Top 10 Biggest Godzilla Kill Counts

“The Return of Godzilla” (1984)

1984’s “The Return of Godzilla” not only brought Big G back to North American shores with its “Godzilla 1985” edit, but the film was also a notable return to some dark and dangerous thematic territory. This stood in stark contrast to the Showa Era’s largely kid-friendly approach to kaiju monster battles. “The Return of Godzilla” racked up a formidable body count of 116, including a number of unnamed victims of collateral damage. Godzilla also takes out the Russian warship commander, Colonel Kashirin, while his city attacks demolish both lives and property in equal measure.

“Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.” (2003)

“Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.” isn’t a film that’s mentioned often when it comes to Big G’s filmography. This isn’t necessarily due to the quality of its content, it just sort of tends to slip through the cracks. Modern reassessment, however, results in a surprisingly high body count. The body of a Kamoebas, from Toho’s 1970 film “Space Amoeba,” washes up in the film, with bite marks consistent with that of Godzilla. Elsewhere, Big G takes Mothra up on her offer of a heroic sacrifice, fatally blasting her with Atomic Breath. Finally, there are 131 civilians and soldiers that fall victim to The King of the Monsters, making “Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.” stand as something of a morbid dark horse entry in Godzilla canon.

“Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah” (1991)

There are a number of named human casualties who fall victim to the King of the Monsters in 1991’s “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.” Both Wilson and Grenchiko of The Futurians perish (along with many others) when Godzilla blasts their UFO. Big G also memorably blasts Japanese Major Yasuaki Shindo to kingdom come during the kaiju’s assault on Tokyo. There are also many other, unnamed victims of these attacks, however, including 15 soldiers, 123 civilians and a television news crew. Godzilla also beats Mecha-King Ghidorah for good measure, resulting in a kill count of 144.

“Ebirah, Horror of the Deep” (1966)

The films produced during the Showa Era could often vary wildly in tone, as well as in terms of their body count. “Ebirah, Horror of the Deep,” for example, probably isn’t the first G film one may associate with human casualties. A closer look at the film’s plot, however, reveals some surprising statistics. The entire island of Letchi is demolished by the film’s end, thanks to a Godzilla attack that sets off a self-destruct mechanism. As a result, 175 scientists working for the Red Bamboo terrorist organization are killed. Additionally, one particular scientist gets trampled underfoot by Big G, while Ebirah itself gets its claws unceremoniously torn off in battle. Oh, and there’s also a giant condor named Ookondoru. Let’s not forget the giant condor.

“Godzilla 2000” (1999)

The “Godzilla” cinematic franchise has had a rough go of it in terms of North American distribution in the aftermath of 1999’s “Godzilla 2000.” The film was the last to receive a wide release in that area until 2023, with “Godzilla Minus One.” The financial disappointment of “Godzilla 2000” doesn’t necessarily reflect the film’s quality or body count, however, since this film racks up a relatively high number of 181. Granted, most of these deaths are attributed to collateral damage, as a result of Godzilla’s rampage. There are only two named characters to receive on-screen damage by Godzilla: Crisis Control Intelligence founder Mitsuo Katagiri, and the monster Orga.

“Godzilla vs. Mothra” (1992)

There were a number of films produced during Godzilla’s Heisei Era that served as sequels (of sorts) to the events that took place during 1991’s “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.” “Godzilla vs. Mothra” was one of those films, and pitted The King of the Monsters against The Queen of Infant Island for another kaiju battle match-up. Spoiler alert: Godzilla doesn’t win, although he does take down a male divine moth, named Battra, with a fatal bite to the neck. Aside from this, “Godzilla vs. Mothra” also chalks up 36 soldiers and approximately 174 citizens that run afoul of all the chaos surrounding each attack.

“Shin Godzilla” (2016)

The image and creature design of Godzilla received a welcome upgrade with 2016’s “Shin Godzilla,” and with this came a whole new set of deadly abilities. That said, it’s Godzilla’s atomic breath that serves as the biggest dealer of death in this film. The King of the Monsters annihilates four named characters on screen with this attack. These include Cabinet Secretary Rando Yaguchi, Prime Minister Seiji Okochi, Tank Captain Ikeda and Defense Minister Reiko Hanamori. Elsewhere, the carnage of Shin Godzilla’s rampage is without prejudice or mercy, indiscriminately killing soldiers, civilians and families along the way.

“Invasion of Astro-Monster” (1965)

We don’t normally attempt to rationalize exactly how many individuals might happen to be within a structure, after Godzilla blows it up. Yet, this is exactly what we must do, if we’re to properly analyze how many meet their maker during 1965’s “Invasion of Astro-Monster.” Godzilla and Rodan effectively share grisly credit on this film, since an approximate total of 371 civilians and 45 soldiers die after Godzilla and Rodan fall under alien mind control. These aliens, The Xiliens, also receive their comeuppance by the film’s end, however, with 25 of their number biting the dust.

“Godzilla vs. Kong” (2021)

Comic book movie fans will likely recall the controversy both Marvel and DC faced in terms of the collateral damage associated with their CGI superhero battles. This, for better or worse, didn’t seem to affect 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong,” which…well, it features a LOT of that kind of stuff. Sure, there are a number of unnamed extras that we see get The Smackdown by Godzilla, both from the United States Air Force, as well as from Apex Cybernetics. Beyond this, however, there are over fifty-nine-hundred Navy men and women who fall during Godzilla’s attacks. Additionally, 69 citizens of Hong Kong die as Godzilla enters the area, preparing for his battle with King Kong.

“Destroy All Monsters” (1968)

This 1968 film may be titled “Destroy All Monsters,” but it’s the PEOPLE who are actually decimated by the end credits. That’s because the alien race known as the Kilaaks take over some of the world’s most dangerous monsters, and set them on a course for total destruction. Fans have estimated that Godzilla alone is responsible for the deaths of 19,300,000 people during his attack on New York City, although this number stands in contrast to lower urban population data from around this time. Setting this number aside, “Destroy All Monsters” still dwarfs nearly every other Godzilla film, with over two million dead during a shared Tokyo attack between Big G, Rodan, Mothra and Manda.

Did any of these entries surprise you? Let us know in the comments!