Why Godzilla Minus One Fans Can't Figure Out Where To Watch It

"Godzilla Minus One" blew everyone away at the box office, taking in $56 million in the United States alone. "Godzilla Minus One" also won the Academy Award for best visual effects, which is more important than most may realize since it had a relatively slender budget compared to the other nominees. It makes sense those who failed to see it in theaters may want to give it a shot now, but anyone living in the States may end up waiting a bit.

Americans can't figure out where to watch "Godzilla Minus One" because it presently doesn't have a streaming release date or confirmation for when physical copies will be accessible in the U.S. Toho, the studio behind the monster hit, revealed the movie's DVD and Blu-ray release will be May 1 in Japan. However, there's no indication of when it'll be available in other countries. 

With Japan getting the first release, it may take some time after that for American audiences to own a copy of "Godzilla Minus One." It all goes to show the importance of going to the theater when possible to see such an epic work of art. 

Plenty of people likely skipped seeing "Godzilla Minus One" in theaters in anticipation of catching it on streaming shortly after. Many movies that go to theaters are available digitally within a couple of months, but "Godzilla Minus One" is a different beast since it's not an American production. It's from Toho, a Japanese company, so, understandably, Japan gets the first release for physical copies. While there's no information on when the film can be purchased or streamed in the States, there are a couple of places where people might be able to see it eventually.

For starters, Max has numerous Toho-produced Godzilla films, going back to the 1954 original. Others on that platform include "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" and "Mothra vs. Godzilla." The American-produced Godzilla movies are also there, so it would seem like a natural spot for "Godzilla Minus One" to land. However, one notable outlier in Max's collection is "Shin Godzilla" from 2016. In addition to being available to rent or purchase on platforms like Prime Video, it can be streamed on Crunchyroll. 

"Shin Godzilla" had an American release in October 2016. It came out physically and on streaming in August 2017, about 10 months after briefly running in theaters. If "Godzilla Minus One" follows the same timeframe, it would come out 10 months after its American release in December 2023, placing it around September of this year.

It's disheartening for any Americans who want to own a copy of "Godzilla Minus One" not to know when it'll be for sale. However, "Shin Godzilla" may once again hold the key to foreseeing a possible release date. In May 2017, Funimation put out an article (which has since been archived) detailing how that movie's American home release would be on August 1 of that same year. That's two and a half months of notice, so if "Godzilla Minus One" sticks to a similar timetable, news of an American release may hit two and a half months before September, which would place a formal announcement coming around June or July.

Of course, that's assuming "Godzilla Minus One" doesn't get a bump. It's safe to say it was a bigger hit stateside compared to "Shin Godzilla," which only grossed $1.9 million in the U.S. That's a far cry from the haul of "Godzilla Minus One," and that's not even considering the fact the 2023 offering also won an Oscar. There's a chance Toho would want to capitalize on American enthusiasm for the movie and get it to the States more quickly. That's merely speculation at this point, but it's safe to say U.S. viewers can expect a physical and streaming release of "Godzilla Minus One" to come at some point later in 2024. 

It could be a while until fans can analyze the ending of "Godzilla Minus One" again to see how it could potentially set up future installments. The movie has retreated to sunken depths once more, but just like the titular monster, it'll return soon enough.