'Godzilla' To Be Revived in 2012...
Legendary Pictures, in conjunction with Warner Bros., plans to release a Godzilla reboot in 2012, according to a press release issued earlier today by the company. This will be the first English language Godzilla movie since 1998, when director Roland Emmerich unleashed the monster upon Manhattan, grossing $379 million worldwide.
Since first hitting the big screen in 1954, Godzilla has appeared in over 25 movies, all of which were produced by Toho Company. Toho will play a role in the reboot's development, even though official producing credit goes to Legendary. The most recent Godzilla movie, Godzilla: Final Wars, disappointed in its native Japan, grossing $9.1 million there, and never made it to domestic theaters.
"Godzilla is one of the world's most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise," said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary. "Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has."
While the 1998 Godzilla's $136.3 million domestic haul is the equivalent of over $220 million adjusted for ticket price inflation, it was labeled a box office disappointment in its day and was widely reviled, winning two of its five Razzie nominations that year. Two years later, Toho-produced Godzilla 2000 mustered only $10 million, and the most Godzilla-like movie since then, Cloverfield, grossed $80 million in 2008. Legendary's press release indicates that they plan to focus more on the Japanese source material with the reboot, largely ignoring the prior 1998 incarnation.
Legendary and Warner Brothers have had a highly successful relationship in recent years, bringing to theaters such hits as Batman Begins ($205.3 million), 300 ($210.6 million), The Dark Knight ($533.4 million) and The Hangover ($277.3 million). Their next release, the Clash of the Titans remake, opens this Friday.
Related Charts:
• Series: 'Godzilla'
• Genre: Creature Feature
Since first hitting the big screen in 1954, Godzilla has appeared in over 25 movies, all of which were produced by Toho Company. Toho will play a role in the reboot's development, even though official producing credit goes to Legendary. The most recent Godzilla movie, Godzilla: Final Wars, disappointed in its native Japan, grossing $9.1 million there, and never made it to domestic theaters.
"Godzilla is one of the world's most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise," said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary. "Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has."
While the 1998 Godzilla's $136.3 million domestic haul is the equivalent of over $220 million adjusted for ticket price inflation, it was labeled a box office disappointment in its day and was widely reviled, winning two of its five Razzie nominations that year. Two years later, Toho-produced Godzilla 2000 mustered only $10 million, and the most Godzilla-like movie since then, Cloverfield, grossed $80 million in 2008. Legendary's press release indicates that they plan to focus more on the Japanese source material with the reboot, largely ignoring the prior 1998 incarnation.
Legendary and Warner Brothers have had a highly successful relationship in recent years, bringing to theaters such hits as Batman Begins ($205.3 million), 300 ($210.6 million), The Dark Knight ($533.4 million) and The Hangover ($277.3 million). Their next release, the Clash of the Titans remake, opens this Friday.
Related Charts:
• Series: 'Godzilla'
• Genre: Creature Feature
