What are the Japanese fans opinions on KOTM?

[kaijuguy19]

We pretty much know what the opinions are about KOTM here in America and the West in general. Some good and some not so much but what about in Godzilla's native country? I've heard that it's done well there at least better then here in the States. Is it mostly more positive over there? If not then what are some of their issues with it?

[GuardianGhido]

I dunno, from a BO standpoint, Aladdin somehow crushed it in Japan as well so most people preferred watching that to the Big G. Nowhere near what Shin made either and iirc it didn't even reach G14. Kinda odd, really. Don't think they strongly disliked it that much though, they just probably preferred G14 and Shin better. LSD probably has better insight into this.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

G14 had the allure of being the first franchise film in a decade. Shin had the allure of Anno, its allusions to Fukushima, and being the first Japanese Godzilla film in over a decade. King of the Monsters had none of those things except maybe the allure of seeing Mothra and co realized with Hollywood special effects. That said G14 didn't even crack the top 10 films of its year, coming in at 12th. I believe it actually did worse than the 98 film did.

Added in 11 minutes 58 seconds:

I dunno, from a BO standpoint, Aladdin somehow crushed it in Japan as well so most people preferred watching that to the Big G. Nowhere near what Shin made either and iirc it didn't even reach G14. Kinda odd, really. Don't think they strongly disliked it that much though, they just probably preferred G14 and Shin better. LSD probably has better insight into this.

Well Japan seems to LOVE Disney for starters. In 2014 three of the top 5 films were Disney productions.

1 Frozen (2013) Disney $249,036,646
2 Stand by Me Doraemon Toho $79,003,725
3 Big Hero 6 Disney $76,825,518
4 Maleficent Disney $63,283,085
5 Rurôni Kenshin: Kyôto Taika-hen $49,957,553

[Relair]

Much like everywhere else in the world, Aladdin stole all of our thunder in Japan too. It's a shame they didnt see that coming and give it a better release date. Can't fight the Disney nostalgia machine, sigh.

[Orichalcum]

Doesn't help when the movie wasn't impressive in the slightest

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

It had HUGE drops in the box office week by week. Take that as you will.

[LSD Jellyfish]

I'm only basing this off of people I've talked to personally here, so take this with a grain of salt. Maybe around 10.

I haven't met a person that disliked it, but the consensus was that it's "dumb", but they liked the portrayal of Ghidorah and seeing Rodan and Mothra again. They enjoyed it, but it's not going to be a classic or something as revered. The long drawn out convo I had a few days ago with a Godzilla fan I met at a bar, was basically similar to points I've made, the film lacked any sort of cohesive message comparable to older entries. But unlike me, they've pretty much assumed it to be innocuous and aren't really online hating on it.

Shin is still in public memory. When I ask about Godzilla, everyone starts talking about Shin, not KOTM.

In terms of the Box Office, most of the people I was talking to at the theater, were intense Godzilla fans, who were going to see it many times, regardless of what happened. I think that explains the trend better then the Disney stuff. The fans went to see it many times opening weekend, and it did not have any appeal beyond that.Just another note, Disney is popular in Japan, and many of the people, mostly teenage girls, were not going to see anything Godzilla related regardless. Stop blaming the failures of Godzilla films on Disney.

Edit: Oh yeah, one big thing I forgot to mention, that is really vital:
Japanese theater tickets are expensive. About 1800 yen, or roughly 17 dollars. But, many days have discounts, typically the first day of the month, where tickets drop to around 12. KOTM came out on the 31st, on a friday, so obviously the sat, the first, was when the majority of people saw it. Anyone who wanted to see it most likely rushed out that day.

Also, still, KOTM made about 25 mil in Japan, it certainly had more people seeing it then other entries in the series, for example GFW.

[kaijuguy19]

It makes sense that Shin Godzilla is more popular in comparison given that it's both a return to form for Toho's original creation,along with of course being based on a very personal and tragic event in 2011 for obvious reasons. I'm also ware of Disney's huge popularity in Japan so I'm not that shocked that Aladdin took the country by storm. That being said Shin Godzilla was able to beat Finding Dory in 2016 and that was a Disney film so it's funny how opposite outcomes happened between Godzilla and Disney around that time.

But now I'm curious on how Japanese Disney fans view the Aladdin remake and how they see the Disney Remakes in general cause it's a given on how we in the west feel about them.

[LSD Jellyfish]

But now I'm curious on how Japanese Disney fans view the Aladdin remake and how they see the Disney Remakes in general cause it's a given on how we in the west feel about them.

My highschoolers love Disney. I think it’s a combination of many things, but they lack the corporate cynicism a lot of people have in the west over Disney because Japan is super into commercialization.

Disney, from my perception, also falls into a “safe” foreign film category, because it’s so popular.

[DirektorSplennic]

Doesn't help when the movie wasn't impressive in the slightest

Didn't you say you liked the Rodan scene? "Wasn't impressive in the slightest" tells me there is absolutely nothing redeemable or good about said movie, which from anyway you look at it, sounds kinda ridiculous. At least you have the incredible CGI and the soundtrack if nothing else.

[LSD Jellyfish]

At least you have the incredible CGI and the soundtrack if nothing else.

Everything these days has incredible visual effects.

[DirektorSplennic]

At least you have the incredible CGI and the soundtrack if nothing else.

Everything these days has incredible visual effects.

And that's a good thing . Atleast in my positive eyes.

[Tyrant_Lizard_King]

Eh not for me. Flashy FX sequences are a dime a dozen these days. Hardly any of it impresses me anymore. Outside of Marlow and Joe Brody I have not connected with a single character in the entire MonsterVerse so far.

[Orichalcum]

Eh not for me. Flashy FX sequences are a dime a dozen these days. Hardly any of it impresses me anymore. Outside of Marlow and Joe Brody I have not connected with a single character in the entire MonsterVerse so far.

Not even the Japanese boy on the train or the dog tied to the palm tree? What the hell.

[BlankAccount]

Eh not for me. Flashy FX sequences are a dime a dozen these days. Hardly any of it impresses me anymore. Outside of Marlow and Joe Brody I have not connected with a single character in the entire MonsterVerse so far.

It's one of the reasons I question if I want to make films anymore, people have become so jaded and are harder to impress with cool set pieces anymore. Films like Independence Day and Jurassic Park used to only come every few years, now we have visual speculates multiple times a year every year. We've been spoiled too much. It's one of the reasons I say I think the Monsterverse would do better in the 90's than the 20teens, cause people weren't so focused on characters back then and I don't feel they were any more shallow than the characters we got in 90's blockbusters.

[Mr_Goji_and_Watch]

It's one of the reasons I question if I want to make films anymore, people have become so jaded and are harder to impress with cool set pieces anymore. Films like Independence Day and Jurassic Park used to only come every few years, now we have visual speculates multiple times a year every year. We've been spoiled too much. It's one of the reasons I say I think the Monsterverse would do better in the 90's than the 20teens, cause people weren't so focused on characters back then and I don't feel they were any more shallow than the characters we got in 90's blockbusters.

What kind of movies did you wanna make?

[GojiDog]

Eh not for me. Flashy FX sequences are a dime a dozen these days. Hardly any of it impresses me anymore. Outside of Marlow and Joe Brody I have not connected with a single character in the entire MonsterVerse so far.

It's one of the reasons I question if I want to make films anymore, people have become so jaded and are harder to impress with cool set pieces anymore. Films like Independence Day and Jurassic Park used to only come every few years, now we have visual speculates multiple times a year every year. We've been spoiled too much. It's one of the reasons I say I think the Monsterverse would do better in the 90's than the 20teens, cause people weren't so focused on characters back then and I don't feel they were any more shallow than the characters we got in 90's blockbusters.

I was talking about this with someone the other day.

Is it possible that the trailers showing off so much is part of the reason people are harder to impress now? Nowadays, I feel like I've already seen the movie before going into the theater and it is hard to be surprised or go "Ooooh...ahhh" when I've already seen it.