Godzilla just broke a 72-year streak. "Godzilla Minus Zero," the follow-up to the Oscar-winning "Godzilla Minus One," had its world premiere Friday night at Alice Tully Hall as part of the 64th New York Film Festival, and it walked in carrying something no Godzilla movie has ever had before: an R rating.

The MPA slapped the sequel with an R for "violent content/bloody images," the first time in the character's history — spanning 38 films since 1954 — that a Godzilla movie has skipped the family-friendly PG lane. Director Takashi Yamazaki, who also wrote the script and oversaw visual effects, told press the harder edge was non-negotiable.

"Censoring it or cutting it was just not an option for me," Yamazaki said, defending the decision even as he acknowledged studios generally prefer the broader audience a lower rating brings.

By most accounts, the gamble worked. Critics and NYFF crowds erupted with mid-screening applause during the film's action sequences, and early reviews landed the film at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes and 78 on Metacritic, according to World of Reel's tracking of first reactions. Some reviewers reached for heavyweight comparisons, invoking "The Dark Knight" and "The Godfather Part II" to describe how the sequel builds on its predecessor.

Following an Oscar winner

That predecessor is no small shadow to escape. "Godzilla Minus One" won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects at the 96th Oscars and premiered to a near-perfect 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, so a 93% follow-up is still a strong showing even if it doesn't quite match the original's reception. "Minus Zero" brings back stars Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe, is set in 1949, and sends the monster stomping through New York City — a fitting backdrop for its own U.S. festival bow.

Yamazaki also confirmed the film is the first Japanese feature shot specifically for IMAX screens, part of a bigger swing at scale that reviewers say pays off in the film's set pieces. According to Yahoo's report from the premiere, Yamazaki asked audiences to hold off on spoilers, noting the franchise's global fanbase deserves to see it cold.

The film is also set to serve as the centerpiece selection at the Tokyo International Film Festival, cementing its status as one of the year's biggest genre releases on both sides of the Pacific, per Variety's coverage of the NYFF rollout.

"Godzilla Minus Zero" opens in Japan November 3 and hits U.S. theaters November 6 — giving fans a little over a month to speculate about exactly how far the King of the Monsters is willing to go now that the gloves, and the rating, are off.