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Where to watch Godzilla Minus One
Streaming options in the United States, updated Oct 23, 2026. More from netflix.com. Service logos are trademarks of their owners.
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The Godzilla movie that needs no Godzilla homework
Godzilla Minus One has nothing to do with the Monsterverse, and nothing to do with 2016’s Shin Godzilla either. It is Toho’s own standalone production, set in a specific and narrow window: 1945 to 1947, postwar Japan, before the country had anything resembling the resources to fight back. Ryunosuke Kamiki plays a former kamikaze pilot carrying guilt over a mission he didn’t complete, and the monster arrives into a story that is really about that guilt first and a kaiju movie second.
It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 2024 ceremony, the first Godzilla film nominated for anything at the Oscars, and it did it on a budget reported at roughly $15 million, a fraction of a modern Hollywood tentpole. Takashi Yamazaki directed, wrote and supervised the effects himself; the practical-feeling black-and-white re-release, Minus One/Minus Color, followed after the film’s success and is a different cut rather than a separate movie.
Watch order is a non-issue here, which is unusual for a franchise with roughly forty films behind it. Minus One was built to work with zero prior Godzilla knowledge, and Toho has treated every live-action entry since the 1954 original as its own self-contained continuity rather than one shared timeline — the Monsterverse (the Legendary-produced American series) is the only one that actually interconnects. A direct follow-up is coming regardless: Yamazaki’s own sequel, Godzilla Minus Zero, opens in US theaters in November 2026, and our trailer breakdown covers what Toho has shown of it so far. The production record has Minus One’s full release history and award list. For what else is airing or streaming right now, our watch guides track it by release date.
Godzilla Minus One cast 8
Ryunosuke KamikiKōichi Shikishima
Minami HamabeNoriko Ōishi, Shikishima's girlfriend
Yuki YamadaShirō Mizushima
Munetaka AokiSōsaku Tachibana
Hidetaka YoshiokaKenji Noda
Sakura AndoSumiko Ōta, Kōichi's neighbor
Kuranosuke SasakiSeiji Akitsu- Miou TanakaTatsuo Hotta
- Director
- Takashi Yamazaki
- Writer
- Takashi Yamazaki
- Music
- Naoki Satō
- Studios
- Toho Studios, Robot Communications, Toho
Photos via Wikimedia Commons. Ryunosuke Kamiki: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0; Minami Hamabe: レクター博士, CC BY-SA 4.0; Yuki Yamada: hirune5656, CC BY 3.0; Munetaka Aoki: Dick Thomas Johnson, CC BY 2.0; Hidetaka Yoshioka: Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0; Sakura Ando: Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0; Kuranosuke Sasaki: 印度孔雀, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Godzilla Minus One trivia 3
- Production
Yamazaki was named the film's writer and visual effects supervisor. On December 13, 2022, Toho's head of planning, Hisashi Usui, implied that the movie is connected to Godzilla (1954). Source
- Production
Refusing to make an appearance in just one of the films, Ando said she "fought for it and in the end […] got to be in both". Ōishi and Shikishima's adopted daughter Akiko was originally planned to be a boy. Source
- Production
When questioned how he managed to get Nagatani to cry for some scenes, the director responded "I found a genius". Source
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I watch Godzilla Minus One?
Godzilla Minus One streams on Netflix in the US with any subscription, checked October 23, 2026.
When did Godzilla Minus One come out in the US?
December 1, 2023, in US theaters through Toho International, after opening in Japan on November 3, 2023.
How long is Godzilla Minus One?
124 minutes.
Is Godzilla Minus One connected to the Monsterverse or Shin Godzilla?
No. It is a standalone Toho production set in postwar Japan, unconnected to Legendary’s Monsterverse (Godzilla vs. Kong) and to 2016’s Shin Godzilla. No prior Godzilla film is required.
Did Godzilla Minus One win an Oscar?
Yes. It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 2024 ceremony, the first Godzilla film ever nominated.
