If you happen to live in one of the below states where movie theaters are open, there's a chance that your local AMC, Cinemark or Regal theater will be screening a special 4K remastered version of the legendary anime film, Akira.
STATES WHERE THEATERS HAVE FULLY OR PARTIALLY RE-OPENED AS OF 09/13/2020
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Massachusets
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
As you can see, 39 of the 50 states have fully or partially reopened theaters. The two biggest film markets in California and New York are absent from the list but the governors of both states have indicated that they will soon
The 4K remaster previously screened in Japan on April 3 played on 36 IMAX screens, grossing ¥30.157 million ($282,000) thru May 2020.
As we previously covered back in July 2019, it seems a new anime adaptation of Akira is in the works, which will be more faithful to the manga. There's been no updates on the project since its iniital announcement. A Western, live-action adaptation has been in the works for years, with Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi most recently attached to helm the film. The movie was dropped from WB's release schedule after Waititi chose to direct another Thor installment first before working on Akira.
Akira takes place in 2019. 31 years after being destroyed during World War 3, Tokyo (now ‘Neo-Tokyo’) has been rebuilt and is a thriving metropolis. Shotaro Kaneda is the leader of a biker gang. His friend Tetsuo is injured in an accident and taken to a top-secret government facility. He develops telekinetic powers but decides to use them for evil rather than good. He has the same powers as Akira, the force that destroyed Tokyo in 1988. It now appears that history will repeat itself.