Ultraman: Rising, the feature-length CG animated film co-produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Netflix, was released on Netflix on June 14, 2024. The movie has been received worldwide, ranking at No. 8 on the Global Top 10 Films (English) on Netflix for the week of June 10 — 16. 

About Ultraman: Rising

Ultraman: Rising is directed and written by Emmy winner Shannon Tindle, known for works such as Kubo and the Two Strings (2016), co-directed by John Aoshima and co-written by Marc Haimes. With CG animation created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), renowned for its contributions to well-known masterpieces such as Star Wars and Jurassic Park, they create a new story with the iconic and everlasting hero Ultraman, beloved globally for over half a century since his debut in 1966, with the theme of “parent” and “family”. The music of Grammy-winning superstar EDM producer Diplo, as well as Oliver Tree and Alicia Creti, further enhances Ultraman’s fights. The film will feature key casts including Christopher Sean, Gedde Watanabe, Tamlyn Tomita, Keone Young, and Julia Harriman.

Ultraman: Rising Ranks No. 8 in Netflix’s Weekly Top 10

On June 16 (Sun), a special premiere event was held, featuring the appearances of Japanese voice cast Yuki Yamada, Fumiyo Kohinata, and Akari Hayami, as well as Director Shannon Tindle and Co-director John Aoshima, who came all the way to Japan. The watch party held on Father’s Day was attended by over 40,000 viewers sharing the excitement together.

The movie has appeared as No. 8 in Netflix’s Global Top 10 Films (English) released on June 19, showing its substantial impact among Ultraman fans around the world. It has also entered the weekly Top 10 in 12 countries/regions. With the results being only for 3 days since its release, the strong start presents plenty of expectations for continued increase in future weeks.

Annecy Premiere Receiving High Reception

A special premiere screening at the annual Annecy International Animation Film Festival took place on June 13 (Thu). The massive anime-loving audience at the esteemed international movie festival witnessed the panel “Annecy ULTRAMAN Making Of Session”, led by the directors, with cheers of excitement.

The movie has also received worldwide recognition from the media and journalists, as well as a 94% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes (*as of June 19, 2024).

Ultraman, the hero loved by fans for over half a century since his debut in 1966, has been receiving strong attention with the form of this new story, under the theme of “parent” and “family”, which all generations can enjoy.

The Wrap: “Ultraman: Rising is one of the best superhero movies in years.”

Screen Daily: “The film argues that humans and kaiju — not to mention humans with different worldviews — must learn to live together”

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER:  “A famous Japanese franchise gets a heartwarming American reboot.”

IGN: “A kaiju-sized family film whose visuals are as rich as its writing.”

VARIETY: “The iconic Japanese superhero wrestles kaiju in the overcrowded cartoon.”

<Story>

Baseball superstar Ken Sato has another identity － Ultraman, the Earth-defending superhero. To fulfill that duty, he returns to his home country of Japan to prepare for his match but finds his peaceful life disrupted by the sudden appearance of a powerful kaiju Gigantron.
Ken transforms into Ultraman to confront the kaiju’s increasingly intensified attacks but soon finds himself in an unthought situation of being forced to take care of a kaiju baby － the child of his nemesis. Now as the father of the kaiju baby, whom he names “Emi”, Ken needs to confront his relationship with his estranged father and discover what it truly means to be Ultraman.

<Staff>
Director: Shannon Tindle
Co-Director: John Aoshima
Written By: Shannon Tindle, Marc Haimes
Produced By: Tom Knott, Lisa M. Poole
Music: Diplo, Oliver Tree, Alicia Creti
Production: Tsuburaya Productions, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
©TSUBURAYA PRODUCTIONS

<Cast>
Main Casts: Christopher Sean, Gedde Watanabe, Tamlyn Tomita, Keone Young, Julia Harriman
Japanese Casts: Yuki Yamada, Fumiyo Kohinata, Akari Hayami, Fumihiko Tachiki, Ayumi Tsunematsu, Hiroko Sakurai, Takaya Aoyagi and others