Jujutsu Kaisen 0 officially hits American theaters this March

Weeks after its Christmas release, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the feature-length prequel to the hit anime series Jujutsu Kaisen, continues to command the Japanese box office. With a current gross of 9.3 billion yen (or close to $81.8 million), the movie has become one of the 50 biggest Japanese releases of all time. And now, studio MAPPA and TOHO Animation have set their sights on a release in the United States.

Crunchyroll announced on Tuesday that it will release Jujutsu Kaisen 0 in theaters on March 18 in the United States and Canada, with tickets going on sale beginning Feb. 25. Both English dub and subtitled versions of the movie will play in “more than 1500 theaters nationwide,” according to a news release, with select screenings playing in IMAX. Crunchyroll notes that release plans also include a rollout in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France with CRG events, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, French-speaking Africa and Latin America.

Unlike the series, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 follows Yuta Okkotsu, a high schooler taken under the wing of Satoru Gojo. In adapting Gege Akutami’s prequel manga, the team at MAPPA created a story that both stands alone and summons the spirit of what people love about the ongoing anime. According to Polygon’s review out of Japan from December, it’s a great place for newcomers to start, but still action-packed enough to offer something for seasoned viewers:

There’s plenty to enjoy for longtime fans. For one, Yuta Okkotsu is not a new character, having been mentioned in the series a few times but never making an appearance until now. And he’s given a beautifully tragic backstory, since it turns out that the powerful Curse that latched on to Yuta is his childhood love, Rika. After dying in a traffic accident, the gentle and caring girl transformed into a snake-haired, fang-faced monstrosity that may not have the most disturbing design out there but makes up for it by the way she acts. When the cursed Rika talks to Yuta in a child’s voice about how much she loves him or kills people who bully him without seemingly feeling bad about it, the juxtaposition of her horrifying appearance with her sweet but sometimes also capricious, child-like demeanor results in one of the most memorable Jujutsu Kaisen cursed spirits ever.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is animated by MAPPA and directed by Sunghoo Park. For a more in-depth look at the release schedule ahead, check out our current guides to the biggest 2022 movie releases and the winter anime season.