Forum - View topicAnswerman - Why Isn't More Anime Shown in US Theaters?
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Angel M Cazares
 Posts: 5517 Location: Iscandar |
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The person asking the question seems to be ignoring that in the last 2-3 years a handful of anime films have been screened on theaters. (Like Justin mentions), Aniplex USA and Funimation have been the biggest pushers of anime films on theater.
I have not been following the anime scene closely for that long, but have not the last few years been characterized by having more anime films shown in theater than in the previous 5-10 years? |
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AnimeAddict2014
 Posts: 925 |
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anime will never gain enough popularity here like it is in japan
i guess it's a culture thing.. don't expect the whole population to just change their mind and start to drive cars with some anime girl painted on it, sleeping with some anime girl pill, using some anime girls boobs mousepad, etc.. it will remain niche for a long.. long time.. and probably will never catch on.. they released arrietty (dubbed) in my local theater back then.. so i thought it would be the same for marnie.. but i guess not.. **reminded me of the Interview-- available at limited theaters.. but as long it's out on blu-ray.. i guess that's better than nothing.. |
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WashuTakahashi
 Posts: 415 Location: Chicago, IL |
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It's disappointing that more anime aren't released in theaters, but not at all unexpected. I remember seeing "Bleach: Memories of Nobody" in theaters a few years back, pretty sure that was through fathom events since it was actually playing at a local-enough-to-drive-to theater. I was really looking forward to the Love Live movie playing in Chicago, and was actually going to make the trek out there despite my disdain for the city...but somehow Chicago failed to get it. That was disappointing...
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prime_pm
 Posts: 2378 Location: Your Mother's Bedroom |
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I just saw Expelled From Paradise last month on Netflix. Meh. Cool concept I guess, but could have been better.
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navycherub
 Posts: 233 |
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Yeah, recently I feel like we've been seeing more weekends booked for movies, not less, like the Madoka films, Expelled from Paradise, and even the Love Live movie of all things. |
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xchampion
 Posts: 370 Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho |
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It has been years since an anime has been been given a wide release in theaters which is when a movie is shown on more than 500 screens. I think the last major one was Ponyo and that didn't do that well. Hence why the recent Studio Ghibli films like The Wind Rises and Marnie Was There have been given limited releases. The only anime films that actually did really well in US theaters money wise was Pokemon The Movie, Pokemon 2000, and Pokemon 3. They made $85,744,662, $43,758,684, and $17,052,128 respectively. As you can see they even less money as each movie came out. They stopped releasing them theatrically after Pokemon Heroes because that and Pokemon 4Ever bombed at the box office. Even Digimon The Movie only made $9,631,153. That didn't do that well either. Anime movies in general don't really do that well numbers wise. Even Battle of Gods was only in theaters for a week and it made $2,553,002. That seems like a good number but I doubt Funimation actually made money doing the the release. It was more of a favor to the fans, hence why they are doing it again. I don't see any anime film getting a wide release in the US theatrically anytime soon. The money is just not there and the numbers don't support. Limited releases are the best we are probably going to get. Like it was said if you don't live in a area with a big population you probably won't get those movies anyway. On the good side it seems Resurrection of Freiza is going to get a decent release in theaters, but I believe that is also a Fathom Even if I am not mistaken. I will be seeing that movie in theaters to support it myself
Last edited by xchampion on Thu Jul 16, 2015 1:59 pm; edited 3 times in total |
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andyscout
Posts: 36 |
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It's funny you mention Expelled From Paradise because that did get a (very limited) theatrical run in the U.S. One of the local art house theaters near me showed it and I ended up going. Aniplex US has been doing pretty good at bringing over a number of movies, often with just a month or two gap from the Japanese release. I will say, Expelled had a very modest turnout. I saw the Madoka movies and the Eva Rebuild movies in the same theater and they were sold out for each of those however Expelled only filled about half the already modest theater.
The Love Live movie is getting a limited release later this year as well and I know that's one I'll be going to. 
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mrakai
Posts: 42 |
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Most theatrical non-Ghibli anime releases these days (at least from Viz and Aniplex, not sure about Funimation) are actually handled through Eleven Arts.
Eleven Arts handles the logistics of theater booking and digital film distribution, and takes a cut of the gross. |
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Saffire
 Posts: 1256 Location: Iowa, USA |
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Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 7584 Location: Wales |
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Random possession time:
I have a Canadian press pack for the Digimon movie https://plus.google.com/photos/+shirobane/albums/5211094775076888785/5211095341012270050?pid=5211095341012270050&oid=103684072635496603058 On the addendum: I remember some Tokyopop books that definitely looked like they had been scanned in an retouched, especially where I also owned the Japanese books like for Chobits (which were also printed on whiter paper). |
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Gasero
 Posts: 939 Location: USA |
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The audience simply isn't present in US theaters to justify the cost of showing.
I remember in late 1990s when Pokemon was at the height of its popularity (from my perspective at least). Even that Pokemon The First Movie release was barely enough to justify future theatrical releases and eventually they did stop (EDIT: Pokemon movies didn't CONTINUE making enough to justify theatrical releases. The fourth theatrical release in 2002 was the last) If Pokemon won't show in theaters...what can? Last edited by Gasero on Thu Jul 16, 2015 2:18 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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xchampion
Posts: 370 Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho |
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I should have mention it in my post but Battle of Gods might have been shown in that many theaters but I don't really count it as a wide release. That is because it was only shown for 4 days in a one week period with one or two showing at most each day. It was a fathom event release as well so those don't really count as wide releases. I guess it is technically is but its more of a loop hole than anything else. lol
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yamiangie
 Posts: 465 |
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You know I just assumed in general that Dark Horse or Viz were not the ones who had to resort to microwaving manga to unbind pages. I expect an actual comic book company like Dark horse to that the time and persistence to get quality materiel to work with.
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WashuTakahashi
Posts: 415 Location: Chicago, IL |
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Not entirely true. The Victini Movie for Pokemon X/Y was shown in theaters. i'm not sure just how many theaters, but it was at my local small-ish theater so I wouldn't think it was too limited. It did pretty well at my theater. It probably seats over 100 and was about 3.4th full when I went. |
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Shirohae
 Posts: 776 |
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The Last Naruto the Movie was awesome at the Theater!
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