(Photo by Warner Bros. / courtesy Everett Collection)

All Godzilla Movies Ranked

Born out of nuclear brimstone, the Godzilla series since 1955 has, by turns, served as a manifestation of ecological fears and unchecked human aggression, a satire on politics and government bureaucracy, and a vehicle for giant monsters yelling each other to death.

In this countdown of the best Godzilla movies ranked by Tomatometer alongside the worst, we have the aformentioned 1955 original, and the kaiju-popularizing American version (Godzilla: King of the Monsters!) with Raymond Burr. Naturally, Japan became Godzilla’s deathmatch ring for decades, with title bouts featuring Ghidorah, Space Godzilla, Ebirah, Mechagodzilla, and more terrors of the deep, earth, space and beyond.

Hollywood productions have come in the form of the 1998 disaster epic, the 2014 update, its sequel Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and then crossover match of the century, Godzilla vs. Kong. Now, we’re ranking all Godzilla movies by adjusted Tomatometer. Let them fight!

#35

Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2019)
40%

#35

Adjusted Score: 9.261%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Epic re-imagining of the Godzilla world in a futuristic setting that pits humans and robots against the biggest Godzilla ever... [More]

Starring: Kana Hanazawa, Mamoru Miyano, Takahiro Sakurai, Tomokazu Sugita

Directed By: Hiroyuki Seshita, Kobun Shizuno

#34

Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
60%

#34

Adjusted Score: 12.472%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: As the Japanese government tries to perfect new sources of energy, they discover that their longtime nemesis Godzilla is once... [More]

Starring: Misato Tanaka, Misako Tanaka, Shosuke Tanihara, Masatô Ibu

Directed By: Masâki Tezuka

#33

Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2004)
80%

#33

Adjusted Score: 13.255%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Fifty years after he first attacked Tokyo, Godzilla is back on the rampage in this monster opus from Toho Studios.... [More]

Starring: Noboru Kaneko, Miho Yoshioka, Katsuya Onizuka, Koh Takasugi

Directed By: Masâki Tezuka

#32

Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)
60%

#32

Adjusted Score: 13.824%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Haruo and his partners come across a strange and interesting native group related to people abandoned on our planet over... [More]

Starring: Chris Niosi, Lucien Dodge, Cristina Vee, Edward Bosco

Directed By: Kobun Shizuno, Hiroyuki Seshita

#31

Godzilla 1985 (1985)
20%

#31

Adjusted Score: 17.458%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Ever since the 400-foot Japanese lizard-monster Gojira -- translated to Godzilla and great box-office success in the Western world --... [More]

Starring: Raymond Burr, Keiju Kobayashi, Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi

Directed By: Koji Hashimoto, R.J. Kizer

#30

Godzilla (1998)
15%

#30

Adjusted Score: 19.076%

Critics Consensus: Without compelling characters or heart, Godzilla stomps on everything that made the original (or any monster movie worth its salt) a classic.

Synopsis: Toho's fire-breathing monster is back, but his roar is the only thing that hasn't changed. The computer-generated Godzilla threatens to... [More]

Starring: Jean Reno, Matthew Broderick, Maria Pitillo, Hank Azaria

Directed By: Roland Emmerich

#29

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
50%

#29

Adjusted Score: 19.882%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Giant monsters are rampaging in cities across the globe, and as the Earth Defense Force struggles to find a way... [More]

Starring: Masahiro Matsuoka, Rei Kikukawa, Kazuki Kitamura, Don Frye

Directed By: Ryuhei Kitamura

#28

Godzilla: Monster Planet (2017)
71%

#28

Adjusted Score: 22.705%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Godzilla himself can be seen for a brief moment in one of the shots in the teaser trailer, which was... [More]

Starring: Mamoru Miyano, Yûki Kaji, Daisuke Ono, Kazuya Nakai

Directed By: Hiroyuki Seshita, Kobun Shizuno

#27

Godzilla's Revenge (All Monsters Attack) (1971)
25%

#27

Adjusted Score: 24.369%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A continually ridiculed young boy dreams of traveling to Monster Island, where he is tutored in the art of fighting... [More]

Starring: Kenji Sahara, Tomonori Yazaki, Machiko Naka, Sachio Sakai

Directed By: Ishirô Honda

#26

Godzilla Vs. Destoroyah (2000)
100%

#26

Adjusted Score: 24.943%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Everybody's favorite Tokyo-trashing mutant lizard strikes again. This go-around features not only the big guy, but also his Scrappy-Doo-like companion,... [More]

Starring: Megumi Odaka, Momoko Kochi, Takehiro Murata, Kenpachiro Satsuma

Directed By: Takao Okawara

#25

Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (Gojira vs. Supesugojira) (1994)
57%

#25

Adjusted Score: 30.421%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Godzilla must once again fight to protect his island domain (gee, you'd think he'd have installed a security system by... [More]

Starring: Jun Hashizume, Megumi Odaka, Akira Emoto

Directed By: Kensho Yamashita

#24

Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
38%

#24

Adjusted Score: 35.27%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: You know who Godzilla is. Megalon is a huge cockroach-like beast. Godzilla has been a good guy since 1961, so... [More]

Starring: Katsuhiko Sasaki, Hiroyuki Kawase, Yutaka Hayashi, Mori Mikita

Directed By: Jun Fukuda

#23

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
43%

#23

Adjusted Score: 36.525%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: A race of malevolent aliens bent on world domination unleash the ultimate weapon of destruction on mankind, leaving them with... [More]

Starring: Katsuhiko Sasaki, Tomoke Ai, Tomoko Al, Akihiko Hirata

Directed By: Ishirô Honda

#22

Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
63%

#22

Adjusted Score: 38.901%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: The giant scaly lizard surfaces and melts (with his flamethrower breath) a U.S. submarine. Enter an old Japanese mystic who... [More]

Starring:

Directed By: Shusuke Kaneko

#21

Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (Gojira tai Kingu Gidorâ) (1991)
56%

#21

Adjusted Score: 43.764%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: The intricately plotted 18th Godzilla film involves time-travel to a remote island in 1944, Terminator 2-type cyborgs, and cute bat-mites... [More]

Starring: Yoshio Tsuchiya, Anna Nakagawa, Chuck Wilson, Richard Berger

Directed By: Koichi Kawakita, Kazuki Omori

#20

Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
71%

#20

Adjusted Score: 45.121%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Four years after Toho's semi-successful re-launch of their Godzilla series with Godzilla 1985, the studio released this vastly-superior sequel. In... [More]

Starring: Kunihiko Mitamura, Yoshiko Tanaka, Masanobu Takashima, Megumi Odaka

Directed By: Kazuki Omori

#19

Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla II (Gojira VS Mekagojira) (1993)
83%

#19

Adjusted Score: 45.03%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Everyone's favorite big lizard gets ready to rumble in this sci-fi monsterfest. On Monster Island, an egg is discovered in... [More]

Starring: Masahiro Takashima, Megumi Odaka, Ryoko Sano

Directed By: Takao Okawara

#18

Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (Gojira vs. Mosura) (1992)
75%

#18

Adjusted Score: 51.621%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Godzilla is reunited with one of his arch-enemies in this remake of the Japanese monster classic. When a meteorite crashes... [More]

Starring: Tetsuya Bessho, Satomi Kobayashi, Takehiro Murata, Akiji Kobayashi

Directed By: Takao Okawara

#17

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1963)
50%

#17

Adjusted Score: 51.649%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Boasting better than average special effects, this is a movie with all flash and little substance until the final scenes.... [More]

Starring: Michael Keith, James Yagi, Tadao Takashima, Mie Hama

Directed By: Thomas Montgomery, Ishirô Honda

#16

Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (Ebirah, Horror of the Deep) (1966)
57%

#16

Adjusted Score: 56.129%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: The seventh film in Toho's Godzilla series (and the first without the direction of Inoshiro Honda), this colorful installment finds... [More]

Starring: Akira Takarada, Toru Watanabe, Hideo Sunazuka, Kumi Mizuno

Directed By: Jun Fukuda

#15

Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero (1970)
57%

#15

Adjusted Score: 56.629%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Also known under the title Monster Zero, Godzilla and Rodan travel to Planet X to help an alien race defeat... [More]

Starring: Nick Adams, Akira Takarada, Kumi Mizuno, Keiko Sawai

Directed By: Ishirô Honda

#14

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
42%

#14

Adjusted Score: 57.067%

Critics Consensus: Godzilla: King of the Monsters delivers spectacular kaiju action -- and reaffirms that cutting-edge effects are still no substitute for a good story.

Synopsis: The new story follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery... [More]

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Kyle Chandler

Directed By: Michael Dougherty

#13

Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
67%

#13

Adjusted Score: 56.945%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: One of the cheapest entries in Toho's Godzilla franchise, this alternately noisy and talky entry finds yet another batch of... [More]

Starring: Hiroshi Ishikawa, Yuriko Hishimi, Tomoko Umeda, Minoru Takashima

Directed By: Jun Fukuda

#12

Godzilla Vs Hedorah (Gojira tai Hedorâ) (Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster) (1971)
58%

#12

Adjusted Score: 58.462%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: This eco-conscious entry pits the Big Green Guy against a living mass of industrial sludge dubbed "Hedora." Capable of splitting... [More]

Starring: Akira Yamauchi, Hiroyuki Kawase, Toshie Kimura, Toshio Shibaki

Directed By:

#11

Godzilla 2000 (2000)
57%

#11

Adjusted Score: 58.868%

Critics Consensus: Godzilla 2000 is cheesy, laughable, and good entertaining fun.

Synopsis: "Godzilla 2000" pits a 180 foot-high Godzilla against an alien life form aroused from its 6,000 year sleep in the... [More]

Starring: Takehiro Murata, Naomi Nishida, Hiroshi Abe, Mayu Suzuki

Directed By: Takao Okawara

#10

Godzilla Raids Again (1955)
60%

#10

Adjusted Score: 60.449%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Pilots discover a creature the same species as Godzilla battling a monster of equal size named Anguirus and alert the... [More]

Starring: Hiroshi Koizumi, Minoru Chiaki, Setsuko Wakayama, Takashi Shimura

Directed By: Motoyoshi Oda, Hugo Grimaldi

#9

Son of Godzilla (1967)
60%

#9

Adjusted Score: 60.865%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: The Japanese gargantuan reptile fathers a son who is a chip off the old eggshell. The men of the family... [More]

Starring: Susumu Kurobe, Bibari Maeda, Tadao Takashima, Akira Kubo

Directed By: Jun Fukuda

#8

Godzilla Vs Mechagodzilla (1974)
75%

#8

Adjusted Score: 74.888%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: This time, the overgrown-lizard hero is confronted by a mechanical doppelganger, courtesy of an army of extraterrestrial apes. Unable to... [More]

Starring: Masaaki Daimon, Kazuya Aoyama, Reiko Tajima, Carol Lynley

Directed By: Jun Fukuda

#7

Destroy All Monsters (1969)
75%

#7

Adjusted Score: 75.146%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: From a lunar base of operations, the female Kilaakas lead by their Queen (Kyoko Ai) attach electronic collars to the... [More]

Starring: Akira Kubo, Kyoko Ai, Jun Tazaki, Yukiko Kobayashi

Directed By: Ishirô Honda

#6

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (San daikaijû: Chikyû saidai no kessen) (1964)
75%

#6

Adjusted Score: 75.339%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: When the populace of Tokyo is threatened, Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra go head-to-head-to-head with Ghidrah. Yosuke Natsuki, Yuriko Hoshi.... [More]

Starring: Yosuke Natsuki, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Takashi Shimura

Directed By: Ishirô Honda

#5

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
83%

#5

Adjusted Score: 85.596%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: Filmed in 1954 as Gojira, this grandaddy of all Japanese giant-reptile epics was picked up for American distribution two years... [More]

Starring: Raymond Burr, Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kochi, Akira Takarada

Directed By: Terrell O. Morse, Ishirô Honda, Terry Morse

#4

Godzilla Resurgence (Shin Godzilla) (2016)
86%

#4

Adjusted Score: 88.12%

Critics Consensus: Godzilla Resurgence offers a refreshingly low-fi -- and altogether entertaining -- return to the monster's classic creature-feature roots.

Synopsis: Make way for the ultimate homage to one of the most enduring legends of the big screen-Godzilla! The King of... [More]

Starring: Hiroki Hasegawa, Satomi Ishihara, Yutaka Takenouchi, Ren Osugi

Directed By: Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi

#3

Godzilla (2014)
76%

#3

Adjusted Score: 89.337%

Critics Consensus: With just enough human drama to anchor the sweeping spectacle of giant monsters smashing everything in sight, Gareth Edwards' Godzilla satisfyingly restores the franchise's fire-breathing glory.

Synopsis: In Summer 2014, the world's most revered monster is reborn as Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures unleash the epic... [More]

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Bryan Cranston, David Strathairn

Directed By: Gareth Edwards (V)

#2

Mothra vs. Godzilla (Mosura tai Gojira) (1964)
92%

#2

Adjusted Score: 92.451%

Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.

Synopsis: In this Japanese sci-fi fantasy, the gigantic lepidopteran Mothra returns after battling it out with King Kong. Now he has... [More]

Starring: Akira Takarada, Yuriko Hoshi, Hiroshi Koizumi, Yu Fujiki

Directed By: Ishirô Honda

#1

Godzilla (Gojira) (1954)
93%

#1

Adjusted Score: 101.413%

Critics Consensus: More than straight monster-movie fare, Gojira offers potent, sobering postwar commentary.

Synopsis: One of the longest-running series in film history began with Ishiro Honda's grim, black-and-white allegory for the devastation wrought on... [More]

Starring: Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kochi, Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata

Directed By: Ishirô Honda