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When it comes to discussing iconic giant movie monsters, the word “King” gets thrown around a lot. Of course, one always has to mention 1933’s King Kong, with the titular character of that film having a legacy that spans more than nine decades. Then, there’s Godzilla, whose first appearance was in 1954, but has been featured in far more movies than Kong, and has arguably earned the title by now of “King of the Monsters.”
But then there’s also King Ghidorah, who’s appeared in 11 Godzilla and/or Mothra films to date, and stands as the King of the Monsters’s greatest rival (especially because Mothra, who’s similarly prolific, is sometimes an ally of Godzilla). King Ghidorah has a memorable design, too, taking on the appearance of a giant dragon with three heads. Every film Ghidorah makes an appearance in is ranked below, including the odd occasion when it was technically a variant of King Ghidorah who appeared, but excluding times when Ghidorah was only mentioned or seen in stock footage. Essentially, if a three-headed dragon showed up in either a Godzilla or Mothra film, it’s considered (and ranked) below.
11 ‘Godzilla: The Planet Eater’ (2018)
Directors: Kōbun Shizuno, Hiroyuki Seshita
It’s tempting to say that every Godzilla movie has value, because so many do… but then one remembers the existence of Godzilla: The Planet Eater, and moods get soured. This was the third part of an anime trilogy that had promise, as you’d expect the use of animation to grant filmmakers the ability to show all sorts of wild things. Think about the Spider-Verse films, for example, and how hard it would be to do some of that with a blend of live-action and computer animation.
Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters begins the trilogy with some promise, taking place in the distant future and having an Earth that’s been overrun by monsters. But then the second film, Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, really sags. And it just gets worse with the truly boring Godzilla: The Planet Eater, with not even the introduction of a (somewhat cool-looking) King Ghidorah doing much to spice up the final chapter of this trilogy. It’s not good. Next.
10 ‘Rebirth of Mothra’ (1996)
Director: Okihiro Yoneda
Though the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy has flaws, it’s considerably better than the aforementioned Godzilla anime trilogy. Between 1996 and 1998, there were three Mothra solo films that didn’t have any appearances from Godzilla, though King Ghidorah – or a variant of Ghidorah – did make an appearance in the first and third films. Perhaps it wasn’t a coincidence that 1997’s Ghidorah-free Rebirth of Mothra II was the weakest of the bunch.
Rebirth of Mothra (1996) shows that Mothra has what it takes to carry a movie, and pits the titular giant moth up against a version of Ghidorah known as Desghidorah, with both species of monster having a complex and violent history that spans millions of years. The film itself is not remarkable by kaiju movie standards, but it delivers enough action and creative special effects to make it worthwhile for fans of the genre.
9 ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ (2019)
Director: Michael Dougherty
It took 55 years for King Ghidorah to make a proper appearance in an American-produced Godzilla film, but the wait was generally worth it, because the monster makes a serious impression in 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. There’s a thrill to seeing monsters like Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra brought to life with the best special effects Hollywood has to offer, and the big scenes here all look appropriately expensive.
When there are monsters on screen, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is pretty damn good, but when things focus back on the humans, things can get pretty damn bad. It’s a very uneven movie, delivering some great sequences alongside some genuinely boring ground-level drama, but for the stuff that works (all those monster-heavy scenes), Godzilla: King of the Monsters is still worth checking out at least once.
8 ‘Rebirth of Mothra III’ (1998)
Director: Okihiro Yoneda
The best film in the Rebirth of Mothra trilogy is certainly 1998’s Rebirth of Mothra III, which proves to be a surprisingly epic conclusion to what had previously been a fairly decent run of Mothra films. Instead of Desghidorah, the central foe in Rebirth of Mothra III is King Ghidorah, and he’s an antagonist who proves too strong for Mothra to defeat near the film’s beginning.
As such, Rebirth of Mothra III becomes about using time travel to allow Mothra to go back in time and defeat a younger/weaker version of Ghidorah, preventing him from doing damage in the present. It’s a gonzo premise that’s kind of fun as long as you make the effort to just go along with it, and the wildness, fast pace, and plentiful action scenes make Rebirth of Mothra III a relatively underrated kaiju movie, all things considered.
7 ‘Godzilla vs. Gigan’ (1972)
Director: Jun Fukuda
The spotlight is naturally on Gigan in 1972’s Godzilla vs. Gigan, with the uniquely designed creature making an impression, enough to carry over and also appear in Godzilla vs. Megalon the following year. Godzilla vs. Gigan sees Gigan and King Ghidorah becoming a double threat for Godzilla, who himself is assisted in the battle against them by the continually underrated Anguirus.
Narratively, it’s familiar territory for the Godzilla series, with alien invaders using two giant monsters to try and take over Earth, with Godzilla – fully in his hero era – proving to be the planet’s defender. Godzilla vs. Gigan isn’t quite an outstanding Godzilla movie, but it’s certainly fun, as just about any old-school Godzilla movie that features appearances from multiple monsters ultimately ends up being.
6 ‘Invasion of Astro-Monster’ (1965)
Director: Ishirō Honda
Just like how the aforementioned Gigan got to be in two consecutive Godzilla movies, so too did King Ghidorah, who was impressive enough in his first film (released in 1964) to get another just one year later. That film was Invasion of Astro-Monster, which is about Ghidorah seemingly causing problems for another planet, leading to that planet’s inhabitants requesting to borrow Godzilla and Rodan from Earth to combat King Ghidorah.
Where things go from there doesn’t prove to be too surprising, but Invasion of Astro-Monster is nonetheless very entertaining and typically charming in that way only kaiju movies from the 1960s/1970s seem to be. It doesn’t mess around, telling its simple yet solid story in just 94 minutes and balancing the non-monster conflicts with the giant monster fights relatively well.
5 ‘Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah’ (1991)
Director: Kazuki Ōmori
A few years before Rebirth of Mothra III got a little wild with time travel, another movie featuring King Ghidorah used it narratively and the results were even more gonzo. Enter Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991), which sees Godzilla being a threat that could potentially be neutralized by going back in time to stop him from mutating… well, at least some seemingly helpful time travelers say that could work.
But such time travelers prove to be untrustworthy, and King Ghidorah factors into their plans to take over Earth, given that getting rid of Godzilla means there are no monsters that could effectively defeat Ghidorah. Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah is silly but also kind of awesome, and it’s a particularly good film for Ghidorah fans, as not only do you get regular King Ghidorah, but you also get to witness an upgraded version of the character known as Mecha-King Ghidorah.
4 ‘Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster’ (1964)
Director: Ishirō Honda
The first movie of King Ghidorah’s was such a big deal that he got to be in the title without even a mention of Godzilla, given Ghidorah’s first film was called Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster. Straight away, King Ghidorah was something special, and a monster who was able to stand out even at a time when giant monster movies seemed particularly popular, especially in Japan.
Ghidorah is introduced as a giant three-headed dragon from space, and a beast that seems hellbent on conquering the Earth, with friendlier monsters like Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan being the only things that might have a chance at stopping him. Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster is a fantastic debut for the titular character and one of the best films of Godzilla’s Showa era, being just the fifth Godzilla movie overall and debatably the best up until that point (other than the 1954 original).
3 ‘Destroy All Monsters’ (1968)
Director: Ishirō Honda
If your search for movies with lots of monster action brings you to Destroy All Monsters, then you’ve certainly ended up at the right place. It’s also a movie that showcases King Ghidorah at his most powerful, given the huge number of monsters that are required to defeat him near the film’s climax. The title really doesn’t lie when it comes to the whole “All Monsters” part.
Before the climax, though, other monsters prove a threat to humanity, owing to a devious alien race mind-controlling them and getting the creatures to attack cities. By the end, evil is defeated and there’s a return to the status quo, which also has the benefit of allowing for more sequels. The premise itself, though, was used again more than three decades later, and done arguably even better the second time around.
2 ‘Godzilla: Final Wars’ (2004)
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Like Destroy All Monsters, a big part of Godzilla: Final Wars involves aliens using monsters to weaken Earth and thereby take it over. Destroy All Monsters was intended to show off as many Godzilla-related monsters in the one film, but Godzilla: Final Wars got to dwarf it in this regard, doing something similar at a time when there were simply more monsters to showcase (including the variation of Godzilla seen in the infamous 1998 American film bearing the monster’s name).
By the end of Godzilla: Final Wars, things boil down to a battle between a very powerful Godzilla and an even more powerful version of Ghidorah, dubbed Keizer Ghidorah. The entire film is ridiculous and stuffed with so much action, but it’s also charming how silly Final Wars gets and how bold/unapologetic it feels. It might be too much for some, but those who like their Godzilla movies as big and goofy as possible will likely have a blast.
1 ‘Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack’ (2001)
Director: Shusuke Kaneko
If Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack isn’t the best Godzilla movie of all time, then it’s close, and could potentially be considered the best of the 21st century so far. Granted, that puts it up against other classics from the series like 2016’s Shin Godzilla and 2023’s Godzilla Minus One, but this 2001 film is brilliant, and one of the best kaiju movies ever made.
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack sees Godzilla at his most evil and unstoppable, with other monsters like Mothra, King Ghidorah, and Baragon being mythical beings summoned to stop Godzilla’s vengeful rampage. That does mean Ghidorah gets to play the hero for once, and it’s certainly a novelty, considering his usual status as an antagonist. That fact, plus the movie as a whole being awesome, makes this the best film featuring King Ghidorah made to date.
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