Recent happenings in the entertainment industry have fans worried about the streaming release of the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One.
The Japanese language Kaiju movie was released in theaters in late December 2023, building a passionate fanbase behind it in (what would turn into) a surprisingly big run in theaters stateside.
The enthusiasm surrounding the movie would only grow as it won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Still, news remains scarce about when fans can expect to enjoy the movie at home either on Blu-ray or digitally.
According to informed commentary, the success of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire couldplay into Godzilla Minus One's streaming release date.
As of writing (April 2024), Godzilla Minus Oneis unavailable for digital purchase or streaming on any platform.
Some industry analysts believe the delay in Minus One's release plan could be due to the titanic success of Legendary's recent entry into its Monsterverse, Godzilla x Kong.
After two weeks, Godzilla x Kong is already the third-highest-grossing movie of 2024 and the biggest Godzilla film since 2014's Gareth Edwards reboot (per Box Office Mojo).
It has been said Toho (the owner of the Godzilla IP) could be delaying the streaming/digital release of Minus One; the rightsholder (and Legendary) may want to ride out the success of The New Empirewithout another Godzilla movie's marketing interrupting (albeit one separate from the Monsterverse).
According to a Forbes report, Toho requested Minus One leave theaters by February 1 (despite the movie sitting at no. 8 on the box office ranking in its final week) so that it had a clear runway for Godzilla x Kong.
It could also be an effort to avoid muddying the waters, as the digital/streaming release of Godzilla could confuse audiences who would see the movie on digital platforms without knowing the difference between Minus Oneand The New Empire.
Because of Toho's strategy, it could still be quite some time before Minus One comes to digital or streaming, with Godzilla x Kong still early in its theatrical run.
When Will Godzilla Minus One Come To Streaming?
Of course, this will be disappointing for fans eagerly awaiting Godzilla: Minus One's arrival in their homes, whether on streaming, physical, or digital.
One known detail is that Minus One will come to Blu-ray in its home country of Japan on May 1.
Toho's previous Godzilla movie, ShinGodzilla, took 132 days for its Japanese Blu-ray release to eventually reach North America.
If Minus One were to follow suit, that would plant its expected U.S. Blu-ray debut sometime in early Fall.
Perhaps that is also when the movie would become available on streaming stateside, coming to a platform like Max, Prime Video, or Netflix. If that is the case, one could expect the film to come to digital sometime this summer, likely 1-3 months before a potential physical release.
However, the movie has yet to open in major markets like China, South Korea, and India (per Indie Wire), and there are no public release dates for those territories. This could push all of these dates further into Q3 and possibly Q4 2024.
One will also have to see how Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire's post-release plan could play into Toho's Minus One strategy and if it slows these streaming prospects even more.