Yo-Kai Watch movie comes to U.S. theaters … for just one day

Yo-Kai is going Hollywood, but only for a day.

Yo-Kai Watch: The Movie will play at theaters around the United States on Saturday, October 15 as part of a special engagement through movie-event company Fathom. This comes after Yo-Kai Watch 2, the role-playing game about capturing the spirit-like Yo-Kai creatures, hit 3DS September 30. The franchise, which was a massive hit when it debuted in Japan in 2013, is now giving servicing North American players with an all-out multimedia assault that includes the film, the anime, and mobile games in addition to the handheld releases. And developer Level-5 is planning to promote the new 3DS game and the film with a special event in its Yo-Kai Watch: Wibble Wobble app for iOS and Android.

Fathom Events has tickets on sale now for the film. It is playing in hundreds of theaters around the country, but most are only showing it a single time in the morning. Attendees will also get a medal for the Hovernyan Yo-Kai.

As for the cross-promotion with the mobile game, Yo-Kai Watch: Wibble Wobble will feature time-limited content from the film. From October 14 through October 23, players who log into the app on iOS or Android will get the Hovernyan Yo-Kai in their game. Fans can also have a chance to collect Darknyan and Illuminoct Yo-Kais through the games gachapon (think those capsule machines that cost 50 cents in the vestibule of a grocery store) mechanic.

Level 5 clearly wants to get fans excited about Yo-Kai, and it is flexing its marketing muscles across multiple media disciplines to make that happen.