Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time is seeking to tell the final chapter of the Rebuild of Evangelion film franchise, and it’s clear that following a number of delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic has fans chomping at the bit to see how the story of NERV comes to a close as the movie shatters box office records. Though the movie was able to make some serious bank in its opening day earlier this week, its in its IMAX performance that the final installment of Shinji Ikari and his fellow Eva pilots truly shines.
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On its opening day, the final film of the Rebuild of Evangelion series scored a box office debut of around $7.6 million USD, with the IMAX performance netting around $740,000 USD by day’s end. With Thrice Upon A Time being one of the longest anime movies ever released, holding a run time of over two and a half hours, this is equally impressive considering that shorter movies will often have an advantage when it comes to being able to pack more showings per day at theaters. Though the future of Neon Genesis Evangelion is anyone’s guess at this point, it’s clear that the final Rebuild film is looking to go out with a bang.
One of the major competitors to Evangelion is a movie that has been out in theaters in Japan for months, as Demon Slayer: Mugen Train continues to tear up the box office and has recently once again hit the number one spot for most profitable movies. While the stories and characters of these films could not be more different, they both hold an unfortunate thing in common in the fact that we currently don’t have a North American release date for either movie.
Evangelion fans might not know the future of the anime franchise, but a special Blu-Ray collector’s edition that collects the original television series will be landing later this year, giving anime fans that first opportunity to add the series to their collection in Blu-Ray format. Needless to say, it’s clear that while Evangelion might not be able to challenge Demon Slayer for its crown in theaters, it will be pulling in some serious bank during its theatrical run.
What do you think of Thrice Upon A Time shattering records on its first day? 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.