Crunchyroll’s One Piece Film Red, a film by Toei Animation, opened in theaters across North America, Germany and Australia/New Zealand this past weekend. The anime film has been well received by audience members and critics during its phenomenal opening weekend, leaving the film with an “A” on CinemaScore and 95% Rotten Tomatoes.

One Piece Film, directed by Goro Taniguchi, is the 15th installment in the One Piece franchise, and now a Blockbuster success- the film accumulated $9,323,267 at the domestic box office. The franchise is experiencing a sizeable expansion with the release of One Piece Film Red, since its wider distribution offers fans more of an opportunity to access the film. Only about two years ago, in 2019, One Piece: Stampede premiered as an event and made $1,308,571. That makes the $9.3 gross of this year’s film, One Piece Film Red even more astounding.

One Piece Film Red is the most recent in a series of releases from Crunchyroll in North America and appeared in formats such as IMAX, 4DX, MX4D, Dolby Cinemas, and DBox. The film can be viewed in Japanese with English subtitles, and a version dubbed in English is available as well.

“We were confident that One Piece Film Red would be a hit with U.S. and Canadian audiences and this weekend’s stellar opening proves it,” said President and CEO of Toei Animation Inc., Masayuki Endo. “This is a history-making moment for the One Piece franchise and its most successful theatrical release ever. Over the last 23 years, the One Piece anime series has attracted an enormous global fan base and it continues to grow around the world – especially here in North America as illustrated by the film’s success.”

“One Piece is one of the most storied franchises in anime history, and Crunchyroll is thrilled that the film from our partners at Toei Animation saw success at the box office this past weekend,” said Mitchel Berger, the Senior Vice President of Global Commerce. “To have the tremendous support of fans for One Piece Film Red continues the trend of anime leading the charge in audiences coming back to theaters and enjoying the big screen experience.”

One Piece Film Red Synopsis:

The most cherished singer in the world, Uta, has a voice that has been described as “otherworldly”. She is known for concealing her own identity when performing- but now, for the first time, she will reveal herself to the world at a live concert.

Under the close watch of the Navy, the concert venue fills with fans— some including excited pirates and the Straw Hats led by Luffy. Everyone is eagerly awaiting the voice that the whole world has been waiting for. The story begins with the surprising discovery that she is the enigmatic Shanks’ daughter. Uta stands on the stage, with a simple wish to “make the world happy with my music.” Then there’s a mysterious character, Gordon, who is aware of Uta’s past, in addition to glimpses of Shanks’ shadow. On the island of music, Elegia, Luffy and Uta reunite for the first time in 12 years.

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Lauren Ashton

Lauren Ashton is a Los Angeles-based writer. She has also taught stop-motion animation and film history since 2020, and holds a BFA in Acting from The California Institute of the Arts. Lauren has previously worked with Walt Disney Imagineering, and since graduating from CalArts, she has worked at Spellbound Inc. (a YouTube Production Company), Gnomon School of Animation, and written plays and sketch comedy for various theaters.

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