This past weekend marked the one-year anniversary of Promare’s North American release! The animated spectacle with a fiery soul, Promare was the first feature film from the acclaimed Studio TRIGGER. Since its initial announcement at Anime Expo 2017, fans across the world were excited for Director Hiroyuki Imaishi and Screenwriter Kazuki Nakashima, two of the masterminds behind the historic Gurren Lagann and fan favorite Kill la Kill, to helm another project together.
Promare follows Galo Thymos and the Burning Rescue in their efforts to defend the planet from the Burnish, whose members have the mysterious ability to wield flames. After an encounter with Lio, the leader of the Mad Burnish, Galo begins to realize there is more to their conflict than meets the eye.
This past year has seen Promare blaze across North America with resounding force, starting with GKIDS announcing their acquisition of the title in June of 2019, and later revealing nationwide premiere events scheduled for September 17th and September 19th before its theatrical release on September 20th.
While the theatrical debut for Promare was a couple months out, that didn’t stop the film from turning up the heat through the summer months. Shortly after the acquisition announcement, GKIDS and Studio Trigger blazed into Anime Expo 2019 to premiere the film to attendees, with Director Hiroyuki Imaishi, Creative Director Hiromi Wakabayashi, Character Designer Shigeto Koyama, Designer SUPERLOG, and other members of the creative team traveling from Japan to celebrate the occasion. Those who got the chance to watch it gave high praise to Promare, with excited attendees highlighting the film’s unique aesthetic and colorful action.
The depths of the Earth must have also been pumped for Promare, because an earthquake rocked through during the Studio Trigger panel hosted afterwards. However, the burning passion of the room was strong enough to keep the panel going.
And the hype soon made its way across the country in time for the East Coast premiere of Promare at Otakon 2019 with the same fervor (and minus the earthquake).
The trails of fire leading up to August brought with it more exciting announcements for Promare! GKIDS dropped the first official U.S. trailer with English subtitles on August 15th, showcasing more of the movie’s story and animation.
And a little less than a month before release, GKIDS announced the voice cast for the English dub of Promare, and released this scorching clip from the film’s opening moments.
With all gears set in motion, Promare went full steam ahead for its September debut in North America and didn’t fail to impress. On September 19th Promare was the third highest-grossing film in the United States, swiftly crossing over $1 million in box office. It was also one of the top three trends on Twitter worldwide the next day!
Of course, all good things must come to an end, and it would soon be time to say farewell to Promare in theaters…
But it wouldn’t be anytime soon!
While Promare continued its run in select theaters across the country, GKIDS and Fathom Events announced a special nationwide event titled “Promare (redux)” for December 8th. In addition to more subtitled and dubbed screenings, and even more bonus content just for fans, we took it one step further… In a first for GKIDS, 4DX screenings were brought to select locations, bringing the heat with motion seating and practical effects for an immersive experience. And what better movie to showcase it than the wacky, colorful spectacle of Promare!
And thanks to the nexus of passion from the fans, Promare blazed across the $2 million mark! This feat didn’t go unnoticed by the 47th Annie Awards, where Promare received a nomination for Best Independent Animated Feature, alongside Kitaro Kosaka’s Okko’s Inn and Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You.
Even as the decade came to a close, Promare continued to reach new heights. GKIDS and Fathom Events announced another April nationwide Promare viewing event titled “Promare Complete”, featuring the “Side: Galo” and “Side: Lio” prequel shorts available in North America for the first time. Unfortunately, this screening had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the burning passion of fans, we hope to bring the dynamic experience of Promare back to theaters again in the future.
While movie theater screenings may have been on pause, it was not enough to extinguish the film’s burning soul. In celebration of Promare’s release on digital platforms, On April 21st, GKIDS put together the Promare Watch Party on Twitter. The English cast joined in for the fun, giving fans the chance to interact, ask questions, and set Twitter aflame with the voice actors as they watched the movie together.
The final stretch of Promare’s first year would see its arrival to Blu-ray and Limited Edition Steelbook on May 19th, with even more bonus features for the hardcore fans out there. It was soon followed up with a scorching hot collector’s edition that came with Hiroyuki Sawano’s epic soundtrack, an English scriptbook, and a 52-page artbook amongst other goodies.
Promare has been a wild ride from start to finish, and it’s almost impossible to believe that an entire year has passed. From its first announcement at Anime Expo 2017 to its North American debut to the Watch Party, there was nothing quite like Promare. As it carries its torch into the future, there is no doubt that it will leave behind a dazzling inferno in its path.
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Promare is Available Now on Digital Download, On Demand, Blu-ray + DVD combo pack, standalone DVD, SteelBook edition, and Collector’s Edition.
AVAILABLE NOW
BLU-RAY/DVD
STEELBOOK
COLLECTOR’S EDITION
APPLE TV
PRIME VIDEO
GOOGLE PLAY
VUDU
Bonus Features:
– *CD Soundtrack
– *52-Page Booklet
– *English Souvenir Script
– *Mini-Poster
– *Decal Sticker
– Interview with Director Hiroyuki Imaishi
– Studio TRIGGER Roundtable
– Side: Galo and Side: Lio Short Films with Original Versions and English Dub
– English Dub Cast Featurette
– Trailers
* indicates items exclusive to the Collector’s Edition
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