So, ah… in a sleep-deprived rush, we buried the lede on this one last night. Sorry ’bout that.
Yesterday, the live-action Gintama movie’s official Twitter account announced that the feature will receive a theatrical run in China. The film will be shown on over 8,000 screens across the nation, starting September 1. Over 12,000 screens will show the film across the Chinese mainland.
Gintama will be the largest-scale release for a Japanese film in the history of Chinese cinema. The run will dwarf Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name., which ran in 7,000 theaters last December.
Director Yuichi Fukuda commented on the news, stating:
When I heard about the number of screens for the run, I just couldn’t fathom the possibility, because it was so different from Japan. I heard that Gintama was also extremely popular in China. I just pray that we’re able to meet their expectations, somehow.
Gintama opened in Japanese theaters on July 14. In its first six weeks, the movie managed to bring in 3.48 billion yen ($31,796,794.80 USD). It’s expected to become the highest-grossing live-action movie this summer.
The film opened in Australian and New Zealand theaters earlier this month, and has already been released in Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, and Hong Kong. Theatrical screenings are currently planned for the following regions:
- United States
- Canada
- Germany
- Philippines
- Indonesia
- Thailand
- Malaysia
- Spain
- Australia
- New Zealand
The feature will also screen in several “Middle-South American Countries.”
The United States and German releases were also confirmed in last night’s tweet.
The Gintama film is based on Hideaki Sorachi’s manga of the same name. The feature will be helmed by Yūichi Fukuda (Hentai Kamen), who is also writing the script.
The confirmed cast includes:
- Gintoki Sakata: Shun Oguri
- Shinpachi Shimura: Masaki Suda
- Kagura: Kanna Hashimoto
- Tae Shimura: Masami Nagasawa
- Kotaro Katsura: Masaki Okada
- Gengai Hiraga: Tsuyoshi Muro
- Toshiro Hijikata: Yuuya Yagira
- Sougo Okita: Ryo Yoshizawa
- Isao Kondo: Kankurō Nakamura VI
- Nizō Okada: Hirofumi Arai
- Henpeita Takechi: Jiro Sato
- Matako Kijima: Nanao
- Tetsuya Murata: Ken Yasuda
- Tetsuko Murata: Akari Hayami
- Shinsuke Takasugi: Tsuyoshi Domoto
The Gintama manga kicked off in the pages of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump on December 8, 2003. The ongoing title currently spans 65 collected volumes. Several anime adaptations were produced, including four TV series, five OVAs, and three films.
Crunchyroll currently holds the domestic rights to the first Gintama anime, which they plan to offer on Blu-Ray. Viz Media currently holds the license for the Gintama manga.
A new season of Gintama premiered on January 9.
Several promotional trailers have been released to promote the Gintama film, which you can check out below:
Theatrical Trailer
Meiyu (Sworn Friends)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7J2_-pGlI
TV Spot Elizabeth
TV Spot: Summer Festival
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xvtzMcDEZo
TV Spot: Nationwide
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uJsi_uSwYo
TV Spot: World and Setting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOgWMv9Rhys
Sources: Twitter (gintama_film) (Thanks to L.B. Bryant for the tip!)