Suzume no Tojimari hits theatres outside of Asia from April 2023

The film that humbled Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at the Japanese box office during opening week has received dates for its release outside of Asia. Suzume no Tojimari will hit theatres in the US and 14 other countries starting April 2023, with France and Malta getting first dibs on April 12.

Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, and New Zealand are set for April 13, while Austria, Belgium, Canada, Gibraltar, Ireland, Luxembourg, United Kingdom and the US will welcome the movie on April 14.

The screening dates for additional Latin America, Europe, Middle East, and Africa territories will soon be announced, but there’s no word from Crunchyroll so far on distribution within Asia, including Singapore.

Suzume no Tojimari is the latest venture from Makoto Shinkai, best known for his craft on the acclaimed Your Name and Weathering With You animated features. It opened in Japan on Nov 11 and earned US$13 million (S$17.6 million) in its first three days, marking the strongest opening weekend performance by the Japanese director.

The project is helmed and written by Shinkai, who’s also credited with the original story. Masayoshi Tanaka (Your Name, Weathering With You) designed the characters, with Kenichi Tsuchiya (Your Name, Garden of Words) serving as animation director. Radwimps scored the movie alongside Seattle-based Hollywood film composer, Kazuma Jinnouchi (Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, RWBY: Ice Queendom).

A synopsis of Suzume no Tojimari reads: “Seventeen-year-old Suzume discovers a mysterious door in the mountains, and soon other doors begin appearing across Japan. As the doors open, they release disasters and destruction, and it’s up to Suzume to close them again.”