Film financial success-tracking website Box Office Mojo has revealed that Trigger Studio’s original anime film Promare made approximately $467,007 during its limited screening through Fathom Events this past Thursday, which made it the 3rd highest-grossing film in the US that day. For an anime film not attached to any pre-existing franchise or larger studio such as Ghibli, this is a fairly strong accomplishment.
Promare is the first feature film from Studio Trigger, the Japanese animation studio behind projects such as Kill La Kill and Little Witch Academia, as well as animation assistance with numerous western projects including television and video games. The film was also directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi, well-known for his work in the past on Gurren Lagaan, Dead Leaves, and Panty & Stocking With Garterbelt. The film’s plot involves an alternative Earth future where a mutation has exploded amongst the human population, turning countless citizens into a new race of people called “Burnish”, who are capable of causing massive damage with their loose control over intense pyrokinesis. Galos Thymos, a new member of the firefighting brigade team dubbed “Burning Rescue”, goes head-to-head with the leader of the terrorist group “Mad Burnish” Lio Fotia, and the two fight it out to see which group will come out on top.
Promare was screened in American theaters by Fathom Events and was distributed by GKIDS, a New York-based distributor of animated films from all over the world seeking to help works that may otherwise fly under the radar outside their own countries gain further traction. GKIDS and Fathom Events are currently running Studio Ghibli Fest 2019 in select theaters across America, airing fan-favorite films from Studio Ghibli across the year, and GKIDS also sells a variety of DVDs and Blu-Rays for all sorts of animated films. With growing support for Western anime releases through Fathom Events in America and companies like GKIDS pushing for more easily available access to non-Western animation, one might wonder if greater success for anime films like Promare may continue to grow in the future.
Promare will be screened in Canada from the 22nd to the 24th of September, and tickets can be purchased online now for select locations.
Greyson Ditzler is a freelance writer, aspiring author, and YouTuber. He loves games of all kinds and is always looking for something new and interesting to try. When he isn’t writing you can likely find him speedrunning Donut County or trying to convince his friends that Danganronpa is actually really cool. He can also beat the first world in Super Meat Boy without dying while wearing oven mitts.
