Godzilla (2014)

Released on May 16, 2014 on a $160 million budget, Godzilla launched Legendary Pictures' Monsterverse and revived Hollywood's appetite for Toho's flagship monster after 1998's misstep. When parasitic MUTOs awaken from a Japanese nuclear plant and Nevada waste site, U.S. Navy EOD officer Ford Brody and Monarch scientist Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) track an ancient 355-foot Godzilla to San Francisco. Grossing $529.1 million worldwide, its success directly spurred Toho to greenlight Shin Godzilla in 2016.