News

Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie Over the Rainbow Film Tops 1 Billion Yen

Staff of the Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie Over the Rainbow film revealed on Tuesday that the film has earned more than 1 billion yen (about US$9.03 million) at the box office in Japan as of February 22. The all-new work opened in Japan on January 4.

The film earned 98,963,900 yen (about US$911,690) in its first three days at the box office. The film ranked at #7 for earnings from January 4-6, but ranked at #8 in terms of tickets sold during the January 5-6 weekend. The film had sold more than 500,000 tickets at the box office in Japan as of January 30.

The television anime's cast and staff returned for the film. [Warning: The story summary below contain a spoiler for the television anime. Highlight text to read the spoiler.]
[In the film's story, Uranohoshi Girls' High School's idol group Aquors has won the final Love Live! contest.] While preparing to enroll at a new school, the first- and second-year students encounter unexpected trouble. Also, after heading for a graduation trip, the third-year students go missing. As they are separated, the Aquors members appreciate the weight of their togetherness for the first time. In order to move forward, they must decide how to react to their new situations.

The first Love Live! franchise film, Love Live! The School Idol Movie, ranked at #1 in terms of tickets sold and in earnings in June 2015. The film sold 251,811 tickets in its first two days, earning 400,235,800 yen (about US$3,240,900 at the time). The film opened in Japan on a Saturday instead of a Friday. The film eventually earned 2.84 billion yen (about US$26,163,074 by today's conversion).

The Love Live! Sunshine!! project was first announced in February 2015. The project's three key phrases are "Reader Participation," "Inspired by μ's," and "Seaside Town Setting." Fans chose the group's name Aqours by popular vote.

The first Love Live! Sunshine!! television anime premiered in July 2016. The second season ran from October to December 2017.

Source: The Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web