Godzilla: King of the Monsters Director Unfazed by Poor Reception

Godzilla: King of the Monsters writer-director Mike Dougherty is unfazed by the film’s tepid box office and response from critics.

“I don’t know what the critics or boxoffice [sic] thought of Godzilla when I first fell in love with him 40 years ago so I’m not about to start now,” Dougherty tweeted.

After opening below Warner Bros.-Legendary’s $50-55 million opening weekend expectations with a $49 million debut, King of the Monsters has earned $190m worldwide since its May 31 release and is on track to finish as the lowest-earning entry in the MonsterVerse — behind 2014’s Godzilla ($529m) and 2017’s Kong: Skull Island ($566m).

On Rotten Tomatoes, King of the Monsters carries just a 40% approval rating from critics but an 85% from verified audience ratings.

The Trick ‘r Treat and Krampus filmmaker earlier told Collider bringing the stories-tall alpha predator to life as a sequel to the Gareth Edwards-directed reboot was a “dream come true.”

“My local TV station had the old black and white Universal monsters, so I was subjected to it for years,” Dougherty said.

“And I fell in love with the character [of Godzilla] and it’s funny because when I got the job I went back and looked at an old childhood bible – I went to Catholic school, which is a much longer story – and I found an old bible where I had drawn Godzilla, in between the various bible illustrations, so there was a picture of like the fall of Jericho and I had added Godzilla. I figured if I add Godzilla to anything, it’s better. So yeah, he’s been a good friend for a very long time. So it’s a dream come true.”

Next from the franchise is 2020 event film Godzilla vs. Kong, a crossover directed by Adam Wingard (The Guest, Death Note) and starring King of the Monsters‘ Millie Bobby Brown, Kyle Chandler and Ziyi Zhang alongside Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2), Brian Tyree Henry (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse), Eiza Gonzalez (Baby Driver), Alexander Skarsgård (The Legend of Tarzan), and Rebecca Hall (Iron Man 3).

“[Kong’s] out there. I mean I love the idea of the two creatures crossing paths,” Dougherty said.

“Loved that idea since a kid, even in the original Godzilla vs Kong. For as cheesy as it was, the concept was brilliant. Who wouldn’t want to see that smack down? It makes sense that they would exist in the same universe I think.”