'Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale' Tops Japan Weekend Box Office, to Show in US for One Day on March 9

By Edward Leano, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, February 23, 2017

The anime movie "Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale" has earned top rank in Japan's box office last weekend, Feb. 18 to 19. The movie will hit the United States theaters for one night only, in a March 9 special event.

The film, directed by Tomohiko Ito and produced by A-1 Pictures, opened last Saturday in 151 theaters in Japan, where it earned $3.76 million to nab the number one spot. Tomohiko Ito also directed the TV anime series adaptations of "Sword Art Online."

The movie is one in a series of anime movies based on the "Sword Art Online" light novels written by Reki Kawahara and later illustrated by Abec. The story is set in the near future and centers around advanced virtual reality technology and the different massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) worlds that have been built on it.

Reki Kawahara wrote an original story for "Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale," and it takes place after the final arc of the TV series "Sword Art Online II."

Aniplex summarizes the movie: "In 2026, two years since the SAO incident, a new game called 'Ordinal Scale,' an Augmented-Reality MMO, is becoming popular among the players. But ... strange things are happening in the game and Kirito and the gang are facing a new danger."

Aniplex of America will be hosting the premiere showing of the movie on March 1, in Hollywood, California. The film will get a wider release in U.S. cinemas, but only for a one-night event on March 9.

Later, the movie will be screening at select theaters in Canada on March 17 to 19. Aniplex confirmed that the movie will see a worldwide screening in about 1,000 theaters in various countries.

Watch the trailer for "Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale" below.