In March 2027, the MonsterVerse is set to release its sixth movie titled “Godzilla x Kong: Supernova”. The popular TV series on Apple TV+, named “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”, is also gearing up for the release of its second season. With talks of more spin-offs in the works, the MonsterVerse is continuing to make a significant impact in pop culture and shows no signs of slowing down. It’s interesting to note that the MonsterVerse almost came to a halt briefly in May 2019, but it seems to have bounced back with renewed vigor since then.
The movie “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” led the MonsterVerse to a significant dip in both critical and financial success, right before the anticipated clash between Godzilla and Kong (Godzilla vs. Kong).
What Went Wrong With Godzilla: King of the Monsters?
The film “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is not a misinterpreted flop in the realm of the MonsterVerse. Although none of the films released post-2017 have reached the creative peaks of either “Godzilla” or “Kong: Skull Island”, “King of the Monsters” stands out as a particularly misguided production. The film’s writer and director, Michael Dougherty, attempts to address criticisms about Godzilla’s limited screen time in the 2014 “Godzilla” by including more monsters. However, instead of focusing on the action involving Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah, the narrative frequently shifts to a larger human cast, which is already substantial in comparison to the human characters in “Godzilla”.
The numerous human characters in this film often speak in annoying one-liners, making their scenes hard to watch. Contrastingly, Ken Watanabe’s character, Ishiro Serizawa, develops a self-sacrificing storyline that unexpectedly portrays nuclear weapons as heroic in the Godzilla movie. This choice seems misguided, reflecting the lack of thought put into the irritating human characters dominating King of the Monsters. However, when the monstrous creatures appear on screen, director Dougherty uses cluttered framing and rapid editing that feels disjointed.
In contrast to the striking, awe-inspiring visuals of Gareth Edwards’ “Godzilla,” which effectively portrayed Godzilla and the MUTOs as towering figures, the new version (King of the Monsters) is overwhelmed by an overly complex visual style. This results in Godzilla and his adversaries being obscured by chaotic blizzards and heavy downpours. Instead of leaving viewers in awe (“whoa!”), it often leaves them puzzled (“what just happened?”). This misstep, along with other issues, is why King of the Monsters failed to resonate with audiences. Even less successful MonsterVerse titles like “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” managed to make their monster fight scenes more visually comprehensible.
If a movie titled “King of the Monsters” failed to live up to the expectation of giant monsters fighting each other, then what purpose did it serve? This lackluster performance ultimately resulted in disappointing box office revenues, which seemed to foretell impending disaster for the entire MonsterVerse.
How the MonsterVerse Bounced Back From King of the Monsters
In the course of its domestic theater earnings, Godzilla: King of the Monsters managed to make $110.5 million, a significant 45% decrease compared to the domestic earnings of Godzilla five years prior. So far, it’s the only film in the MonsterVerse that has failed to gross over $300 million internationally. Typically, such poor performance would have potentially signaled the end of the MonsterVerse before the much-anticipated Godzilla vs. Kong showdown. However, this franchise had a stroke of luck because Godzilla vs. Kong was already in production during the principal photography of King of the Monsters, thereby avoiding an early termination of the series due to King of the Monsters’ underwhelming box office performance.
In March 2021, the movie “Godzilla vs. Kong” surpassed box office predictions due to the unique conditions of its release. With theaters in New York and Los Angeles reopening for the first time in over a year in March 2021, “Godzilla vs. Kong” became the premier blockbuster to be shown nationwide across North America. This film directed by Adam Wingard wasn’t just seen as the continuation of the “King of the Monsters” series, but more like a grand comeback of big-screen blockbusters to your local cinema. Additionally, “Godzilla vs. Kong” performed remarkably better internationally compared to its predecessor, which brought back the MonsterVerse.
The smaller human cast in movies like “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” seems to indicate that the MonsterVerse has taken on board criticism about the overly large human cast dominating screen time in “King of the Monsters“. Additionally, the focus on the Hollow Earth and its bright, daylight-rich environments in the “Godzilla vs. Kong” films appears to be a departure from the gloomy settings of “King of the Monsters“. Unexpected events have revitalized the MonsterVerse at the box office. However, its more recent productions demonstrate a clear effort to avoid repeating the mistakes of the saga’s less successful installments.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is now streaming on HBO Max.
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2025-08-17 22:41