Funimation Films has acquired the highly anticipated Japanese animated film One Piece Film: Gold from Toei Animation. The film, from Eiichiro Oda, original creator and executive producer of the One Piece anime series, is the 13th film in the franchise and the first since 2012.
One Piece Film: Gold has been a smash hit in Japan and has grossed more than $47.8 million at the box office – making it the biggest One Piece movie ever and the sixth highest grossing film of the year. Funimation Films will distribute the movie in both the U.S. and Canada as a limited theatrical event from January 10 – 17, 2017. Ticket sales will be announced in the coming weeks.
"Fans have been clamoring for news on One Piece Film: Gold and we're excited to announce that we'll be bringing this blockbuster movie to U.S. and Canadian audiences," said Gen Fukunaga, CEO and president of Funimation. "We're confident that this film will create a new generation of fans for the franchise as well as grow the audience for its animated series."
One Piece Film: Gold premiered this past summer in Japan and grossed $10.9 million during its opening weekend with 821,100 tickets sold. The film has been well received by both fans and the media. Otaku USA Magazine praised it saying, "Gold manages to accomplish the goals of any good summer popcorn flick, filling its two-hour runtime with laughs and large-scale action set pieces."
"One Piece Film: Gold is a new milestone for the worldwide phenomena that is One Piece," said Mike DuBoise, executive vice president and COO of Funimation. "We're pleased to add this film to our long history with the One Piece franchise. Fans will not be disappointed when they see it in theaters."
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