Evangelion’s Final Film Has Crossed a Big Franchise Record

The Rebuild of Evangelion movie franchise has retold the story created by Hideaki Anno in Neon Genesis Evangelion with new characters and story beats, and it seems as if Thrice Upon A Time is continuing to shatter records during its theatrical run in Japan. While a North American release has yet to be revealed for fans waiting to see how the Rebuild series will come to a close, based on the popularity of the franchise, we definitely wouldn’t be surprised if we were to see the final story of NERV and the EVA pilots arrive at some point this year.

In Japanese theaters, Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0: Thrice Upon A Time has sold over five million tickets so far, which equates to over $74 Million USD in overall sales. Having been released on the big screen around fifty days ago, the movie, which is one of the longest anime films of all time, had some big competition with the juggernaut of Demon Slayer: Mugen Train remaining at the top of the heap as the most profitable movie released in Japan. With Demon Slayer’s first movie being released in theaters in North America and hitting number two for last weekend, it’s clear that anime is only on the way up in the West.

Hideaki Anno, the creator of Neon Genesis Evangelion, has held a significant role in the world of NERV though it doesn’t seem as if he’ll be returning to this world any time soon. Following his work on the lizard king in the re-imagined Shin Godzilla, the anime creator is currently working on two new entries of the “Shin” franchise with Shin Ultraman and Shin Kamen Rider respectively. Anno’s involvement in these films actually allowed for an insane crossover to take place between the pilots of NERV and Shin Godzilla that arose as an attraction at Universal Studios Japan.

Evangelion made waves in the past years thanks to becoming a part of Netflix’s anime library, though controversy followed as fans found changes made to both the soundtrack and script for the series that was brought back. While the future of the series remains a mystery, it will remain a legendary example of what anime can accomplish when it comes to storytelling.

Do you think Thrice Upon A Time will come to Western theaters? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of NERV.

Via ANN