Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Reaches #2 on American Charts

In 2011, Puella Magi Madoka Magica took the anime industry by storm. Reinventing the magic girl anime genre, Madoka Magica aired from January to April and was one of the hottest topics of the year. Riding on its popularity, two film adaptations opened in 2012. Released in October, the two movies, titled “Part 1: Beginnings” and “Part 2: Eternal”, attracted an incredibly large audience. The Madoka fever continued to spread as it crossed the Pacific to America. From October 19-21, the movies were screened in five cities across America. Despite its short 3-day premiere screening, the Madoka movies ranked #2 in America for per-screen average for that weekend. Even though screenings were sparse, fans swarmed to theaters to see the movies, showing that the series is just as popular overseas as it is in Japan. While Madoka's commercial success worldwide is a rare case for the Japanese anime industry, it has opened doors for the industry's global development.

This article contains translated excerpts from http://animeanime.jp/article/2012/10/26/11872.html (Japanese).