GKIDS Releases Belle Anime Film Digitally on May 3, Home Video on May 17

GKIDS announced on Monday that it will release Mamoru Hosoda's BELLE (Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime) anime film on digital platforms on May 3 and on Blu-ray Disc on May 17. The film will get a Blu-ray Disc and DVD combo pack and a Steelbook edition exclusively at Target. Shout! Factory is distributing the film.

VAP will ship the Blu-ray Disc and DVD of the film in Japan on April 20. The film's Special Edition Blu-ray Disc in Japan will include previously unreleased footage from the film as a bonus extra. The release will feature two bonus discs with over four hours of video extras, including the unreleased footage.

GKIDS describes the story:

Suzu is a shy, everyday high school student living in a rural village. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. But when she enters "U", a massive virtual world, she escapes into the online persona of BELLE, a gorgeous and globally-beloved singer. One day, her concert is interrupted by a monstrous creature chased by vigilantes. As their hunt escalates, Suzu embarks on an emotional and epic quest to uncover the identity of this mysterious "beast" and to discover her true self in a world where you can be anyone.

GKIDS began screening the film in English and in Japanese with English subtitles in the U.S. on January 14. IMAX previews opened in select theaters on January 12. The film has earned US$3,366,867 in the U.S. box office, as of Monday. The film is Hosoda's highest grossing film in North America.

BELLE opened in Japan on July 16 last year. The film had IMAX screenings in 38 theaters throughout Japan. This makes BELLE the first of Hosoda's films to have IMAX screenings. The film has earned a cumulative total of 6.53 billion yen (about US$56.9 million) as of December 12. The film is Hosoda's highest-grossing film. MX4D screenings for the film opened on October 22.

Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, The Boy and The Beast, Mirai) directed and scripted the film, and is also credited for the original work. The film marks Studio Chizu's 10th anniversary. Taisei Iwasaki (Blood Blockade Battlefront, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan, The Naked Director) was the film's music director and composer.

Source: Press release