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Final Evangelion Film Earns 3.3 Billion Yen in 1st Week

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time (Shin Evangelion Gekijō-ban :||), the "final" Evangelion film, has sold 2,194,533 tickets for 3,338,422,400 yen (about US$30.6 million) in its first seven days in 466 theaters in Japan. The film sold 33.6% more tickets for 45.1% more yen than the previous Evangelion film during their respective first seven days.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 sold 760,000 tickets for 1,177,445,400 yen (about US$10.8 million) on Saturday and Sunday. Specifically, it sold 401,723 tickets for 649,071,800 yen (about US$5.9 million) on Saturday, and 359,159 tickets for 528,373,600 yen (about US$4.8 million) on Sunday.

Entertainment news website Deadline reported on Sunday that the film earned the equivalent of US$3.4 million in 38 IMAX theaters during its first seven days— the second-highest opening week for IMAX screenings of a domestic title in Japan, behind only last year's Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train. Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 also played in 82 theaters equipped for 4D screenings.

Khara is streaming two new 15-second ads for the film.

The previous film, Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, sold 771,764 tickets for 1,131,004,600 yen (about US$13.9 million at the exchange rate at the time) in its first two days (which were a Saturday and a Sunday). It then sold 2,032,147 tickets for 2,858,126,200 yen (about US$34.7 million) in its first nine days (which included two weekends).

The second film in the tetralogy, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance, earned the equivalent of US$5,302,760 during its first two days (which were a Saturday and a Sunday). It eventually earned 4 billion yen (about US$43 million) during its entire 2009 run.

The first film in the tetralogy, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone, sold 236,158 tickets for 280 million yen (about US$2.4 million) during its first two days (which were a Saturday and a Sunday). It eventually earned 2 billion yen (about US$18.7 million) during its entire 2007 run.

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 already set a record for highest IMAX earnings on an opening day in Japan, with the equivalent of US$740,000 in IMAX tickets. It has also set a record for the highest percentage of IMAX opening day gross for a local film in Japan, with IMAX accounting for 10% of the film's opening day gross on only 1%-2% of the total screens.

The film sold 539,623 tickets to earn 802,774,200 yen (about US$7.382 million) on its first day in 466 theaters on March 8. The film sold 21.7% more tickets and earned 23.8% more in yen on its opening day compared to the opening day of the previous Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo film in 2012. Evangelion: 3.0 opened on a Saturday, while Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 opened on a Monday.

The staff had delayed the film from January 23 to March 8, after careful consideration due to the new state of emergency declared in four prefectures in Japan on January 8, and then extended to a total of 11 prefectures.

The film had an earlier delay due to concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its spread inside and outside of Japan. The film was originally scheduled to open in Japan on June 27, 2020.

The first three films in the tetralogy, Evangelion: 1.0 You Are [Not] Alone, Evangelion: 2.0 You Can [Not] Advance, and Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, debuted in 2007, 2009, and 2012 respectively. The three films had new MX4D and 4DX screenings in Japan that opened on December 4, 11, and 18, respectively.

Anime News Network's Sources: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web (link 2), Khara's YouTube channel, Deadline (Nancy Tartaglione)

Update: Latest numbers added from Khara and Cinema Today.