The MPA has handed out an R rating for the upcoming “Godzilla Minus Zero,” the sequel to Toho’s highly acclaimed, internationally successful, and Oscar-winning “Godzilla Minus One”.
It marks the very first time in the history of the “Godzilla” franchise that a film in the series has scored an R rating. Here, the rating was given for “some violent content/bloody images.”
Reaction has been almost unanimously positive to the news on social media. Toho and GKIDS Films premiere the title this weekend at the New York Film Festival ahead of a theatrical release on November 6th.
2023’s “Godzilla Minus One,” the second of the live-action Reiwa era movies after 2016’s “Shin Godzilla,” takes place in a devastated post-WWII Japan as the country is hit by a new wave of devastation unleashed by Godzilla.
This sequel takes place two years later in 1949 as Japan tries to step away from the nightmares of war and monsters. However, peace is short-lived when Godzilla returns, fully regenerated, larger and more ferocious – endangering the fragile nation.
The sequel also marks the first-ever Japanese production filmed for IMAX. Writer/director and VFX whiz Takashi Yamazaki returns in the same capacities here with his company Shirogumi, which handled the first film’s visual effects, back again for this.
The first film grossed $116 million from a $15 million budget, was the highest-grossing live-action film to debut in Japan during 2023, and became the third highest-grossing non-English-language film in the U.S. market – boasting stellar review scores from critics and audiences along with winning the Oscar for best visual effects.
Source: MPA
