Godzilla 2000: Millennium (ゴジラ2000 ミレニアム, Gojira Nisen: Mireniamu) is a 1999 Japanese kaiju film directed by Takao Okawara, written by Hiroshi Kashiwabara and Wataru Mimura, produced by Shogo Tomiyama and starring Takehiro Murata, Hiroshi Abe, Naomi Nishida, Mayu Suzuki and Shiro Sano. Produced and distributed by Toho Studios, it is the 24th film in the Godzilla franchise, as well as the first film in the franchise's Millennium period. The film was also the 23rd Godzilla film to be produced by Toho, and was Toho's second reboot of the Godzilla franchise after the 1984 film The Return of Godzilla. The film, along with the subsequent Godzilla films in the franchise's Millennium era, ignores continuity established by any previous films with the sole exception of the original 1954 film. Godzilla 2000 was released in Japan on December 11, 1999 and in North America on August 18, 2000, by TriStar Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics and performed below TriStar's expectations, grossing just over $10 million at the North American box office. It was the last film in the franchise to receive a North American theatrical release until Shin Godzilla in 2016.