Advent Children theatrical details unveiled

TOKYO--Square Enix announced details on the forthcoming movie debut of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. The company briefly disclosed last month that the computer-animated movie will be hitting theaters in Japan before its DVD and UMD release, but did not outline any specific information.

Admission to the movie screenings will not require any tickets, but, like most things that are free, there's a catch. Entrance is by invitation only, and only Final Fantasy VII fans that have already registered to the official "Shinra Company" online fan club hosted at Square Enix's site will be invited. The site is no longer accepting club members at the current time. If more fans sign up than there are seats available, Square will randomly select attendees from the pool.

As expected, the theatrical screening of Advent Children will be a limited run in major cities in Japan. The premiere screening will take place on September 8 in Tokyo's Virgin Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills, which also happens to be the theater where Square Enix held its Final Fantasy XII debut presentation in late 2003. The film's creators will also be on hand to speak at the showing.

Following the premiere, Square Enix will show Advent Children at three cities from September 10 to 16: Virgin Toho Cinemas Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, Toho Cinemas Nagoya Bay City in Nagoya, and Toho Cinemas Nijou in Kyoto. The movie will be shown once per day beginning at 6:30 p.m. at the three locations.