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Final Evangelion Film Tops 9.32 Billion Yen Before Handing Out 'Last' Bonuses to Filmgoers

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time (Shin Evangelion Gekijō-ban :||), the "final" Evangelion film, has sold over 6.11 million tickets for over 9.32 billion yen (about US$84.86 million) as of Sunday, June 20, the film's 105th day in the Japanese box office.

As the "final" bonuses for filmgoers, participating theaters will begin handing out 500,000 copies each of two new mini-posters (teased in images below) on Saturday while supplies last. The posters feature reproduced autographs and messages from Maaya Sakamoto and Akira Ishida, the cast members who play the characters Mari and Kaoru, respectively. Chief animation director Atsushi Nishigori drew Mari, and animation director Masayoshi Tanaka drew Kaoru. (Each filmgoer gets one of these new posters, and cannot choose which character they receive.)

Theaters that still have the previous bonuses, such as the 36-page "Eva-Extra-Extra" booklet (with the manga prologue to the third film) and the reversible Asuka mini-poster, will continue handing out those as well.

The film's new Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 version began playing on June 12 for the film's "last run." The new version contains "minor revisions" to some animation sequences, but does not change the film's story.

The film opened in Japan on March 8. The film ranked #1 in its opening weekend. The film 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. 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.

In its third week, the film surpassed the domestic earnings of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, which earned a total of 5.3 billion yen. The new film is now the highest-earning film in the series domestically and internationally.

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 COVID-19 and its spread inside and outside of Japan. The film was originally scheduled to open in Japan on June 27, 2020.

Sources: The Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web, Oricon