Lucky☆Star: The Movie

"This'll be one hell of a ride."

- Konata Izumi

Lucky☆Star: The Movie (Japanese: 映画らき☆すた, Hepburn: Eiga Raki Suta) is a 2008 Japanese animated comedy film directed by Yasuhiro Takemoto, written by Touko Machida and developed by Shinichiro Inoue. Produced by Kyoto Animation, the film is based on the manga series, Lucky☆Star, by Kagami Yoshimizu. The film follows lazy anime fan Konata Izumi and her friends Kagami Hiiragi, Tsukasa Hiiragi, and Miyuki Takara, as they enter a school contest to win the grand prize which consists of cash, much to Konata's desire.

Lucky☆Star: The Movie premiered in IMAX in Japan on May 10, 2008, following a nationwide theatrical release on May 31, 2008 by Kadokawa Shoten. The film released in North American shores on November 23, 2008 by Paramount Pictures and Bandai Entertainment. Sony Pictures Releasing distributed the film in all Asian counties, excluding Japan in 2008. The film was released internationally by DreamWorks Pictures across 2009. It was released to positive reception in Japan, with praise for it's animation, music, comedy, and heartwarming message. Reception was more mixed elsewhere, particularly in North America. It grossed $679 million worldwide, it became the highest-grossing film of 2008 in Japan and the tenth highest-grossing animated film of 2008 in North America.

Synopsis
An opportunity for a huge wad of cash arrives when a performance contest hits school. Konata Izumi is determined to win the prize with the help of her friends Kagami Hiiragi, Tsukasa Hiiragi, and Miyuki Takara. They, however, experience numerous interruptions which tries to stop them from focusing on the task.

Production
Following the success of the Lucky Star series in Japan, Shinichiro Inoue was interested in adapting the series into a feature film. Yutaka Yamamoto wanted to direct the film during another failed attempt to win his directing job back. The film was animated by Kyoto Animation, with production starting right after the release of the 24th episode of the anime series. Akira Kamimae returned to compose the score for the film. He wanted to include songs from other anime, including an original song, Dear sweet heart, which played during the group's performance near the end of the film.

A famous rumor went around saying that executives at Paramount Pictures felt like the anime songs were "too ill faded" for the North American market. Paramount made a few changes to make the film more palatable for the west. These changes include replacing the anime songs with pop songs. This rumor was eventually debunked as according the film's English director, Alex Von David, the real reason as to the replacement of the songs was due to Paramount not having confidence that they were in clear possessions to the licenses of the songs and figured they couldn't fully license them in time for the film's North American release.

Release
Lucky Star: The Movie premiered as an IMAX screening on May 10, 2008. The film was released nationwide in Japan by Kadokawa Shoten.

In Asia, the film began screening on June 2, 2008, in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines, and South Korea; June 6 in Malaysia and Singapore; June 10 in Vietnam; June 24 in China; July 13 in Thailand; and July 21 in India. Sony Pictures Releasing handled distribution in Southeast Asia.

In August 2008, It was announced that Bandai Entertainment have licensed the film's North American distribution rights. Paramount Pictures handled distribution in North America, partnering with Bandai Entertainment. In territories outside of Asia and North America, DreamWorks Pictures distributed the film in Europe, Oceania, South America, and Africa, with approval from Bandai Entertainment.

Accidental misscreening
On November 25, 2008 at the Regal Northampton theater in Easton, PA, the theater accidentally showed Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa in the Lucky Star: The Movie auditorium, meanwhile Lucky Star: The Movie was screening in the Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa auditorium. The theater realized their mistake and turned both movies off, they then escorted the audiences to their correct auditorium and turned both movies back on with them playing from the beginning. Coincidentally, both movies were released the same month on the same year by Paramount Pictures.

Reception
Lucky Star: The Movie was met with an overwhelmingly positive reception in Japan, with praise for it's animation, music, comedy, it's heartwarming message that if you dream big, you can accomplish your life goals.

However, reception was more mixed outside of Japan, particularly in North America. On Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 200 critic reviews were positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. Criticism was mainly centered on Paramount's decision to replace the anime songs with pop songs.

Box office
The film grossed ¥10,000,000 ($71,000 USD) in it's opening weekend in Japan. In it's second weekend, the film grossed ¥26,000,000 ($184,000 USD). The film went on to be the highest-grossing film of 2008 in Japan, with a nationwide total of ¥3,000,000,000 ($21,000,000 USD). In North America, the film grossed $8,600 in it's opening weekend. The film became the tenth highest-grossing animated film of 2008 in the continent, with a total of $13,000,000. The film grossed £500,000 ($617,300 USD) in Britain and Ireland. The film grossed €400,000,000 ($429,220,000 USD) across Europe, including Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and the Netherlands. In Oceania, the film grossed $887,000 AUD ($578,213 USD) in Australia. In Asia, the film grossed $200,000,000 in China, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, India, and Macau. The film grossed $15,163,000 in other territories, such as Africa and South America. For a worldwide total of $679,000,000.

Japanese page/日本語ページ
映画らき☆すた