Godzilla Minus One director on why he won’t reveal movie’s budget

The writer-director of Godzilla Minus One is refusing to reveal the movie’s budget, for one very good reason.

Godzilla Minus One was one of the big stories of 2023. The period piece—which plays out during WWII—arrived with little fanfare. Then, it became one of the year’s most talked about movies.

With positive reviews pretty much across the board, it currently holds a score of 98% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s also the first Godzilla movie to be nominated for an Academy Award, with Minus One in the running for Best Visual Effects.

Having overtaken Shin Godzilla, it’s also the biggest grossing non-American Godzilla movie, though at this point we don’t know how much it cost. Here’s why…

Godzilla Minus One director on why he won’t reveal movie’s budget

If you’re looking for Godzilla Minus One’s budget online, Wikipedia says “$10-$15 million.” While Deadline states that the reported $15 million is actually closer to $10 million.

That outlet put the question to writer-director Takashi Yamazaki recently, who “took the fifth” so he wouldn’t have to reply. His reasoning? “Then everyone’s gonna want me to make a movie for that number!”

Whatever the budget, the movie has been a gargantuan hit, making more than $50 million in the U.S., and over $100 million worldwide, making it the most successful live-action Japanese movie of all-time.

What we thought of the movie

You can read our 4-star review of Godzilla Minus One here, where we wrote: “Godzilla Minus One’s ability to steamroll over these and other, more minor shortcomings is largely down to the production’s thematic heft. Like the 1954 original, it’s a monster movie with something to say – a welcome change from some of the brainlessness of some of the more recent MonsterVerse efforts.”

While you can read details of how and where to stream the movie here.