Every Movie Godzilla Ranked By Size, From Showa To Monsterverse
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There's no bigger monster than Godzilla, and over the decades, this titan has become the undisputed king of the kaiju. It's not hard to see why, because if you were the size of a skyscraper and capable of flattening a city by belching out atomic-powered flames, your position as the planet's apex titan would also be guaranteed. Throughout the years, Godzilla's size has changed dramatically and has seen the king of the monsters undergo drastic changes in his design.
Originally terrifying, sometimes goofy, and always hell on the stuntman slowly baking inside of a notoriously heavy rubber costume, Godzilla has kept up with the times and humanity's advances admirably over the years. We've gathered up a list of Godzilla's biggest growth spurts across cinema--as well as those films when he was downsized--below, starting with his Japanese debut. We've included the new Monsterverse entries, and even the 1998 film that most Godzilla fans would like to pretend doesn't exist. Hey, it might not be a good Godzilla movie, but it's still a fun disaster film with peak Roland Emmerich energy!
15. Godzilla (1954 - 1977) - 50 meters
The Showa era of Godzilla movies kept things simple, as the lumbering brute's height stayed constant at 50 meters. A force of nature that would eventually evolve into a hero, Godzilla's size might have stayed constant, but his overall look was in a constant state of flux throughout the decades. Originally designed to resemble the horror of the nuclear age, Godzilla was the living, grotesque embodiment of radioactive fallout.A bipedal collection of scars, tumors, and decaying skin, this Godzilla was a force of nature that required drastic measures to stop whenever it went on a rampage.
As the roaring '60s were coming to an end, Toho began retooling the design of Godzilla. With a growing fanbase of children, the film company wanted to take advantage of that market by turning Godzilla into a heroic defender of humanity. The end result worked, and for the rest of this era, fans got a lovable titan who kept other kaiju in check. And the vaguely disturbing Minilla in a handful of movies.
14. Godzilla Minus One (2023) - 50 meters
For Godzilla's 2023 return to cinemas, the beast saw a massive size reduction back to his original height of 50 meters. Smaller but still powerful enough to level a city with a blast of his atomic breath, Godzilla's new Minus One design is a highlight reel of kaiju history. Appearing to incorporate design elements from both its Heisei and Monsterverse incarnations, this Godzilla has larger dorsal fins on its back, a lighter brown skin texture, and an aggressive personality to match its appetite for destruction.
13. Godzilla Filius Earth (2017) - 50 meters
A return to the classic roots of Godzilla, this planetary threat shrunk back down to Godzilla's original height of 50 meters and had a more plant-like design when compared to the reptilian versions of the character. Plot twist: This Godzilla was an offshoot from the main event, Godzilla Earth, and exacted a deadly toll on the army sent to wipe it out.
12. Godzilla (1998) - 54 meters
Sure, the 1998 Godzilla film introduced a version of the titan that most fans despise, but Roland Emmerich's disaster flick is an underrated and fun adaptation, dodgy design--which Toho refused to officially recognize. Leaner and looking like it had escaped from Jurassic Park, 'Zilla was a little taller than his Showa counterpart at 54 meters in height, allowing it to more easily weave between skyscrapers in the concrete jungle of New York City. This Godzilla would also pop up a few years later in the 2004 Final Wars film, as a glorified punching bag.
11. Millenium Godzilla (1999-2003) - 55 meters
In the wake of the box office bomb that was the US Godzilla movie, the Millenium series of films starring the titanic engine of destruction would go back to the roots of the franchise. Shrunk down to a more compact size of 55 meters for two movies when compared to its Toho predecessors--this was the first time that Godzilla was made smaller--this monster king was leaner, meaner, and scarier when compared to previous incarnations.
10. Godzilla GMK (2001) - 60 meters
Possessed by the vengeful souls of people killed during the Pacific War, Godzilla's 2002 appearance put a fresh spin on the icon. Transformed into an out-of-control engine of destruction, the only thing standing in Godzilla's way are fellow monsters Mothra, Ghidorah, and Baragon. Godzilla got a slight increase in size for this film, as well as a slight redesign to give him a more sinister appearance.
9. The Return of Godzilla (1984) - 80 meters
Three decades after Godzilla first flattened Tokyo into an irradiated parking lot, the Heisei era version of the Kaiju king saw it evolve to even greater heights. A bigger world required a bigger Godzilla, and the Big G's 30th-anniversary film saw the monster shoot up to 80 meters in height. Godzilla also got a makeover, as this new incarnation looked meaner and tougher than the kid-friendly version from the Showa era. Godzilla had more feline-influenced qualities, large dorsal fins, and a longer tail to go with his new look.
8. Godzilla (1991-95) - 100 meters
A few years later, Godzilla received another vertical upgrade, this time reaching an astonishing 100 meters in height. Visually, the biggest difference with this Godzilla is that he was incredibly swole, as he now had more defined musculature across his torso and thick thighs to support his gargantuan weight. This era also gave us Burning Godzilla, a version of the kaiju that could barely contain his own nuclear power and was steadily reaching a meltdown state as his skin began to burst open with an apocalyptic orange glow.
7. Godzilla Singular Point (2021) - 100 meters
Godzilla: Singular Point is a gorgeous anime series and a narrative mess that makes about as much sense as a porcelain hammer, but at least it gave us a fascinating redesign of Godzilla. A calamity on two legs, Godzilla Ultima is terror incarnate and resembles a T-Rex with attitude. The inside of its mouth is nightmare fuel, the scales on its head give it some punk rock energy, and it has legs thick enough to create a singularity with each stride it takes.
6. Godzilla Final Wars (2004) - 100 meters
To celebrate 50 years of Godzilla, Toho went on a worldwide tour of destruction that saw the monster enlarged to his early '90s size once more. A towering 100 meters of radioactive death set on a collision course against several other monsters, this Godzilla has an animalistic design to go with his towering presence. Almost unstoppable, Godzilla took on several classic monsters and stomped all over his US doppelganger in this love letter to the franchise before it took a lengthy break.
5. Godzilla Legendary (2014) - 108 meters
For his debut in the Monsterverse, Godzilla left a massive first impression. Towering over the 1998 incarnation--and looking far more faithful to the source material--all 108 meters of the Big G bulldozed his way to victory against the MUTO threat. With a flatter forehead, an intimidating gaze, and sharp dorsal spines, Legendary's Godzilla balanced the heritage of this icon with a more animalistic design.
4. Shin Godzilla (2016) - 118 meters
Considered to be one of the very best Godzilla movies, Shin Godzilla's take on the colossus is pure nightmare fuel. Evolving through various stages and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, Shin Godzilla resembles an enormous Cookie Monster covered in tumors with its design. An engine of destruction that would eventually lay waste to Tokyo in a single night, this walking extinction-level event stood tall at 118 meters in height.
3. Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) - 118 meters
With King Ghidora rising from the depths of the planet to cement its position as the dominant lifeform, only Godzilla could stand in its way and inflict some much-needed regicide on the three-headed terror. King of the Monsters saw Godzilla's size increase slightly to 118 meters, and while the titan's design didn't change too much, we did get to see a Monsterverse take on Godzilla's nuclear-powered assault mode. By the time the dust had settled, the king was dead and a new monster monarch had usurped its position at the top of the kaiju food chain.
2. Godzilla vs Kong (2021) - 120 meters
It was only a matter of time before Godzilla crossed paths with Kong, and with another growth spurt, the king of the monsters reached 120 meters in height for his destined clash with the ape wonder of the world. Again, Godzilla's design remained relatively the same for his third Monsterverse appearance, as he packed a surprising amount of speed and power into his bulky radioactive frame.
1. Godzilla Earth (2017-2018) - 318 meters
The biggest Godzilla to date, Godzilla Earth was so destructive that it forced humanity to flee the planet. At 318 meters in height, Godzilla Earth was almost unstoppable and ruled the planet for millennia as the apex organism. While it does bear a resemblance to its Monsterverse incarnation, Godzilla Earth has a tree-bark-like texture covering its body, a bluer tinge to its skin, and other subtle design elements emphasizing a lifespan of more than 20,000 years throughout its anime trilogy.