Last week, the Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM anime film reclaimed the top spot in the Japanese box office after dropping to #2 on its third weekend. The film sold 247,000 tickets, earning 449,185,600 yen ($2.98 million USD) from Friday to Sunday. To date, the movie has sold 1.63 million tickets, earning 2.68 billion yen ($17.94 million USD).
Highest-Earning Film in Gundam Franchise
The film has become the highest-earning film in the Gundam franchise, surpassing Gundam III: Encounters in Space.
Strong Start in Japanese Box Office
During its first ten days of screening in Japan, the movie sold 1,215,558 tickets and earned 1,965,922,900 yen (13.24 million USD) in its first two weeks.
Premiere Success
The movie premiered in 352 theaters across Japan on January 26, earning 1,065,953,130 yen in its first weekend and securing the #1 spot in the rankings. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM is the most successful first-week box office hit in the Gundam franchise to date.
Top-Grossing Film in Gundam Franchise
The first top-grossing film in the Gundam franchise was Mobile Suit Gundam: Encounters in Space, the third of the compilation film series of the Mobile Suit Gundam TV anime series. The film earned 2.3 billion yen (15.5 million USD) in the box office in 1982.
Movie Description
The Japanese website Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM describes the movie as follows:
Cosmic Era (C.E.)
An era where a genetically engineered humankind with enhanced brains and strength (Coordinators), and naturally born humankind (Naturals) exist together.
A war had previously raged on between the Coordinator and the Naturals in a clash of ideals in regards to their own self beings.
During the time, the Destiny Plan had been brought up which would may have created a world without war, but each individuals would be forcibly given a role to play.
To protect the humanity’s freedom to choose their future and hope, the Destiny Plan was rejected in the battle.
With many sacrifices, the war had ended.
However despite so, conflict and hate between the two humankind still continue to happen throughout the world.
Future Screenings
There is still no word yet as to when the movie will be screening in other regions.
Source: Kogyo Tsushin
