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.

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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.