Kill Them... and Crush Their Spirit?!

"How many?"

According to Paramount's estimates, Godzilla's initial North American box office should be between $3.25 million and $3.75 million.

But for Hirotaka Matsuoka, who had already lowered his expectations, a $2.5 million return would be considered a success.

As soon as the thought crossed Hirotaka Matsuoka's mind, he was startled by the voice on the other end of the receiver.

"It's around $1.68 million..."

Around $1.68 million?!

$1.68 million!

Left and right, my foot!

This isn't just a little lower, it's practically cut in half!

Hirotaka Matsuoka didn't even have the energy to scold his secretary for not doing well in elementary school math before hanging up the phone.

He sat blankly on the sofa, not wanting to do anything or say anything.

This Dongbao executive had only one thought in his mind: It's over, everything I have is over!

In order to push the Godzilla project, I offended quite a few people in the company.

At the time, Toho's board of directors was interested in the project, so they helped him overcome internal obstacles and pushed the project through.

Now that the movie has failed, those people will definitely attack like mad dogs.

No wonder Shinji Matou didn't care at all yesterday; after all, who cares about a dead man?

After a long time, Hirotaka Matsuoka gradually recovered, and he put his hands together in a devout prayer.

Hirotaka Matsuoka is not a Christian, but he now truly hopes that God can help him.

"Everyone should go see this movie!"

Hirotaka Matsuoka said this.

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Even the worst film will still attract a certain audience if it's widely shown.

Unless Shinji directly uses Suggestion Magic to subtly warn the entire world not to watch Godzilla, this is an inevitable situation in every film market.

Regardless of Shinji could actually do it, if he dared to do so, the Clock Tower would first place him under a designated seal.

However, while viewers may watch, no one can guarantee what will happen afterward.

In mid-May, Japan enjoys bright sunshine, and as summer approaches, temperatures are rising across the country.

Along with rising temperatures, the film market is also heating up, as the summer movie season is just around the corner.

Unlike last year's summer movie season, which had few good films, this year's summer movie season is a veritable gathering of stars.

Following the impressive start of Super Eight, Godzilla is making its King.

And then there's Diarmuid's Mission Impossible: Impossible, waiting for everyone.

It's safe to say that people who were able to watch movies during the summer of 2006 were much happier than those in 2005.

But choosing which movie to watch is the problem.

"I said, what movie should we go see?"

In a McDonald's in Tokyo, a group of young students sat on a bench, discussing their upcoming activities.

One of them, sipping a Coke, said, "Anyone want to see a low-budget horror movie?"

"I'm not going!"

Someone immediately objected. "I'm a coward, I don't want to watch."

"Alright, let's choose between Super Eight and Godzilla."

The other person shrugged and presented two proposals to their companions, seeking their opinions.

"Shibamatsu, you go first."

"Me?" Shibamatsu raised his eyebrows. "I choose <Super Eight>."

"No, how about Godzilla? I've already seen Super Eight."

"I've already watched it twice, so I'll still choose Godzilla."

"Ultraman is a childhood memory, and so is Godzilla! They're back on the big screen after so long, we have to see them!"

"You absolutely have to see the IMAX version of <Super Eight>, but there are no good seats left if you go to buy tickets now."

"But..."

A girl raised her hand. "Didn't the newspaper say that the Godzilla design was terribly changed?"

Another guy jokingly said, "I think you just want to see J-pop Group's male idols, right?"

I'll beat you up!

The boy laughed as he dodged the girl's small, pink punch, then tilted his head and asked Shibamatsu, "Shibamatsu, haven't you seen <Super Eight>? If not, we can go see it with you."

While eating his fries, Shibamatsu replied nonchalantly, "It's fine, I'll go see Godzilla with you guys."

He certainly wouldn't mention that he'd already watched "Super Eight" three times, and all of them were in IMAX.

The first time was when the Magecraft Club went to see it together, the second time was his second viewing on his own, and the third time was to analyze the 3D without glasses technique according to the family's requirements.

So, Shibamatsu really wouldn't mind watching Godzilla to refresh his eyes.

As for why he suggested watching <Super Eight> earlier...

"This is basic political correctness for a Magecraft!"

After reaching a consensus, the young people hastily finished their lunch at McDonald's and headed straight to the movie theater.

Then they regretted it.

Whether others regret it or not is unclear, but Shibamatsu himself certainly does.

It's not that the movie "Godzilla" is bad, but it's definitely visibly inferior to "Super Eight".

In any case, Shibamatsu himself found the movie extremely boring, to the point that he yawned most of the time.

The plot of the entire movie is very clichéd, so clichéd that Shibamatsu could easily guess it.

Not only were the human scenes lengthy and tedious, but the female lead's only purpose was to emit meaningless screams; her shrill voice forced Shibamatsu to frequently cover his ears.

None of that matters, the most important thing is that Godzilla's design is just so damn ugly.

The newspaper report was correct; it was indeed an ugly, large lizard.

Compared to it, the Hippolito Alien with its long, droopy-like face looked so handsome.

If his companions weren't still sitting there, and if Shibamatsu himself hadn't had nothing else to do, he would have definitely chosen to leave early.

If it were Shibamatsu five years ago, he might have been somewhat interested in this movie.

But he's been spoiled by Shinji Matou's commercial films for a long time now.

The special effects in Godzilla are decent; Godzilla may be ugly, but the realism is acceptable, though not as good as Super Eight.

The destruction of the city wasn't small, but it couldn't compare to <Super Eight>;

The action scenes were decently designed, with plenty of explosions, but it couldn't compare to <Super Eight>.

The main character's looks... still can't compare to <Super Eight>.

In conclusion, this movie is decent enough, but it's completely outclassed by "Super Eight".

"Um?"

Feeling someone push him, Shibamatsu quickly turned his head.

"What are you still standing there for? The movie's over."

Shibamatsu then realized that the movie had already ended.

"Finished? How does it feel?"

Upon hearing Shibamatsu's question, the other person knew he had been daydreaming.

"It's not good, definitely worse than 'Super Eight'," my friend commented, frowning. "The ending leaves a sequel cliffhanger, but I definitely won't watch it."

I think so too.

Shibamatsu nodded, got up and walked out of the theater with everyone, only to run into an investigator.

The other person handed over a soft vinyl figure of Godzilla in the shape of a movie character and asked, "Can we talk about the movie you just watched?"

Shibamatsu glanced at the small gift the other party had given him and casually said, "It's alright. The movie is mediocre in every aspect, not as good as <Super Eight>."

When asked for a rating later, out of support for Shinji Matou and respect for Azu, Shibamatsu gave a negative review without hesitation.

As Shibamatsu walked out of the movie theater, he happened to come across a trash can and, without thinking, threw the Godzilla toy he was holding into it.

This scene was captured by a passing reporter and featured on the front page of the entertainment section the following day.

Tiamat

Chapter 255 Murder... and also destroying the spirit?!

Godzilla doll tossed into the trash can, and the person who threw it away walking out of the movie theater without looking back.

From a photographic perspective, this photo lacks aesthetic appeal and has slightly flawed composition, but it undoubtedly captures the intended meaning and atmosphere.

Therefore, once this photo titled "The Abandoned Godzilla" was released, it became strong evidence for Type-Moon's online trolls to attack the "Godzilla" movie.

Look, the audience doesn't even want the free toys, which shows how bad this movie is.

Shibamatsu himself soon saw the photo, but he did not feel that his portrait rights had been violated—after all, his face was not shown.

He regretted not noticing that reporters were taking pictures at the time; otherwise, he would have definitely planned the photo carefully.

"If I had known there were reporters, I wouldn't have thrown my trash in the bin by the door."

Inside the Magecraft's Club, Shibamatsu shook his head at the photo in the newspaper.

"What? Are you shy?"

Aoko, standing to the side, chuckled and teased.

"No, I should buy a ticket for 'Super Eight' and then throw that toy in the trash can outside the 'Super Eight' theater."

"That's how the reporter captured my back as I dropped my toy and walked into the 'Super Eight' theater."

"Don't try to kill someone by hurting their spirit," Aoko said with a hint of sympathy. "Toho has already suffered enough. Because of this photo, Godzilla's screening rate has dropped significantly."

"Whether Toho suffers or not is none of my business. I'm Magecraft."

Aoko rolled her eyes, too lazy to bother with this guy.

Actually, Aoko made a mistake in saying that although Shibamatsu's photo had a wide impact, the photo's spread certainly didn't happen that quickly.

The decline in Godzilla's screening rate has little to do with the photos; it's mainly due to the poor box office figures on Friday.

On Friday, the older film "Super Eight" surprisingly outperformed the newer "Godzilla" with a $10.47 million lead, while the latter only had $6.02 million.

It suffered a huge box office deficit on its opening day, and the reviews weren't great either.

Theater owners know very well that Godzilla is doomed.

This is the direct reason why major cinema chains immediately reduced the screening rate of "Godzilla" starting on Saturday.

Of course, the major theater chains didn't go too far; they at least gave "Super Eight" and "Godzilla" roughly equal screenings on Saturday.

But when they saw that Godzilla's box office performance on Saturday was still sluggish, they simply reduced Godzilla's screenings further, giving more screenings to Super Eight.

Normally, theaters wouldn't adjust their screening schedules so quickly if Godzilla performed poorly.

However, the 3D tickets for Super Eight were twice as expensive as the 2D tickets for Godzilla. Selling just one more Super Eight ticket would generate more profit, and even a fool could figure out how to do that.

As the sun rises again above the horizon, Sunday quietly arrives.

Tokyo, Toho Studios headquarters building.

Since I started working here, the atmosphere in the company has been somewhat tense.