Anime Box Office, Guests & DVD News: Pokémon, Mononoke & More
Pokémon and Princess Mononoke Box Office Updates
Pokémon: The First Movie continues its impressive run in North America. After seven weeks in theaters, the film earned $112,214 this past weekend, dropping it to 35th place on the Daily Variety movie chart. To date, Pokémon has grossed an astounding $83,608,861.
Meanwhile, Princess Mononoke, in its fifth week of expanded release (and ninth overall), brought in under $18,500, falling from the #34 spot below #60. Miramax’s limited release of Princess Mononoke has currently grossed an estimated $2,317,000.
Animazment Convention Announces Guests
The Animazment 2000 convention has announced a fantastic lineup of guests! Joining the festivities are manga artist Yuu Watase (known for Fushigi Yuugi), Kooichi Tsunoda from the Toei Animation Institute, Nov. Takahashi, President of Studio Hard, Scott Houle, President of Coastal Carolina Studio, American voice actresses Rachael Lillis, Misty and Jesse from Pokémon, and Lisa Ortiz, the voice of Lina Inverse from Slayers. The Animazment Convention will be held in Raleigh, North Carolina, March 10-12.
Bandai Entertainment Confirms First DVD Releases
Bandai Entertainment, via the Anime Village Website, has officially announced their first DVD releases, with hints of a new DVD area being set up on the site next month. Here's what's coming:
- Blue Submarine No. 6 (Vol 1 of 4) - April 2000 | 5.1 Japanese (English Subtitled) 2-Channel English | 1st OVA - $24.98
- Cowboy Bebop (Vol 1 of 6) - April 2000 | 2-Channel Japanese (English Subtitled) 2-Channel English | Episodes 1-5 - SRP $29.98
- EAT-MAN '98 (2-disc set) - April 2000 | 2-Channel Japanese (English Subtitled) Episodes 1,2 2-Channel English | Episodes 1-12 - SRP $39.98
Kite DVD Release
Media Blasters will be releasing the cut version of Kite on DVD April 25th for $24.95. Extras will include interactive menus, scene selections, an animation cel gallery, and storyboards. The DVD contains two episodes with a total runtime of 45 minutes.
Burger King To Recall Pokémon Toys
Burger King has announced a recall of approximately 25 million Pokémon Pokeball toys following a tragic incident. A 13-month-old girl in California died after suffocating on a piece of one of the toys. In another alarming case, a father narrowly prevented his 18-month-old daughter from suffocating when a piece of the toy became lodged on her face.
“More than 25 million of the Pokeballs are part of the recall,” said Burger King spokesman Charles Nicolas. “That's because they may pose a suffocation hazard for children under three years of age.”
As an incentive for customers to return the toys, Burger King is offering a free order of French fries.
The Pokeballs are 7 centimeters in diameter and consist of two plastic hemispheres containing small figures of Pokémon characters. They were part of a promotional campaign launched last month to coincide with the premiere of Pokémon: The First Movie.