'One Piece Film: Red' to screen in Philippine cinemas this September

MANILA, Philippines — Get ready, anime fans! "One Piece Film: Red" will be screened on September 17 and 18 at SM Megamall. 

The scheduled fan screenings come three years after Luffy and the Straw Hats were seen in local theaters in 2019. This confirms earlier reports that the latest film from the popular anime will be screened in the country. The chain of cinemas often carries the anime movies created by Toei Animation.

"One Piece Film: Red" introduces a new character Uta, a beloved singer who never divulges her identity. Luffy and the gang attend her grand concert where she finally reveals herself, and it is unveiled she is related to Red-Haired Shanks.

Since premiering in Japan last July 22 —  coinciding with the "One Piece" manga's 25th anniversary — the film has already made its way to France and has scheduled premieres in the United States, China, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore, Indonesia Taiwan, India, and Austria.

In its opening commercial weekend in Japan, the movie debuted at No. 1 as it earned 2.254 billion yen (P938 million), making it the best debut in Japan for 2022 to date and Toei's best opening weekend ever.

This will be the 15th theatrical "One Piece" film and the first since 2019's "One Piece: Stampede." This time, manga creator Eiichiro Oda is a credited producer as well as a character designer and script reviewer.

Oda recently announced that "One Piece," which has been running for 25 years and sold over 490 million copies, is reaching its final chapter. A live-action series is currently in production at Netflix. — Video from One Piece Official YouTube channel

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