Godzilla Minus Zero had its world premiere on Saturday at the New York Film Festival, arriving with the first R rating in the franchise’s 72-year history. The Motion Picture Association rated it R for “violent content/bloody images”; its Oscar-winning predecessor, Godzilla Minus One, was PG-13.

Director Takashi Yamazaki, who wrote, directed and handled visual effects on both films, told Variety that censoring the action “was not an option.” He acknowledged that an R rating can be “a barrier to entry,” but said the scenes were “so essential to the film” that cutting them was out of the question.

Set in 1949, two years after Minus One, the sequel follows the Shikishima family as a new, larger Godzilla threatens Japan — and eventually New York City. The film is also the first Japanese production shot specifically for IMAX screens.

Early festival reactions were largely enthusiastic, with the film holding about a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes from early reviews. Minus One won the 2024 Oscar for visual effects on a $15 million budget and grossed $116 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Japanese Godzilla film.