Bigscreen, the social VR viewing platform, launched on-demand 2D and 3D video late last month. Shortly afterwards, the studio announced it had partnered with Sony Picture’s anime distribution company Funimation to bring some of the biggest names in anime to its rapidly expanding on-demand service. Now those films can be viewed in some regions outside of the US.
Update (May 15th, 2020): BIgscreen says that, in partnership with Funimation, it’s expanding the international availability of its 30+ anime films, which in addition to the US now includes Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.
The original article announcing the 30+ anime films and live showings follows below:
Original Article (April 29th, 2020): Bigscreen founder and CEO Darshan Shankar tells Road to VR that with Friday’s release of on-demand video, that the platform successfully broke its all-time revenue record.
“This was a massive change to how Bigscreen works,” Shankar says. “People that attended our inaugural movie events over the weekend were able to experience many packed cinema rooms. I was shocked to see that most people stayed all the way until the credits.”
Now with Funimation involved, Bigscreen is able to show 30+ anime films to Bigscreen, including popular hits Akira, My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, and Attack on Titan. Check out the full list below.
Bigscreen now boasts a catalog of dozens of 2D and 3D films available for on-demand viewing, which includes the ability to control playback like you would any streaming service. The new on-demand system gives you 48 hours to finish your selected movie once you’ve started it, and will be available in up to 10 countries starting from $4 per film. Check out Bigscreen’s catalog of movies here for more.
And to inaugurate the new glut of on-demand anime offerings, the platform is holding live film screenings that begin on May 1st, which will be broadcast live on a pay-per-view basis at 6PM PT (local time here) at the cost of $4 per ticket.
As opposed to on-demand content, these live screening events are conducted like physical movie theaters, with specific starting and ending times. Theater space is technically unlimited though, with infinite screens hosting up to eight users for each theater, making it easy to pop in for a showing without having to queue.
Anime Movie Event Screenings
- May 1: Your Name
- May 8: My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
- May 15: Akira
- May 21: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
- May 29: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
- June 5: Sword of the Stranger
- June 12: I Am A Hero
Anime Movies On-Demand in Bigscreen
- Your Name
- Planetarian: Storyteller of the Stars
- The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya Movie
- The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
- Steins Gate Movie
- Strike Witches Movie
- Fairy Tail Dragon Cry Movie
- Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess
- Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie
- Akira
- Attack on Titan Part 1
- Attack on Titan Part 2
- Shin Godzilla
- I Am A Hero
- Parasyte Part 1
- Parasyte Part 2
- My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
- Boy and the Beast
- Triguns Badland Rumble
- Death Note: Light Up the New World
- Death Note
- Death Note: The Last Name
- Psycho-Pass: The Movie
- Eden of the East: Air Communication
- Eden of the East: King of Eden
- Eden of the East: Paradise Lost
- Assassination Classroom The Movie: 365 Days’ Time
- Garo: Divine Flame
- Black Butler: Book of the Atlantic
- Sword of the Stranger
- The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow
