Gkids Partners with Fathom Events to Bring Anime Back To US Theaters This Summer

Gkids Partners with Fathom Events to Bring Anime Back To US Theaters This Summer

April 14th, 2021

Jerry Beck

GKIDS and long-time partner Fathom Events, are continuing their collaboration this summer, bringing back a series of critically acclaimed and fan-favorite anime features.

Kicking off the series is the 2020 animated tour-de-force from Studio 4°C (Tekkonkinkreet, MFKZ, Mind Game), CHILDREN OF THE SEA. Directed by Ayumu Watanabe, with a score by award-winning composer and longtime Studio Ghibli collaborator Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro), the film is adapted from the manga of the same name by author Daisuke Igarashi.

Up next in the series is the critically acclaimed WEATHERING WITH YOU, from director Makoto Shinkai and producer Genki Kawamura, creators of the global smash hit Your Name. Featuring music from the hit band RADWIMPS, and backed by an all-star voice cast including Lee Pace (Guardians of the Galaxy, The Hobbit Trilogy), Alison Brie (The Lego Movie), and Riz Ahmed (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Venom), Shinkai has once again brought incredible beauty and a powerful story to the screen.

Following Weathering With You, one of the most influential characters in anime returns to the big screen with LUPIN III: THE FIRST. The “Lupin the 3rd” franchise, from original creator Monkey Punch, began in 1967 and has spanned a variety of manga, TV, game, theme park ride, and musical adaptations, including The Castle of Cagliostro (1979), the feature film debut from the acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki. Directed by Takashi Yamazaki, Lupin III: The First marks the storied character’s first adventure in CG.

Closing out the series is the hyperkinetic, candy-colored visual masterpiece, PROMARE. The first feature film from fan favorite Studio TRIGGER, creators of the series “KILL la KILL,” “Little Witch Academia,” and “B.N.A.,” the film is directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi (“GURREN LAGANN”), and features a blistering score from Hiroyuki Sawano (“Attack on Titan”).

Each event will be shown in both original Japanese and English dubbed versions, and will include exclusive bonus content. Promare, Weathering With You, and Lupin III: The First events will additionally be available in 4DX, the immersive multi-sensory cinematic experience, at select locations across the country.. Tickets for all events can be purchased online beginning Friday, May 14 by visiting gkids.com/events, or at participating theater box offices. The ticket on-sale date may vary based on local cinema re-openings, so please check back often. (Theaters and participants are subject to change).

“We’ve listened to fans, and are excited to be partnering once again with GKIDS to bring these iconic titles back to theaters,” said Ray Nutt, CEO at Fathom Events.

“We are so excited for this opportunity for fans both new and returning to see these modern animated masterpieces on the big screen,” said GKIDS’ President, David Jesteadt.

EVENTS SCHEDULE
All event listings in local time

CHILDREN OF THE SEA
Sunday, June 13, 3:00 (English Dub)
Tuesday, June 15, 7:00 (Japanese with subtitles)

WEATHERING WITH YOU
Sunday, July 25, 3:00 English Dub and 4DX)
Tuesday, July 27, 7:00 (Japanese with subtitles)

LUPIN III: THE FIRST
Sunday, August 29, 3:00 (English Dub and 4DX)
Tuesday, August 31, 7:00 (Japanese with subtitles)

PROMARE
Thursday, September 16, 7:00 (English Dub and 4DX)
Sunday, September 19, 3:00 (Japanese with subtitles)

Children of the Sea Synopsis
When Ruka was younger, she saw a ghost in the water at the aquarium where her dad works. Now she feels drawn toward the aquarium and the two mysterious boys she meets there, Umi and Sora. They were raised by dugongs and hear the same strange calls from the sea as she does. Ruka’s dad and the other adults who work at the aquarium are only distantly aware of what the children are experiencing as they get caught up in the mystery of the worldwide disappearance of the oceans’ fish.

Weathering With You Synopsis
The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly finds himself pushed to his financial and personal limits. The weather is unusually gloomy and rainy every day, as if to suggest his future. He lives his days in isolation, but finally finds work as a writer for a mysterious occult magazine. Then one day, Hodaka meets Hina on a busy street corner. This bright and strong-willed girl possesses a strange and wonderful ability: the power to stop the rain and clear the sky…

Lupin III: The First Synopsis
The iconic “gentleman thief” Lupin III returns in an action-packed, continent-spanning adventure, as Lupin III and his colorful underworld companions race to uncover the secrets of the mysterious Bresson Diary, before it falls into the hands of a dark cabal that will stop at nothing to resurrect the Third Reich. The gang undertakes trap-filled tombs, aerial escapades and daring prison escapes with the trademark wit and visual finesse that have made LUPIN THE 3RD one of the most storied animation franchises in the world, in a thrilling new caper that is sure to delight fans old and new.

Promare Synopsis
Thirty years has passed since the appearance of the Burnish, a race of flame-wielding mutant beings, who destroyed half of the world with fire. When a new group of aggressive mutants calling themselves Mad Burnish appears, the epic battle between Galo Thymos, a new member of the anti-Burnish rescue team Burning Rescue, and Lio Fotia, the leader of Mad Burnish begins.

Author
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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.