Indian fans always love to cheer for the underrated, and in terms of films, Godzilla Minus One definitely gave them the opportunity to do so. With a tiny budget, the film elevated the quality of the Godzilla franchise and resulted in one Academy Award.
However, with a film like this, there comes a big problem. Godzilla Minus One received limited exposure in theaters, so an OTT release was expected sooner rather than later.
Japan’s OTT release of Godzilla Minus One was handled by Prime Video, and the rest of the world was eagerly waiting for their turn. Now, Netflix is taking on the task, but there’s a big “if.”
Netflix is doing it silently.
Typically, a film like this would be released on VOD first, but we didn’t see that happen. Although VOD is often ignored by the Indian audience, it would have created some hype. Additionally, the film has been highly pirated by fans, which will likely affect its viewership.
Without any tweet or announcement, Netflix is releasing Godzilla Minus One, and it does feel a bit odd. For example, Indian fans love Godzilla; even Godzilla vs. Kong was a box-office success in India. In the opening weekend alone, India ranked in the top 5 spots in the global box office.
So, the hype was definitely real.
Netflix is shifting its interest, wanting to spend more on original content, and spending on licensed content seems like a luxury. However, instead of organizing big events for the release, Netflix India could have simply tweeted about it, but there was nothing but silence.
If Netflix intended this to be a surprise gift, they succeeded. Godzilla Minus One is now streaming on Netflix—a good weekend watch, that’s for sure.