Sword Art Online Movie Leaks Threaten Future Theatrical Releases

Last week, Sword Art Online made a long-awaited comeback when it debuted a new feature film. Titled Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale, the new movie brings heroes like Kirito and Asuna back to fans as they undergo another tech-savvy journey. So far, the film has left a deep impression at Japan's box office as the film has crushed gross expectations. However, it seems like other markets may not see movies like it return to theaters thanks to a seedy leak in southeast Asia.

MORE: Sword Art Online Season 3 Reportedly Announced

After debuting in Japan, the film made its way to South Asia where screenings resulted in leaks. Various recordings have now appeared online which range between a few seconds to nearly ten minutes of footage. As such, the distributor of Sword Art Online in countries like Singapore and the Philippines has released a statement about the issue. And, as expected, ODEX is not pleased with the breach.

Over on Facebook, the company posted a stern message regarding the leak. Here's what they had to say:

"We received a notice from Japan that there are SAO movie video leaks ranging from 10 secs to 8 mins; and the source was traced to Singapore & Malaysia's Fan Screening on 18 Feb 2017

Regardless of the reason or circumstances surrounding the unauthorised recording of the movie, this incident has serious repercussions on our local anime community.

The irresponsible actions of the minority who carried out the unauthorised recording drew flak from Japanese licensors because this is a serious infringement of copyright, resulting in the very likelihood of Singapore and Malaysia being blacklisted for future anime film release.

While ODEX is doing its utmost to limit the damage suffered, we seek your help to alert the cinema management of any unauthorised photography or videography taking place during the screenings.

We work to bring the latest and popular anime movies to the big screens of Singapore and Malaysia, this will not be possible if there are movie leaks damaging the integrity of our local anime community."

So, bottom line: don't record. If you want to keep anime theatrical screenings around, then fans should probably be supporting the titles through official avenues. When the Sword Art Online film screens in the U.S. next month, the note is something audiences should keep in mind.

You can check out the synopsis for Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale below:

"In 2022, the world of virtual reality was upended by the arrival of a new invention from a genius programmer, Akihiko Kayaba, called NerveGear. It was the first full-dive system, and with it, came endless possibilities to VRMMORPGs.

In 2026, a new machine called the Augma is developed to compete against the NerveGear and its successor, the Amusphere. A next-gen wearable device, the Augma doesn't have a full-dive function like its predecessors. Instead, it uses Augmented Reality (AR) to get players into the game. It is safe, user-friendly and lets users play while they are conscious, making it an instant hit on the market. The most popular game on the system is "Ordinal Scale" (aka: OS), an ARMMORPG developed exclusively for the Augma. Asuna and the gang have already been playing OS for a while, by the time Kirito decides to join them. They're about to find out that Ordinal Scale isn't all fun and games…"

If you want to see the film on the big screen, then you can do just that. Fathom Events will be showing the movie around the U.S. with a limited release. You can see where the movie is playing near you and buy tickets at Fathom Events now.

[HT] Crunchyroll