Japan Synopsis
“Size does matter.”
French nuclear tests irradiate an iguana into a giant monster that viciously attacks freighter ships in the Pacific Ocean. A team of experts, including Niko Tatopoulos, conclude that the oversized reptile is the culprit. Before long, the giant lizard is loose in Manhattan as the US military races to destroy the monster before it reproduces and it's spawn takes over the world.
Audience Engagement
3,541 audience reviews — more than 99% of Japan films in our index.
Popularity sits at the 91th percentile among Japan films.
Titles With Overlapping Themes
Films and series that share thematic tags with Godzilla. Number on each card indicates how many keywords overlap.
Other Titles From TOHO
Science Fiction + Action in Japan
324 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Science Fiction and Action genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Godzilla itself).
The 1997–1999 Japan Window
In the crowded 1997-1999 Japan release window, Godzilla sits at #139 of 162. The leaderboard below contextualises its neighbours.
The 1990s Japan Landscape
1998 was the decade’s peak output year for Japan — 62 titles released, including Godzilla. Bars below show how the 1990s stacked up year by year (447 total).
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 2h 18m runtime, production spent $942K per minute on screen and earned $2.7M per minute back.
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 61 other Japan films in 1998.
The 1158th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Thematic Fingerprint
Tags on Godzilla, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.
- us army · 5
- animal horror · 5
- intelligence · 4
- missile · 3
- destroy · 2
- boat accident · 1
- atomic bomb test · 1
- flowerpot · 1
- godzilla · 30
- new york city · 23
- military · 23
- pregnancy · 22
- creature · 14
- atomic bomb · 13
- kaiju · 77
- giant monster · 64
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #4,141 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (10th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Rating is -1.3 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.
Among Japan Science Fiction productions specifically: #475 of 566 (top 84%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| All Production Countries | Japan, United States of America |
| Original Language | En |
| Spoken Languages | English, French, Japanese, Russian, Spanish |
| Production Companies | TOHO, TriStar Pictures, Independent Pictures (II), Fried Films, Centropolis Entertainment |
| Runtime | 2h 18m |
| Release Date | May 20, 1998 |
| IMDb | tt0120685 |
| Official Site | www.sonypictures.com |