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Source: https://www.indiewire.com/news/general-news/godzilla-minus-one-isnt-streaming-theaters-why-1234958823/?utm_source=fark&utm_medium=website&utm_content=link&ICID=ref_fark

rCyGodzilla Minus OnerCO Could Win an Oscar, So Why CanrCOt Anyone See It?
And it may be a while before anyone can again.
By Tom Brueggemann
March 6, 2024 5:00 pm



If you want to catch up with Oscar Visual Effects nominee rCLGodzilla
Minus OnerCY before the awards Sunday night, yourCOve got exactly one
option: Find an Academy member who will invite you to view it on the
votersrCO portal. For everyone else in the world, yourCOre out of luck.

Why? Although never confirmed by Toho, it relates to an apparent
contractual agreement between Toho, the Japanese studio that created
(and still owns rights to) rCLGodzilla,rCY and Legendary Entertainment,
which licensed the monster character for a series of films released by
Warner Bros. LegendaryrCOs latest with Warners, rCLGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire,rCY fifth in the MonsterVerse franchise, opens wide in the
U.S./Canada March 29.

Toho retains the ability to make its own rCLGodzillarCY movies, but with the reported limitation of not releasing them in the same year as a
Legendary production. Under that arrangement, rCLGodzilla Minus OnerCY
opened in Japan last November, and then domestically (as well as
multiple European countries) in December.

rCLGodzilla Minus OnerCY has yet to open in China, South Korea, India, and other significant Asian markets. At this writing, no dates are listed on
IMDb or other sites that track foreign releases.

rCLGodzilla Minus OnerCY turned out to be a sleeper success in the U.S, grossing $56 million stateside. ThatrCOs stunning for a subtitled film and even more so for one that was anticipated as pre-holiday filler. A black-and-white version was added in January.

However, Toho notified theaters that all dates for rCLGodzilla Minus OnerCY had to end by February 1 rCo even though rCLGodzilla Minus OnerCY still ranked #8 in the final weekend of its run, after January 26, with a $2.7
million gross. ItrCOs highly unusual to force a film to leave theaters
while itrCOs still making money, but thatrCOs consistent with reports of limits imposed on its looming competition with rCLGodzilla x Kong.rCY

Perhaps even stranger: When rCLGodzilla Minus OnerCY left theaters, PVOD did not follow, and more than a month later, a PVOD release date remains
elusive. (A Japanese release on physical media was just announced for
May 5.)

At the Oscars on Sunday, March 10, the low-budget (under $15 million) rCLGodzilla Minus OnerCY is considered a favorite to win Best Visual
Effects. ItrCOs an incredible opportunity for the film to reach an even
wider audience rCo except there is almost no way to see it. That might be unprecedented.

There have been rare occasions when winners of the Best Foreign Language
Film (now International Feature) had yet to be released in the U.S.
(This is the only Oscar category for which domestic release is not a requirement.) The last time was in 2009, when JapanrCOs rCLDeparturesrCY won. It was still available in its home country and a handful of others;
Regent Releasing opened the film in the U.S. three months later.

Whatever the agreement between Toho and Legendary may be, it preceded
the success of rCLGodzilla Minus One.rCY As a separate production with excellent reviews, popular success, and an untapped wider audience, it
made sense that Legendary preferred it not overlap with rCLGodzilla x
Kong.rCY Also, sources indicate that Toho is a partner, not just rights holder, in the production and stands to profit from its success.

This comes as Warners maximizes LegendaryrCOs previous rCLDunerCY and rCLGodzillarCY films concurrent with their sequelsrCO release. The first rCLDunerCY is high on current VOD charts (at a $3.99 rental) and was on NetflixrCOs top 10 until last week, when it left the service. The 2014 rCLGodzillarCY remains available to view on Netflix and elsewhere.
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