Godzilla Minus One becomes the most pirated movie in the world

It’s been less than a week since Godzilla Minus One started streaming in Japan, and it’s already become the most pirated movie worldwide right now.

In lieu of Godzilla Minus One streaming in the US or other territories, fans have resorted to desperate measures to watch the Oscar-winning movie.

According to Torrent Freak, it’s topped the piracy chart since coming to Prime Video in Japan, ranking above other new movies like Dune: Part Two, Arcadian, and The Idea of You.

It was added to Amazon’s streaming service on May 1, but here’s the thing: you’ll need a VPN to access it, and even if you manage to bypass the platform’s geo-lock restrictions, it doesn’t come with English subtitles or any dubbed versions of the film. Some fans have provided subtitles after painstakingly translating the movie, but they’ll likely contain inaccuracies or be slightly out of sync.

While it was inevitable that people would find a way to download Prime Video’s copy, there’s another factor to consider: Godzilla Minus One’s Blu-ray release in Japan, which coincided with the movie coming to streaming. This version would be even easier to upload online, hence the huge flood of torrents over the past week.

Unfortunately, for everyone else, there’s still no easy (or legal) way to watch it with English subtitles, and there’s been no updates on when it’ll come to streaming or physical in the US or elsewhere. Shin Godzilla came to Blu-ray in North America four months after Japan’s home entertainment release (some have speculated this is to prevent Japanese audiences from importing cheaper versions of the same film), so we may be waiting until September or even later.

“If you don’t want us to pirate Godzilla Minus One @Godzilla_Toho THEN LET US BUY IT! Piracy numbers on this thing gonna go sky high. Already seen one place that had to throttle the downloads because so many people were rushing it. How much money you losing on this?” one user complained.

“I’m not DEFENDING piracy. You should pay for the things you watch! But when a movie is as discussed and celebrated as this one, and then TOTALLY UNAVAILABLE for months outside of its home country… some piracy is inevitable. Who’s shocked by this?” another argued.

Meanwhile, one user wrote: “When I was a kid we were lucky if we only had to wait 9 months to rent a theatrical release. The generation before mine had to hope and pray a favorite of theirs would be re-released or air on one of, like, 7 TV channels. ‘I want it now’ is not a real justification for piracy.”

In the meantime, you can find out what we know about a Godzilla Minus One sequel and other new movies coming to cinemas.