Comparing the Godzilla franchise to others

[gatorzilla]

How do you compare the Godzilla franchise to other big franchises? Beyond just the movies including merchandise, conventions, fan base size etc.

Looking at some of the other big franchises-

Star Wars
Marvel
Transformers
Batman (DC as a whole)
Star Trek
TMNT
Jurassic Park
Indiana Jones
Planet of the Apes
Alien
Predator
Terminator
James Bond

When I look at franchises like these big ones I compare to how the Godzilla franchise matches against them. Obviously Star Wars, Marvel, Transformers and Batman/DC are the big ones and bigger than Godzilla right now but looking at some of the others it gets interesting. Alien, Predator and Terminator all seem to be in their own Sci-fi league with each other seperate from everything else. But I would be willing to argue that Godzilla is at least on the same level if not bigger than the others.

James Bond- Aside from almost as many movies as Godzilla what else does that franchise have going for it? Not a whole lot really and you only see some 007 movies in stores and thats it

Indiana Jones- Last movie was not very good and you dont see anything about it really anymore except the movies coming to blu ray soon.

Jurassic Park- Its still got life in it and with a 4th film finally being done as well as the 3D re-release next year and the occasional toy line at Toys R Us that helps it.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- With "Ninja Turtles" coming out that will either make or break this franchise really. The only stuff i see about it are shirts and any accessories usually seen at stores like Spencer's. But it still has some life in it.

Planet of the Apes- "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" helped breathe new life into this franchise and a sequel is coming out in a couple years but aside from that and DVD box sets in some stores thats all you see.

Star Trek- Now this gets interesting. JJ Abrams "Star Trek" was a new fresh take on the franchise but aside from that do you really see anything Star Trek related in stores? Aside from the DVD box sets the only other thing I've seen in stores is the occasional shirt. To me it doesnt seem like Star Trek is as big as it used to be but maybe I am wrong.

A lot of these franchises are in the same situation as Godzilla right now. There are people on here that say Godzilla isnt popular at all or doesnt hold up to other franchises or blah blah blah whatever. If you look at these other franchises with fan bases like ours you will see a lot of them are in the same boat as us. We are going through a dry spell where we don't have much right besides IDW's comic series and the SH MonsterArts toy line. Yes we have the new American movie being made but until progress really starts moving forward on it we cant really rely on it too much right now but hopefully we get it sooner or later. But every big franchise seems to go through a dry spell. it also doesnt help when a big potential movie flops (GINO, Batman and Robin, Plant of the Apes remake etc.) that does more harm to the franchise than good. Godzilla is just as big an icon as all these others and like with every franchise just needs something new and exciting to really give a fresh take to the franchise. Godzilla is still there and big and can still be what it was in the 90s if not bigger. He's just dormant right now like with any other franchise

What do you all think though? How does the Godzilla franchise compare to others and their fanbases in your opinions?

Also one final note there is no way Legendary is using Pacific Rim to test the waters to see if the world is ready for Godzilla again. Godzilla is more than just a some giant monster he is an icon and a well known famous one at that. Waiting to see how Pacific Rim does wont tell you anything other than the general public probably saying "Why wasnt Godzilla in this?" like they did with Cloverfield.

[ScootaVaran]

I think the biggest difference is that Godzilla isn't a American franchise.
It's far easier to be a fan of something like Star Wars. its everywhere and Toys, games, bed sheet, toilet papers, whatever.
Godzilla doesn't get that much attention over here.

[gatorzilla]

ScootaVaran is probably right in that not being an American franchise is Godzilla's weakness but i still believe that he holds his own against some of these other franchises

I am curious now though how big the Godzilla franchise in Japan. If its just as big over there like Star Wars and others are here.

If done right the new American Godzilla movie could be a huge success for the franchise. Personally I think that providing its done right that itll either be a good hit like "Star Trek 2009" or "Rise of the Apes" or itll be a massive hit like "Transformers" or Marvel movies.

[Gojira1963]

Does anyone know if Godzilla was "dead" in Japan between the Showa and Hesei years?

[Gojira1963]

^ Thanks. I know the American movie is still in development but is there any word on if Toho will revive the Franchise in Japan any time soon?

[Tamura]

Star Wars: Both franchises suffer on home video.

[Carthormerr]

I always saw a lot of similarities to James Bond in that there are just so many movies of him, different actors playing the role - giving him different looks, and they always seem to have a continuity of sorts

[ghidorasauras]

Godzilla as a franchise is not that popular but Godzilla as an icon is very reconizable.

[Gojira-Fan]

Star Wars: Both franchises suffer on home video.

lol

Luckily, no Godzilla film has gotten "The George Lucas Treatment".

[edgaguirus]

Thank goodness.

[Space Hunter M]

Luckily, no Godzilla film has gotten "The George Lucas Treatment".

Run: "lucasvox.exe"

"While we were remastering Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster, errr, we began to realize crude 1960s special effects just couldn't capture Tsuburaya and Honda's true intentions. We here at Skywalker Ranch have rectified this. Using much more advanced computer technology, we have given Godzilla here, um ...a more fluid motion. We've also digitally inserted a much more convincing 3-D model head for close ups, um... much truer to the original filmmakers' visions. I love to blatantly go against my philosophy about cultural film preserva-"

[Tohosaurus]

Godzilla as a franchise is not that popular but Godzilla as an icon is very reconizable.

Bingo. And after 29 movies over 50 years (up to 04's GFW) the franchise is nowhere near what many other franchises have grossed or their present popularity. This is mostly true of American based franchises like the aforementioned Star Wars, Star Trek, Transformers, etc. The OP seems to almost dismiss this fact and probably because a lot of people feel as though if something is less popular then it's not as good and so there is hesitation to admit Godzilla or some other franchise is not as popular.

Personally, that doesn't bother me. The Godzilla franchise is my favorite whether or not it's the most popular, highest grossing franchise in the world or what it actually is, a smaller scale niche franchise. Would I love it to be big? Yes, because our franchise will receive more quality attention for film releases and merchandise, but again either way I will love the franchise all the same.

[Xx_The_Masquerade_xX]

Star Wars (Despite if you enjoyed them or not, prequels have butchered the fame of this franchise)
Marvel (Doing well)
Transformers (Doing well $$ wise)
Batman (DC as a whole) (Batman was near dead after Batman an Robin, it took Legendary to resurrect Batman an it took a bit)
Star Trek ( A Franchise that was also recently brought back from the dead)
TMNT ( Still a pretty dead franchise at the moment, but has potential to comeback)
Jurassic Park ( A Franchise hanging by a thread, Both sequels were considered major disappointment's an the 4th will either leave it extinct or bring it back)
Indiana Jones (The 4th installment is considered one of the worst)
Planet of the Apes (A dead franchise prior to the very recent Reboot)
Alien (Near dead franchise, 3 an 4 were considered disaster's compared to the first 2)
Predator (Pretty much same position as Alien)
Terminator (Terminator is pretty much dead, Unless the next installment is ''brilliant'' this franchise is done for the most part)
James Bond (Don't watch this franchise, can't comment)

Godzilla is a franchise pretty much in the same state as most of these. Godzilla: Final War's was a major let down to a lot of fan's an G-98 is well considered a disgrace to the franchise. Just like most of these franchises mentioned above it will take a solid take on the character to bring him back, an a successful sequel to bring it to it's former glory.
Godzilla is Iconic though, an is just as well known as the franchises above. Being a non-American franchise it has done fairly well an has potential to be just as big as Batman or Transformer's.

[tymon]

Godzilla is usually joked about or marginalized in America these days. Bad dubbing (therefore bad acting in the minds of the typical viewer, and some of the time they happen to be right..), men in suits (why the public considers this fact alone to be laughable is beyond me), etc. A good American film could change that tide a bit, obviously, but enough to compete with the likes of domestic giants like Batman and Transformers? Possible I suppose, but not likely.

The only real upsides to popularity are increased chances of new material and new merchandise. Otherwise, I couldn't care less if Godzilla is uber-big or not. Having a niche interest is kind of nice, and the thought of TK being overrun by n00bs frightens me a bit.

[Tamura]

^ I have hardly seen any of those complaints these days because people don't usually talk about Godzilla. Probably the only people who do say that shit are critics, who you shouldn't listen to anyway.

[Spuro]

Bad dubbing (therefore bad acting in the minds of the typical viewer, and some of the time they happen to be right..), men in suits (why the public considers this fact alone to be laughable is beyond me), etc.

The one that irks me is the whole "cardboard box buildings" thing. Yeah last time I looked cardboard doesn't crumble like concrete would, these are highly detailed models. You know the same kind they've used in plenty of popular summer block buster films, like ID4 for example.

It's both those and the "men in suits" for me. I mean, sure, they're men in suits, but so are the xenomorphs and the predators and most of the Star Wars aliens and Hellboy creatures!

[Spuro]

^Well, if all else fails, just do what i do and show them a clip or two from one of the Gamera trilogy films. I would personally recommend Gamera's first appearance in G3, during the scene where he blows up the dying Gyaos.

[Gojira-Fan]

I've used that in arguments too. It seems men in suits is okay with people as long as it's meant to be a human sized monster like the Xenomorphs.

I think people just want to watch the movie. If the special effects are really noticeably fake, they'll comment on it. Show a mainstream movie-watcher Gamera 2 or 3, and they won't see it as "fake".

^ I have hardly seen any of those complaints these days because people don't usually talk about Godzilla. Probably the only people who do say that shit are critics, who you shouldn't listen to anyway.

Eh, I would say that perception is still kind of there. But people are mostly silent on Godzilla because his movies don't get wide exposure to the mainstream American populace. People don't want to watch foreign movies either, so that is also an issue.

[Tamura]

I think there are people in this fandom who are too damn negative and overdramatic about this. The truth is, people don't universally hate Godzilla, they just haven't been exposed to the movies enough to form any real opinion about them. From my experience talking to people outside of the fandom, there are folks who seem pretty open-minded about Godzilla. And if fans can't handle a little prejudice from a select few who haven't even seen the movies, then we have bigger problems at hand.

[Gojira-Fan]

I think there are people in this fandom who are too damn negative and overdramatic about this. The truth is, people don't universally hate Godzilla, they just haven't been exposed to the movies enough to form any real opinion about them. From my experience talking to people outside of the fandom, there are folks who seem pretty open-minded about Godzilla. And if fans can't handle a little prejudice from a select few who haven't even seen the movies, then we have bigger problems at hand.

I agree with this. Some fans seem to have some sense of shame about Godzilla. As if it's not a valid and healthy interest.