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Makoto Shinkai Adds Timely Ending Sequence to Weathering With You Film's TV Premiere
posted on by Egan Loo
Makoto Shinkai's Weathering With You film will make its over-the-air broadcast premiere on Sunday evening, and Shinkai supervised a special ending sequence exclusive to this airing. The preview images from the added sequence show an encouraging text message overlaid over scenes from the film.
The added ending sequence will run about one minute long for one night only on Sunday, after the feature film's regular ending credits. Its message will reflect on the meaning of the film's English title of "wishing to overcome harsh weather and hardships with you" — and on its timeliness, as Japan welcomes a new year after a year of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The sequence will run when TV Asahi normally airs a clip highlighting the sponsors of a film's airing.
The film opened in 359 theaters on 448 screens in Japan in July 2019. It became the #7 highest-earning domestic film of all time in Japan (now #8 after Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train) and was the highest-grossing film in Japan in 2019.
Overseas distributor GKIDS describes the story:
The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strongwilled girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky...
The film debuted in North America on January 15 and ranked at #2 at the box office in North America in its first two days. The film had earned an estimated total of US$6,552,876 in North America as of January 26. Weathering With You became the highest-grossing release from the distributor GKIDS after its first two days in event screenings, topping Mary and The Witch's Flower's US$2,418,404.
Source: Eiga Natalie
