'Sword Art Online The Movie' News: Leaked Clips Prompt Distributor to Release Statement; US Debut on March 9
"Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale" premiered in Japan on Feb. 18 to impressive box office numbers. However, South East Asian film distributor ODEX recently revealed that leaked clips from the movie have found their way online, thanks to illegal recordings taken at the Singapore and Malaysia screenings.
According to the company's Facebook post, the leaked movie clips may lead to dire consequences involving the blacklisting of Singapore and Malaysia when it comes to releasing anime films in the future.
"We received a notice from Japan that there are SAO movie video leaks ranging from 10 secs to 8 mins; and the source was traced to Singapore & Malaysia's Fan Screening on 18 Feb 2017," the post read.
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ODEX continued to explain that the leaks have "serious repercussions on our local anime community." The company stated that the illegal recording of parts of the film received attention from Japanese licensors who are understandably upset by the incident. After all, this action does infringe upon the rights of the film and its distributors.
"While ODEX is doing its utmost to limit the damage suffered, we seek your help to alert the cinema management of any unauthorised photography or videography taking place during the screenings," the post continued.
Since its release, "Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale" has been commercially successful in its home country. According to Crunchyroll, the film was able to earn almost 426 million yen in the first two days of its premiere, effectively topping the charts. The Japanese anime film has also been received well critically.
The movie's theme song, "Catch the Moment," has also seen some success in the Oricon weekly single chart, where it came in fourth after selling 27,000 units in its first week.
"Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale" will also be released internationally, with a U.S. screening of the film scheduled for March 9.
Watch the trailer for the film below:
