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Pokémon Film Franchise Earns ¥50 Billion (n-europe.com)

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Pokemon films set box office records

chautemoc | August 13, 2008 | News | Wii DS Company Misc

Variety is reporting the 11 films in the Pokemon movie series have broken the ¥50 billion ($455 million) threshold at the Japanese box office, effectively making it the country's highest-earning cartoon series ever. And you thought Pokemon were going to go out of style!

The film franchise, which started in 1998, is based on the 1996 Nintendo Game Boy game "Pokemon."

The latest entry, "Giratina and the Sky's Bouquet: Shaymin," has earned $32 million since its July 19 release.

Pokemon has become a hugely profitable franchise for Nintendo and its partners, generating games, trading cards, CDs, TV shows, pics and character goods.

The first "Pokemon" feature toon earned $85.7 million in the U.S. following its 1999 release, a record for a Japanese pic that has yet to be equaled.

News Story attached to:

Pokémon Platinum (Import) [DS]

17 comments | go to source (www.variety.com) | Add to favorites!

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Comments

0 thumbs!
Magimaster | August 13, 2008

Damn, those pokemans rly print some srs money!
- 5 thumbs!
  chautemoc | August 13, 2008
  
  Behold your New World Order:
  - 0 thumbs!
    Magimaster | August 13, 2008
    
    In pikachu we trust...???
  - 6 thumbs!
    Cruxis Mana | August 13, 2008
    
    I prefer Kotaku's image;
  - 1 thumbs!
    Final Blade | August 16, 2008
    
    _{Thats quite possibly the greatest 100 dollar bill ever made.
    
    I love pokemon, and will never stop loving it. If people think pokemon are for kids then you're surely mistaken; its like calling the Wii for kids when technically while some may think it is, its really not.
    Games are there for playing, not to be judge on age.}
0 thumbs!
Zeon I | August 13, 2008

I'd rather lay down Benji's than Pika's.

Pokemon is Crack for young Children.
0 thumbs!
ivy06 | August 13, 2008

I was a real fan of Pokemon when i was young, but i think it's had it's day and should step down.
0 thumbs!
DragoniteBallZ | August 13, 2008

Yeah dude. Pokemon has been killed, artificially resurrected and killed again 10 times over.

I used to love the anime. It actually was a good story but it just died before it could even end. If it will ever end.
0 thumbs!
Slumpy monkey | August 13, 2008

After 11 films.....

Dark night took $155.34 million in one weekend.

Someone should add "In japan" too the title.
- 0 thumbs!
  RabidChinaGirl | August 13, 2008
  
  It's also two very different things. I'm pretty sure a lot less effort was put into pooping out these animated flicks.
0 thumbs!
Big A2 | August 13, 2008

How is this video gaming news? I understnd Pokemon was once a very good GB game, but for god's sake!
0 thumbs!
Revenger of Wastelan | August 14, 2008

Go Pokemon! Glad to hear actually...
0 thumbs!
Silver Mirror | August 14, 2008

Die Pokemon die!

*Pokemon whited out*
0 thumbs!
Murray3 | August 14, 2008

Pokemon was on a fast train to death anyway, Gold & Silver was its #1, but 250 was quite a hard number to collect, some still have difficulty getting the original 150. But if they released another Pokemon without any new pokamans to collect then it would've been a boring remake with a different map, but if they added too many it would be impossible to get all of them so in conclusion, Game Freak and Nintendo had hit a fork in the path, both of which would never end.
0 thumbs!
Twilight | August 14, 2008

Ever since the original games Pokemon has been on the fast track to world wide popularity. It's a shame that with the new games not adding up to the popularity that G/S/C did after the first generation was over. But none the less this movie will make Nintendo even more richer, and makes us all happy. This is one film I'm going to see.
2 thumbs!
Chaos Crusader | August 15, 2008

What a long way to go for the series.

The first two generations were great. Now, it's pretty bad.
0 thumbs!
Mudkiplover94 | August 18, 2008

The movies are really good. The games are the best. Just the tv show. Kinda sucks. I'm saying the show and movies get a little out of hand. In the moive pokemon 2000. The had to find the chosen one. find out it was ash. But the movies are ok.