Godzilla (1998 film) however, was not without its supporters. Kevin Thomas of the "Los Angeles Times", wrote that the film was an "expertly designed theme park ride of a movie that packs nonstop thrills." In a slightly positive fashion, Gary Kamiya of Salon commented that "The plot is about as ridiculous as you'd expect, but for the most part its absurdities are tolerable." Joe Leydon of "Variety" contributed mildly to the positive sentiment by saying "Throughout "Godzilla", New York endures the most sustained rainfall in all of movie history. Most of the action takes place at night, but even the daytime scenes unfold
Godzilla (1998 film) However, poor merchandise sales for the film led to a cancellation of a toyline based on the animated series. Robert Fried had estimated that $80 million was spent on marketing worldwide. The Wall Street Journal reported that the film would need to earn $240 million domestically in order to be considered a success. "Godzilla" was released worldwide on May 20, 1998. Sony expected the film to earn $100 million during the film's opening weekend, which fell on Memorial Day weekend. The film instead earned $55 million on its opening weekend and $74 million one week after its release, below industry