Editing Godzilla vs. Megalon (section)

==Release==
===Box office===
In Japan, ''Godzilla vs. Megalon'' sold approximately 980,000 tickets. It was the first ''Godzilla'' film to sell less than one million admissions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tohokingdom.com/box_office/godzilla_vs_megalon.htm |title=Godzilla vs. Megalon |publisher=Tohokingdom.com |access-date=2014-07-10}}</ref> It earned ¥220 million in Japan distribution income (rentals).<ref>[http://g-kingdom.la.coocan.jp/series/13.htm ゴジラ対メガロ]</ref><ref>[https://nendai-ryuukou.com/article/089.html 歴代ゴジラ映画作品一覧]</ref>

The film was a success in American theaters, earning $383,744 in its first three days in Texas and Louisiana alone.<ref>''The Hollywood Reporter''. May 12, 1976.</ref> The film grossed about {{US$|20 million|long=no}} worldwide.<ref name="Edelson"/>

===Critical response===
''Godzilla vs. Megalon'' was released theatrically in America on May 9, 1976, though the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' indicates that it opened there in June, and ''[[The New York Times]]'' indicates that it opened in [[New York City]] on July 11. ''[[The New York Times]]'' film critic [[Vincent Canby]], who a decade before had given a negative review to ''[[Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster]]'', gave ''Godzilla vs. Megalon'' a generally positive review. In his review on July 12, 1976, Canby said, "''Godzilla vs. Megalon'' completes the canonization of Godzilla...It's been a remarkable transformation of character - the dragon has become St. George...It's wildly preposterous, imaginative and funny (often intentionally). It demonstrates the rewards of friendship, between humans as well as monsters, and it is gentle."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/07/22/archives/another-godzilla-movie-monster-is-now-a-good-guy.html|title=Another 'Godzilla' Movie|last=Canby|first=Vincent|date=1976-07-22|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-02-28|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

''Godzilla vs. Megalon'' has attracted the ire of many ''Godzilla'' fans in the decades since its original release. The film contributed to the reputation of ''Godzilla'' films in the United States as cheap children's entertainment that should not be taken seriously.<ref name="Toho Kingdom">{{cite web|url= http://www.tohokingdom.com/web_pages/m_reviews/anthony_r/godzilla_vs_megalon.htm|title=Toho Kingdom; ''Godzilla vs. Megalon'' review|author=Anthony Romero|date=19 April 2003}}</ref><ref name="Stomp Tokyo">{{cite web|url=http://www.stomptokyo.com/movies/g/godzilla-vs-megalon.html|title=Stomp Tokyo- ''Godzilla vs. Megalon'' review|author=Chris Holland & Scott Hamilton}}</ref> It has been described as "incredibly, undeniably, mind-numbingly bad"<ref name="Barry">{{cite web|url=http://www.godzillatemple.com/movie13.htm|title=Review at "Barry's Temple of Godzilla"}}</ref> and one of the "poorer moments" in the history of kaiju films.<ref name="Stomp Tokyo"/>

Author Stephen Mark Rainey's critique of the film was strongly negative, published in [[Japanese Giants]], issue four. 1977. Edited and published by Bradford G. Boyle.[https://archive.org/details/japanese-giants-issue-4/page/n17/mode/2up]

In particular, the [[special effects]] of the film have been heavily criticized. One review described the Godzilla costume as appearing to be "crossed with [[Kermit the Frog]]"<ref name="Stomp Tokyo"/> and another sneeringly compared it to ''[[Godzilla vs. Gigan]]'', stating that it did "everything wrong that ''Gigan'' did, and then some." However, most of the criticism is of the lack of actual special effects work, as most of it consists of [[stock footage]] from previous films, including ''Godzilla vs. Gigan'' and ''[[Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster]]'', but a few pieces of effects work have garnered praise, specifically a scene where Megalon breaks through a dam and the draining of the lake.<ref name="Toho Kingdom"/>

The other aspects of the film have been similarly skewered. The acting is usually described as flat and generally poor, and as not improving, or sometimes, worsening, the already weak script.<ref name="Toho Kingdom"/> One part of the film, on the other hand, has garnered almost universal praise: Godzilla's final attack on Megalon, a flying kick. It has been called the saving grace of the film,<ref name="Barry"/> and was made famous by the mock exclamations of shock and awe displayed on ''Godzilla vs. Megalon''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s appearance on ''[[Mystery Science Theater 3000]]''. Through the end of season three to the middle of season five, that clip would be shown during the opening of each show.

Despite all this, the film is also one of the most widely seen ''Godzilla ''films in the United States — it was popular in its initial theatrical release, largely because of an aggressive marketing campaign, including elaborate posters of the two title monsters battling atop [[New York City]]'s [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] towers, presumably to capitalize on the hype surrounding the Dino De Laurentiis remake of ''[[King Kong (1976 film)|King Kong]]'', which used a similar image for its own poster.<ref name="Toho Kingdom"/>

On [[review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]], approval rating of 38% based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 4.7/10.<ref>{{Cite Rotten Tomatoes|title=Godzilla vs Megalon|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/godzilla-vs-megalon|type=m|access-date=September 19, 2023}}</ref>

===Home media===
The film was released numerous times in the [[VHS]] format, mostly as videos from bargain basement studios that featured the edited TV version (which was wrongly assumed to be in the [[public domain]] for many years), while PolyGram and 4 Front released the unedited version of the film in 1992 and 1998, respectively. Some rumors have circulated that the film's original VHS releases in the States were uncut, but there is no evidence confirming or denying this. &nbsp;

[[Media Blasters]] acquired the [[DVD]] rights to both ''Godzilla vs. Megalon'' and ''[[Destroy All Monsters]]''. Both films were released under one of the company's divisions, [[Tokyo Shock]]. Media Blasters originally planned to release ''Godzilla vs. Megalon'' on DVD and [[Blu-ray]] on December 20, 2011; however, because of technical difficulties with the dubbing and Toho having yet to give its approval for the release, the DVD/Blu-ray release was delayed.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://famousmonstersoffilmland.com/2012/01/19/godzilla-vs-megalon-bludvd-release-delayed/ |title=Famous Monsters of Filmland: ""GODZILLA VS MEGALON" Blu/DVD Release Delayed", January 19, 2012. |access-date=January 20, 2012 |archive-date=January 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120123063222/http://famousmonstersoffilmland.com/2012/01/19/godzilla-vs-megalon-bludvd-release-delayed/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Media Blasters finally released the film on August 14, 2012, but only on a bare-bones DVD and Blu-ray. Despite this, a manufacturing error led to several copies of the originally planned version featuring bonus content being released by accident.<ref>[http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2012/10/22/the-great-godzilla-vs-megalon-mix-up-mystery/ Sci-Fi Japan: "The Great Godzilla vs Megalon Mix-Up Mystery", October 22, 2012.]</ref> These special features versions are incredibly rare and are not labeled differently from the standard version, making them nearly impossible to find.<ref>[http://www.scifijapan.com/articles/2012/11/10/godzilla-vs-megalon-special-edition-dvd-extras-detailed/ Sci-Fi Japan: "Godzilla vs Megalon Special Edition DVD Extras Detailed", November 10, 2012.]</ref> This release was commercially the first to remaster the film to its original full-length version. 

In 2019, the Japanese version and export English dub were included in a Blu-ray box set released by the Criterion Collection, which included all 15 films from the franchise's [[Godzilla (franchise)#Shōwa era (1954–1975)|Shōwa era]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/25/8930381/godzilla-criterion-collection-showa-era-films-release-date|title=Criterion reveals the collection's 1000th disc: the ultimate Godzilla set|last=Patches|first=Matt|date=July 25, 2019|website=[[Polygon (website)|Polygon]]|access-date=July 25, 2019|url-status=live|archive-date=December 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217223541/https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/25/8930381/godzilla-criterion-collection-showa-era-films-release-date}}</ref>