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Stand By Me Doraemon 3D CG Film to Open in 21 Countries
posted on by Kyle Cardine
Stand By Me Doraemon, the first 3D CG film starring the anime robot cat Doraemon, will play in 21 more countries and territories after opening in Japan this month.
The countries and territories in Asia include South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei*, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos*, Cambodia*, Myanmar*, the Philippines*, and Indonesia. The European release includes Italy*, San Marino*, Vatican City*, Malta*, Monaco*, Switzerland*, and Spain. It will be the first Doraemon movie in the asterisked countries and territories.
Stand By Me Doraemon opened two weekends ago at #1 at the Japanese box office. It stayed at #1 for a second weekend by selling 502,607 more tickets for 701,619,400 yen (about US$6.8 million). After 10 days, it has now sold a grand total of 2.44 million tickets for 3.27 billion yen (US$32 million).
The manga creator duo Fujiko Fujio (Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko) created Doraemon in 1969. In the story, the robotic cat was sent by a boy in the future to the present day to help the boy's hapless grandfather, Nobita. Doraemon, Nobita, and other children deal with everyday childhood issues, solve (and cause) problems with the gadgets in Doraemon's fourth-dimensional pocket, and embark on escapades through time and space.
49-year-old Takashi Yamazaki (Returner, Always: Sunset on Third Street, Ballad, Space Battleship Yamato) and 48-year-old Ryûichi Yagi (Pénélope tête en l'air line director, Moyashimon 3D CG director) are helming this 36th Doraemon film after collaborating on Japan's first feature-length 3D CG anime film, Friends: Mononoke Shima no Naki. Yamazaki also wrote the screenplay.
The 2D Doraemon television series has been running in 35 countries and territories. It premiered in the United States just last month.
Sources: Oricon Style, Cinema Today
