2nd Gundam Seed FREEDOM Special Edition Film Opens at #6

© 創通・サンライズ

The second special edition of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM ranked at #6 in its opening weekend. The film earned 76,383,100 yen (about US$494,500) from Friday to Sunday. Including the earlier first version of the film, as well as the first special edition, this is the film's 41st overall week in the Japanese box office. The film has earned a cumulative total of 5,222,894,120 yen (about US$33.80 million).

The first special edition of the film, with an epilogue cut (or cuts) added, played from September 20 to October 3. This second special edition, with a different epilogue cut (or cuts) added, will run from November 1 to November 14.

Director Mitsuo Fukuda explained that due to time, the staff members could not complete every section to their satisfaction in the version that opened in theaters on January 26. With the special editions, they updated those cuts and refined parts that felt off after screenings. Fukuda added, "I think we can call this the complete edition of Seed FREEDOM."

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM opened in Japan on January 26. The film debuted at #1 in the Japanese box office. It sold 634,182 tickets for 1,065,983,130 yen (about US$7.20 million) in its first three days, marking the Gundam franchise's highest three-day opening in box office earnings. The film is the highest-earning Gundam film in Japan ever.

Bandai Namco Filmworks and Fathom Events screened the film in the United States and Canada on May 7-8, screening with subtitles on May 7, and with an English dub on May 8.

Acma:Game: Saigo no Kagi (Acma:Game: The Final Key), the live-action film adaptation of Kōji Megumi and Meebu's Acma:Game manga, dropped off the top 10 in its second weekend.

Give It All, the theatrical anime of Yoshiko Shikimura's Ganbatte Ikimasshoi novel, also dropped off the top 10 in its second weekend.

Eiga Given: Umi e (Given The Movie: To the Sea), the second film in the two-part sequel anime film project, stayed at #1 in the mini-theater rankings in its seventh weekend.

Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2) (link 3), comScore via KOFIC