Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone - Release

Release

In the weeks leading up to the film's theatrical release, the film was promoted by promotional campaigns by numerous media outlets, including the Japanese edition of Rolling Stone and Pizza Hut. The film was originally planned to premiere in Shinjuku at the Cinema Square Tōkyū theater, but was changed to the Milano 1 theater in order to accommodate the growing crowds. At the film's theatrical premiere on September 1, 2007, the film's official Bandai Channel news feed reported full houses and full applause from fans. The film opened on 84 screens and at first place in the Japanese box office during its opening weekend, with some 236,158 spending 280 million yen (about US $2.8 million). The film dropped to second place during its second week and was later reported to be have been seen by approximately 1 million people in its first four weeks after opening.

The film became Gainax's highest grossing film of the series, earning 1.468 billion yen (about US $16,445,415), beating the previous record set by The End of Evangelion, which earned 1.45 billion yen or US $16,243,768, and Evangelion: Death and Rebirth, which earned 1.1 billion yen or US $12,322,858. The film was re-released in April 2008 under the title "Evangelion: 1.01 You Are (Not) Alone." in theaters with an additional 266 enhancements to coincide with the DVD release. The film was ranked as the 4th highest grossing anime film at the Japanese box office in 2007, earning approximately 2 billion yen (US $18.7 million) during its theatrical run.

The first international screening of the film was on October 12, 2007 as the closing film of the 2007 Pusan International Film Festival in Japanese with Korean and English subtitles. The film has been released internationally throughout early to late 2008. The film was released in South Korea (January 24, 2008), Malaysia (July 1, 2008), Singapore (March 13, 2008), Hong Kong (April 3, 2008), Taiwan (April 18, 2008), Germany (October 2008), and Italy by Dynit (October 30, 2008). The film was released on DVD in Australia by Red Ant Enterprises on November 12, 2008, although that release is no longer available for sale as Red Ant Enterprises went into receivership in January 2009. The Australian rights have since been sub-licensed to Madman Entertainment, who have a special relationship with FUNimation and have the rights to the TV series and movies from Manga Entertainment and ADV Films. The film was released in France by distributor Dybex at the out of competition screening at the 2008 Annecy International Animated Film Festival. The film made its Canadian premiere at the Waterloo Festival for Animated Cinema in November 2008. Madman Entertainment released the film in Australia on November 30, 2009. Madman then sub-licensed Evangelion 1.11 from Manga UK and has done the same for Evangelion 2.0.

The film has also screened at Santa Barbara International Film Festival as well as at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival in March 2009.

In November 2008, FUNimation Entertainment issued a cease and desist order to fansubbers of Evangelion 1.0 on behalf of NTV, along with several other anime properties. On December 31, 2008, FUNimation announced that it had acquired the rights to the first Rebuild of Evangelion film. On May 23, 2009, the cast was announced for the English dub for the film at Anime Boston, with Spike Spencer and Allison Keith reprising their respective roles as Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi. Their website listed November 17, 2009 as the film's release date, however in Canada the film was released in theatre on September 30, 2009. The film is rated PG-13 in the United States for action violence and some nudity. The film was also shown in at least 77 movie theaters across North America, 60 of which are in Canada, starting with Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California, on July 2, 2009. In North American cinemas, the film took in over $100,000. FUNimation released Evangelion: 1.01 on DVD in North America on November 17, 2009, and later released 1.11 on Blu-ray and DVD on March 9, 2010.

In August 2010, Evangelion 1.0 premiered in Mexican theaters, being the first time ever a non-commercial anime film was featured in widescreen cinema theaters in Mexico, Guadalajara, and Monterrey cities, in celebration of 400 years of diplomatic relationship between Japan and Mexico.