<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> ¥ 100 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> ¥ 183 million (US $1.6 million) </Td> </Tr> <P> Godzilla (ゴジラ, Gojira) is a 1954 Japanese science fiction kaiju film featuring Godzilla, produced and distributed by Toho . It is the first film in the Godzilla franchise and the first film in the Shōwa series . The film is directed by Ishirō Honda, with special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya and stars Akira Takarada, Momoko Kōchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, with Haruo Nakajima and Katsumi Tezuka as the performers for Godzilla . Nakajima would go on to portray the character until his retirement in 1972 . </P> <P> Godzilla went into production after Toho needed a project to replace a Japanese - Indonesian co-production that fell through . Tsuburaya originally opted for a giant octopus before the filmmakers decided on a dinosaur inspired design . The special effects were achieved with a stuntman donning a rubber suit crushing a miniature set of Tokyo . Principal photography and special effects were shot simultaneously by two different crews led by Honda and Tsuburaya, with the former lasting 51 days while the latter lasted 71 days . </P>

When did the first godzilla movie come out in japan