Godzilla (2014 film)

Godzilla is a 2014 American monster film directed by Gareth Edwards. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a reboot of Toho's Godzilla franchise, and the first film in Legendary's Monsterverse franchise. It is the 30th film in the Godzilla franchise, and the second Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. The film stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, and Bryan Cranston. In the film, an American soldier attempts to return to his family while caught in the crossfire of an ancient rivalry between Godzilla and two parasitic monsters known as MUTOs.

The project began under executive producer Yoshimitsu Banno (director of Godzilla vs. Hedorah) as an IMAX 3D film in 2004, but was transferred to Legendary in 2009 to be redeveloped as a feature film. The film was officially announced in March 2010 and Edwards was announced as the director in January 2011. Principal photography began in March 2013 in the United States and Canada and ended in July 2013.

Godzilla was theatrically released on May 16, 2014, to generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the direction, visual effects, music, cinematography, respect to the source material, and Cranston's performance, but criticized the script, characters, and Godzilla's insufficient screen time. The film was a box office success, grossing $529.1 million worldwide against a production budget of $160 million, print and advertisement costs of $100 million, and a break-even point of $380 million. The film's success prompted Toho to produce a reboot of their own titled Shin Godzilla, and Legendary to proceed with sequels and a shared cinematic franchise. A sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, was released on May 31, 2019.