As Godzilla Minus One winds down its notable theatrical run, distributor Toho International said it will play a remastered black-and-white version of the film for one week.
Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color will be in U.S. theaters starting Friday, Jan. 26. Both versions of the film will end their theatrical run on Feb. 1.
The black and white version was released in Japan on Jan. 12.
“I was very happy that the North American audience embraced Godzilla Minus One,” said Takashi Yamazaki, director, writer and VFX supervisor. “And now I am very pleased to be able to release a black-and-white version for North America as well. Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color will bring a new and visceral experience to audiences.”
The remastering was complex process, he said, and the black and white gives the film, and the monster, a realistic documentary-like feel that’s scarier than color.
The film which opened Dec. 1 has made close to $51 million at U.S. box office, the highest grossing Japanese live action or animated film released Stateside and the no. 5 highest grossing non-English language film at the U.S. box office. Near the end of World War II after nuclear bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a devastated Japan is terrorized by a massive reptilian monster that rises from the sea breathing radiation. A kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki) and group of military commanders and civilians go rogue to try to destroy it.
It’s on Oscar shortlist for shortlist for Best Visual Effects.