Box office
| Territory | Release(s) | Distributor rentals | Gross receipts | Ticket sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 1988 | ¥750,000,000[30] | ¥1,900,000,000[31] | 1,699,463 (est.)[31] |
| 1989–2000 | ¥50,000,000[32] | ¥120,000,000[31] | 103,359 (est.)[31] | |
| 1988–2000 | ¥800,000,000[32] | Unknown | Unknown | |
| 2005–2007 | — | ¥137,000,000[33] | 111,253 (est.)[31] | |
| 2020 | — | ¥106,389,400[34] ($1,130,351)[35] | 92,576 (est.)[31] | |
| United States | 1989 | — | $2,200,000[36] | 542,097[37] |
| 2001 | — | $114,009[38] | 20,143 (est.)[39] | |
| United Kingdom | 1991 | — | £878,695[36] ($1,550,000) | 382,041[37] |
| 2011 | — | $18,813[40] | 3,419[41] | |
| 2015–2018 | — | Unknown | 15,108[41] | |
| 2020 | — | £224,884[36] ($325,657)[42] | 31,629 (est.)[43] | |
| France | 1991–2020 | — | Unknown | 167,372[44] |
| Spain | 1992–2013 | — | Unknown | 134,324[45][41] |
| 2016–2018 | — | Unknown | 2,018[41] | |
| 1992–2018 | — | Unknown | 136,342 | |
| Finland | 2020 | — | Unknown | 6,262[46] |
| Other European countries | 1999–2013 | — | Unknown | 25,047[41] |
| 2014–2018 | — | Unknown | 10,590[41] | |
| 1999–2018 | — | Unknown | 35,622[41] | |
| Quebec (Canada) | 2001–2002 | — | Unknown | 532[41] |
| Taiwan | 2006–2008 | — | US$230,000[47] | 40,000[47] |
| South Korea | 2017 | — | ₩86,224,200[48] | 10,574[48] |
| New Zealand | 2017 | — | US$36,342[49] | Unknown |
| Hong Kong | 2020 | — | US$148,415[50] | Unknown |
| Australia | 2020 | — | US$183,882[42] | Unknown |
| Worldwide | 1988–2020 | $49,000,000[3] | 3,569,771+ (est.) |
Akira was released by Toho on July 16, 1988. At the Japanese box office, it was the sixth highest-grossing Japanese film of the year, earning a distribution income (distributor rentals) of ¥750 million in 1988.[30] This made it a moderate success at the Japanese box office.[51] By 2000, the film had earned a Japanese distribution rental income of ¥800 million.[32] The film's 4K remaster received a limited Japanese IMAX re-release in May 2020.[52]
English releases
Electric Media produced an English dub of the film in 1989 that was written by L. Michael Haller and directed by Sheldon Renan and Wally Burr.[53][54][55][56] The English version saw limited release by Streamline Pictures in North American theaters on December 25, 1989, and grossed about $2.2 million in the United States.[36][57][58] Although Streamline was not involved in its production, this version became known as the "Streamline dub".
After Pioneer Entertainment acquired the rights to the film, a new English dub was produced by Animaze and directed by Kevin Seymour in 2001 for the DVD release to obtain THX certification.[59][60][61][62] Pioneer re-released the film with the new dub in select theaters from March through December 2001, making it the 20th digital cinema release in North America.[63] The restored 4K version was shown in North American movie theaters on September 24, 2020, and for multiple days in select IMAX auditoriums and other cinemas worldwide.[64][65]
In the United Kingdom, Akira was theatrically released by Island Visual Arts on January 25, 1991.[66] It debuted at number three on the UK box office charts, grossing £439,345 in its opening weekend. The film was fourth place the following week, was in the top ten for four weeks, and in the top 12 for seven weeks, grossing £878,695 by early March 1991.[36] It was re-released on July 13, 2013, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the film, and again on September 21, 2016. The 4K and IMAX re-release in October 2020 debuted at number three on the UK box office charts, grossing £201,124 in its opening weekend.[36]
Home media
The Streamline dub was first released to VHS through Streamline's Video Comics label in May 1991 and received wider distribution from Orion Home Video in September 1993. Orion also distributed the original Japanese version with English subtitles on VHS, making Akira one of Streamline's few titles to have a Japanese audio release. The Criterion Collection released a LaserDisc with the Streamline dub and Japanese audio in 1992, which was the company's first animated release and its only until Fantastic Mr. Fox in 2014.[67][68][69]
Pioneer released a restored version to home media in 2001. The release featured a single- and two-disc DVD set with the second English dub and Japanese audio, along with VHS versions of these audio tracks. It was one of the few releases from Pioneer to feature THX-certified audio and video. Although Pioneer intended to have the Streamline dub in the release, it was excluded to maintain the THX certification.[59][60]
In the United Kingdom, Akira was first released on VHS by Island World Communications in 1991.[70] By 1993, the film had sold 60,000 tapes in the United Kingdom,[70] 100,000 tapes in Europe,[32] and 100,000 tapes in the United States.[58] The success of this release led to the creation of Manga Entertainment, who later assumed distribution. Manga released a two-disc DVD set in 2004, which featured the restored version with the Japanese audio and Pioneer dub on the first disc and a VHS transfer of the Streamline dub on the second.
A Blu-ray disc edition of the film was released on February 24, 2009, in North America by Bandai Entertainment under the Honneamise label.[71][72] A Blu-ray edition of Akira was subsequently released in Australia by Madman Entertainment under exclusive license from Manga and Kodansha.[73] Madman has recently released a DVD/Blu-ray combo which license is separate from the standalone Blu-ray release because instead of the DVD version being the Manga Video UK version, it uses Madman/Manga's 2001 Special Edition DVD release which is licensed from Manga UK. The Blu-ray release is the first use the format's highest audio sampling rate (Dolby TrueHD 5.1 at 192 kHz for the Japanese audio track) and first to use the hypersonic effect (only available on the Japanese track and on high-end audio systems). Beyond Japanese with English subtitles, the Blu-ray also features the 2001 Pioneer/Animaze English dub (TrueHD 5.1 at 48 kHz). The DVD version was again released in 2012 by Bandai Entertainment. The film was licensed again by Funimation following Bandai Entertainment's closure shortly after its DVD release.[74] The Funimation release includes both English dubs, Streamline in stereo and Pioneer in 5.1 surround (both TrueHD at 96 kHz).[75] Funimation released a 25th anniversary Blu-ray/DVD combo and separate DVD release on November 12, 2013, which features the TrueHD Japanese audio and both English dubs (TrueHD at 96 kHz on Blu-ray).[76] Best Buy released a limited edition exclusive Blu-ray Steelbook the same year.
On April 24, 2020, an Ultra HD Blu-ray version was released in Japan by Bandai Namco Entertainment, featuring a 4K HDR remaster sourced from the original 35 mm film print, as well as the 192 kHz audio transfer created for prior Blu-ray releases.[77] The same remaster was released by FUNimation on December 22, 2020.[78]
As of 2014, the film has earned over $80 million in worldwide home video sales.[70] In the United States, it was the seventh best-selling DVD anime film of all time as of 2006[79] and grossed $2,086,180 in Blu-ray sales as of January 2022.[80] In the United Kingdom, it was 2020's ninth best-selling foreign language film on physical home video formats and the year's second best-selling Japanese film (below the anime Weathering with You).[81]
Television
The Streamline dub aired on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s during the week-long anime events and Saturday Anime block. The Pioneer dub aired twice on Adult Swim's Toonami programming block, once on December 7, 2013,[82] with a rating of TV-MA-V, and again on December 20, 2014, both times with explicit language and nudity censored. It has aired numerous times on Australian FTA station SBS.[83] In the United Kingdom, the film aired several times on BBC Two between 1994 and 1997.[84]
