GKIDS and Fathom Events Bring 'Fireworks' To US Cinemas This July

GKIDS Films and Fathom Events first teamed up to bring Studio Ghibli films back to more US cinema screens than ever before. This relationship has continued this year, with Mary And The Witch's Flower and the return of Ghibli Fest. Now the two companies have announced that in addition to the remaining films in the Ghibli Fest series, they will also team up to bring a further five brand new movies to theaters.

The first title to be confirmed as part of this series is the already announced Fireworks, a teenage coming-of-age romance from director Akiyuki Shinbo (Madoka Magica) and Your Name producer Genki Kawamura. It previously received a cinema release in the UK via Anime Limited and made its US debut at last year's Animation Is Film festival.

The film will debut as a Fathom Events screening on July 3, with encore presentations on July 5 and 7. It will also be getting a standard GKIDS theatrical release from July 4. Showtimes and locations will be revealed in the coming weeks via  Fathom Events and the movie's website. The film will screen both in original Japanese with subtitles and with a newly produced English dub.

GKIDS CEO Eric Beckman says "GKIDS is thrilled to present 'Fireworks' to anime and movie fans across the U.S. this summer, and to expand on our successful relationship with Fathom to bring more of the best animated films to the big screen throughout the year. Our goal is to create a unique and exciting cinema event experience for moviegoers to come and enjoy these amazing films together with friends and family."

As for what the remaining four new films screening as part of the deal will be, your guess is as good as ours. It could include previously announced title such as Mirai, or The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl, or possibly include titles we haven't even heard about yet. These are definitely exciting times for animation fans in the United States. We'll bring you more details as soon as we've got them!