
 * The military believes Godzilla to be the bigger threat in both until Godzilla defeats the main threat.
 * The biggest difference is that while the Godzilla in this film does not deliberately cause destruction in any location and avoids conflict with the military, the Godzilla from the cancelled TriStar script actually does seem to deliberately attack human settlements, specifically the Japanese Kurila islands, and decimates the military's forces willingly when attacked.
 * This is the first film since Terror of MechaGodzilla where Godzilla does not intentionally cause destruction. A possible reason for this is that the director of the film, Gareth Edwards, was more familiar with the more lighthearted and heroic incarnations of the character, specifically the one from The Godzilla Power Hour, when he was a boy growing up in Warwickshire in the center of England.
 * One of the lines quickly "classified" in the opening credits reads: "Are these animals real? Can we prove they exist? Or are they merely men in rubber suits with costumes designed by tricksters?", referencing Godzilla's real-life origins.
 * In one of the original drafts of the 2014 film, it was mentioned Godzilla was going to be 600 feet tall.