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Gundam SEED FREEDOM Becomes Franchise's #1 All-Time Film at Japanese Box Office

The staff for the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM anime film announced on Tuesday that the film has sold 1.63 million tickets for 2.68 billion yen (about US$17.94 million) as of Monday, its 18th day in the Japanese box office. As a result, it is now the highest-earning film in the Gundam franchise at the Japanese box office, overtaking the 1982 Mobile Suit Gundam III: Encounters in Space anime film's 2.3 billion yen (US$15.5 million by current conversion).

The film sold 634,182 tickets for 1,065,983,130 yen (about US$7.20 million) in its first three days. This marked the Gundam franchise's highest three-day opening in box office earnings, and the biggest opening weekend for a film so far this year in Japan. The film topped Japan's box office in its first weekend.

The film opened in Japan on January 26. The film is planned for screenings in 56 countries and territories.

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed director Mitsuo Fukuda directed the film at Bandai Namco Filmworks. Fukuda also co-wrote the script along with his late wife Chiaki Morosawa and Liu Goto. Hisashi Hirai (Mobile Suit Gundam Seed) designed the characters.

Takanori Nishikawa (the artist also known as T.M. Revolution) performs the film's theme song "Freedom" with producer t.komuro (Tetsuya Komuro). See-Saw returned to the franchise to perform the ending song "Sarigiwa no Romantics" (Romantics Upon Parting), the first new music from the duo in two decades.

Source: Press release

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Disclosure: Bandai Namco Filmworks Inc. (Sunrise) is a non-controlling, minority shareholder in Anime News Network Inc.