Japan’s highest grossing cinema launch of 2025 so far isn’t a characteristic movie. It’s Cellular Go well with Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Starting-, a compilation of episodes from an upcoming TV collection.
After 5 weeks in cinemas, -Starting- has earned greater than $16.5m (¥2.5bn) from 1.55 million admissions, in line with the positioning Cinema Rating Tsushin.
Distributed by Toho and Bandai Namco Filmworks, the 81-minute assortment of re-edited episodes precedes a collection that’s set to air on Nippon Tv in April. It’s due for launch within the US by way of Gkids on February 28, when a number of territories throughout Asia are additionally set to open the title in theatres.
Directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, the story follows is a high-school pupil dwelling on an area colony who meets a warfare refugee and is drawn into an unlawful cellular go well with duelling sport referred to as Clan Battle.
-Starting- opened on January 17 and led the field workplace with practically $4m (¥599m) on its opening weekend. It held the primary slot on its second outing and stays within the high 10 after 5 weeks.
Its present takings make it the second-highest grossing Gundam cinema launch of all time, after Cellular Go well with Gundam Seed Freedom ($35.4m/¥5.38b), which opened in January 2024.
Titles similar to Japanese fantasy characteristic Cells At Work! and Disney animation Moana 2 lead the general field workplace of the 12 months so far, taking $40m (¥6.07bn) and $33.8m (¥5.12bn) respectively, however these had been launched in late 2024.
Cellular Go well with Gundam GQuuuuuuX marks first main collaboration between Studio Khara, the outfit behind the Evangelion collection, and Dawn, the house to the Cellular Go well with Gundam animated works.
The scripts are co-written by acclaimed screenwriter Yoji Enokido and celebrated filmmaker Hideaki Anno of the Evangelion collection.
It’s set in an alternate-universe spinoff of the unique Cellular Go well with Gundam mecha collection, which launched the franchise in 1979, and options characters from that collection whereas additionally introducing new components.
This success of episode packages in cinemas has beforehand been seen with the likes of fashionable TV anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. In 2024, a cinematic preview of Demon Slayer’s fourth season subtitled To The Hashira Coaching earned $15.2m (¥2.31bn) regionally.
