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Yu-Gi-Oh! movie plans finalized

By Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 3/9/2004 12:00:00 AM

NEW YORK — 4Kids Entertainment has inked an agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures for distribution of "Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie," the first theatrical motion picture based on the "Yu-Gi-Oh!" animated television series.

Warner Brothers Pictures will release "Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie" in the U.S. on August 13. The movie will be released internationally in markets outside of Asia beginning in late August, 4Kids announced today.

In a promotional push for the film, fast food chain Burger King will launch a premium promotion backed by TV advertising in the U.S. and key territories in time for the movie's release. In addition, Warner Bros. Pictures and Japanese toy and video game maker Konami Corp. will distribute "Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie" trading cards to movie-goers in the U.S. and in international markets. The card set will include a new, rare collector's card introduced specifically for the movie's theatrical release.

The moves have 4Kids confident it can extend the 2½-year-old property's popularity — a tough act to pull off considering how few children's properties outside of the preschool market remain hot for longer than two years.

"'Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie' is a natural progression as 'Yu-Gi-Oh!' remains one of television's top-rated animated series," said Alfred R. Kahn, 4Kids' chairman and CEO. "Taking Yu-Gi-Oh! to the big screen is an exciting development for 4Kids Entertainment and we look forward to building on the success of the brand for many years to come."

Mattel has been the master toy licensee for the property in the U.S. since shortly after the TV series' debut on Kids' WB! in September 2001. Upper Deck produces the property's best-known product, the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game.

The "Yu-Gi-Oh!" TV series currently airs in more than 50 countries.

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