North American distributor GKIDS has published an official statement addressing significant subtitle synchronization errors that disrupted theatrical screenings of The Last Blossom (Housenka). The original anime feature, directed by Baku Kinoshita and penned by Kadzuya Konomoto—the creative duo acclaimed for their work on Odd Taxi—was scheduled for a limited theatrical run on August 30 and 31.
Moviegoers attending Sunday screenings reported that the English subtitles drifted several seconds out of sync with the audio track. The technical defect in the Digital Cinema Package (DCP) forced distributors to pull remaining tickets and led several theater chains to cancel subsequent Monday screenings when replacement files could not be ingested in time.
Distributor Response and Makeup Screenings
In response to the technical mishap, GKIDS stated that corrected DCPs were deployed immediately to exhibition partners, with the company now actively looking into makeup dates for impacted ticket holders:
On Sunday, GKIDS became aware of a subtitling glitch in our DCP for The Last Blossom. We immediately instructed theaters to remove shows from sale and issue refunds to affected customers until we could identify and resolve the issue. On Monday, we were able to provide a corrected version of the film to theaters. While some were able to update their screenings, others were unfortunately unable to do so in time, resulting in canceled shows.
We deeply apologize for this issue and to all moviegoers affected, whether you attended a screening or had one canceled... We are currently reviewing options including makeup screenings of the corrected version, to ensure audiences can experience this special film.
GKIDS Statement
GKIDS also clarified that the upcoming theatrical rollout for cocoon – One Summer of Girlhood, the animated adaptation of Machiko Kyo's wartime manga, remains on track to debut on September 4 with both Japanese subtitled and English dubbed options.
