Akira Anime Film's 4K Re-Release Opens With US$3.1 Million in U.S.

Box Office Mojo reported that the re-release of Katsuhiro Ōtomo 's Akira anime film has earned an estimated US$3,175,000 during its opening holiday weekend from Friday to Monday (Labor Day). The film earned US $1,220,000 on its opening day on Friday, US $725,000 on Saturday, US $695,000 on Sunday, and an estimated US$535,000 on Monday.

Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment started screening the film in select theaters in the United States and Canada in 4K and IMAX on Friday, September 4. The release is available both in Japanese with English subtitles and with an English dub .

Crunchyroll describes the anime:

Iconic and game-changing, AKIRA is the definitive anime masterpiece! Katsuhiro Ōtomo 's landmark cyberpunk classic obliterated the boundaries of Japanese animation and forced the world to look into the future. AKIRA 's arrival shattered traditional thinking, creating space for future generations of ground-breaking movies. July, 1988— World War III breaks loose. Then, in 2019, in megalopolis Tokyo... As the leader of a group of young robust delinquents, Kaneda spent his nights tearing through the urban wastes, racing his motorbike against rival groups. One night while riding with his gang, his friend Tetsuo suddenly encounters a strange boy― the product of human experimentation— and is injured in the ensuing crash. Shortly thereafter, a military squadron appears on the scene to take the boy and Tetsuo away to an army research facility. Determined to free Tetsuo from capture, Kaneda sneaks into the army research lab. However, a regimen of extreme experimental procedures has awakened a new power in his friend, and now he is consumed by madness…

Otomo began his career as a manga creator on such works as Domu , Kibun wa mō Sensō , and his most famous title internationally, Akira . He then branched into animation by directing part of the Robot Carnival omnibus and a feature film adaptation of his own Akira story. He directed other anime projects such as the Memories omnibus, the Gundam: Mission to the Rise event short, and the Steamboy feature. He also collaborated on Harmagedon , Roujin Z , Spriggan , Metropolis , Freedom Project and Hipira: The Little Vampire .

Otomo recently founded a new feature animation studio called OVAL GEAR based in Tokyo. The studio's first title is currently in production.

Source: Box Office Mojo ( link 2 )