Promare Crosses Major U.S. Box Office Milestone

Studio Trigger burned down the house with their first feature film effort Promare, and it's been [...]

By Nick Valdez

Studio Trigger burned down the house with their first feature film effort Promare, and it's been the talk of anime fans for the past few months. This was especially true for when the film finally made its way through United States theaters thanks to GKIDS, and the film got a resurgence recently when it held special "Redux" screenings for a couple days in December. But while the film was already performing well at the box office before, the second screenings have pushed it to a whole new milestone.

The official GKIDS Films Twitter account announced that Promare has officially crossed the $2 million USD mark through the United States box office thanks to its secondary screenings and 4DX events.

Combined with its international box office totals of around $7 million USD, this new domestic total brings the film's overall box office to nearly $10 million USD. This is especially impressive for any anime film release in general -- coupled with its limited release -- and it's going to be a huge stamp for Studio Trigger as they move onto future projects.

Directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and written by Kazuki Nakashima, who have previously collaborated for fan-favorite Studio Trigger projects Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Kill la Kill, GKIDS brought Promare to United States theaters last September and rounded out its United States run with an extra screening this month. GKIDS officially describes Promare as such:

"The first feature-length film from the acclaimed studio TRIGGER, creators of the hit series Kill la Kill and Little Witch Academia, and director Hiroyuki Imaishi (Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill), Promare uses a bold cel-shaded visual style to tell a blistering action-adventure story, and is the spiritual successor to many of director Imaishi's former works. Thirty years have passed since the appearance of Burnish, a race of flame-wielding mutant beings, who destroyed half of the world with fire. When a new group of aggressive mutants calling themselves "Mad Burnish" appears, the epic battle between Galo Thymos, a new member of the anti-Burnish rescue team "Burning Rescue," and Lio Fotia, the leader of "Mad Burnish" begins."

You can read our spoiler-free review of the film here, but here's an excerpt to get you started, "It should be immediately apparent through trailers and promotional materials that Promare is pure eye candy. Not only do the characters move with a stunning fluidity boosted by how the film bends and contorts its characters in order to deliver a more dynamic action sequence, but there's a great deal of attention paid to how these action scenes are staged. Intelligent camera work makes the exaggerated character moves pop even more on screen, and this pop is further emphasized by the film's color palette. A blend of pleasing hues highlighting character designs in fun ways, Promare is almost always jumping out of the screen."

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