| Director | Roland Emmerich |
|---|---|
| Budget | $125 million |
| Box office | $379 million |
An iguana nest is exposed to the fallout of a military nuclear test in French Polynesia. Some time later, a Japanese cannery vessel in the South Pacific is attacked by an unknown giant creature, with one fisherman surviving. While recovering in a hospital in Tahiti, the traumatized survivor is visited and questioned by a mysterious Frenchman. The survivor repeatedly replies "Gojira".
NRC scientist Dr. Niko "Nick" Tatopoulos is researching the effects of radiation on wildlife in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, when he is interrupted by an official from the U.S. State Department. Nick is re-assigned and sent to Panama and Jamaica to help the U.S. military investigate the destructive trail left by the creature. Nick identifies skin samples he discovered from a shipwreck as belonging to an unknown species. He dismisses the military's theory of the creature being a lost dinosaur, instead deducing it is a mutant created by nuclear testing in French Polynesia.
The creature drowns several fishing trawlers in the Eastern American Seaboard, and makes landfall in New York City, leaving a path of destruction. An evacuation soon follows and, on Nick's advice, the military set a trap by luring the creature with a large pile of fish. However, their attempt to kill it fails due to its speed and agility, causing further damage to the city before it escapes. Nick collects a blood sample and performs a pregnancy test, discovering that the creature reproduces asexually, and is about to lay eggs. Nick also meets up with his ex-girlfriend Audrey Timmonds, a young aspiring news reporter. Unnoticed by Nick, she uncovers a classified tape in his provisional tent concerning the monster's origins. She steals it and hopes to have her report put on TV to launch her career as a news reporter. However, her superior, Charles Caiman, steals her report, and dubs the creature "Godzilla".
As a result of the tape's leak, Nick is removed from the operation, and he ends his relationship with Audrey. Hoping to talk sense to him, Audrey's friend and cameraman Victor "Animal" Palotti follows Nick's taxi, hijacked by the mysterious Frenchman, who identifies himself as Philippe Roaché, a French secret service agent. Unbeknownst to them, Animal tails them to a warehouse and eavesdrops on them. Philippe explains that he and his colleagues have been closely watching the events to cover up their country's role in the nuclear testing that created Godzilla. They suspect a nest somewhere in the city, and cooperate with Nick to trace and destroy it. A guilt-ridden Audrey agrees to join Animal in following Nick and the Frenchmen, hoping to set things right with Nick. Godzilla resurfaces, and evades a second military strike. After diving into the Hudson River, it is attacked by Navy submarines. Godzilla sinks to the river bed and is believed to be dead.
Meanwhile, Nick and Philippe's team, followed by Audrey and Animal, find the nest inside Madison Square Garden. The eggs begin to hatch, and the offsprings attack the team as they carry the scent of fish. Nick, Animal, Audrey, and Philippe take refuge in the Garden's broadcast booth, and successfully send a live news coverage to alert the military of the offsprings presence. A prompt airstrike is launched as the four escape moments before the Air Force bomb the arena.
Audrey and Nick reconcile before Godzilla, having survived, emerges from the Garden's ruins. Enraged by the deaths of its young, it chases them across Manhattan as they escape via Taxi. They manage to trap Godzilla within the suspension cables of the Brooklyn Bridge, allowing the returning jets to strike it down with missiles. Godzilla collapses and dies from its wounds, inciting citizens and authorities celebrate. Audrey quits working for Caiman before leaving with Nick and Animal. Philippe, having taken Animal's tape and promising to return it after removing specific contents, thanks Nick for his help and parts ways.
Meanwhile, in the ruins of Madison Square Garden, a single surviving egg hatches, and the hatchling roars to life.