A few days ago, we wrote about several theaters that experienced a strange subtitle issue with the live-adaptation of Attack on Titan: Part 1. Several theaters reported that the movie locked on the line, “I’ve been waiting for this day!”
The reason that this happened is a bit strange yet indicative of the times we live in. “Unlike in the past, where subtitles were on each film frame, today’s subtitles are added digitally. The assumption is that this could be an issue with the software or hardware being used to project the film,” explains Kotaku.
Until recently, there wasn’t an official statement from FUNimation regarding the incident, but that has since changed. We were sent the statement by FUNimation, which reads:
Both FUNimation and fans of Attack on Titan have been waiting for the day when the live action movie would open in theaters in the U.S. Unfortunately, fans at a handful of theaters last night did not have the experience that we hoped they would have.
As reported online, there was a glitch in the middle of the Attack on Titan Part 1 which caused the subtitles to freeze on a single line of text for 10 or more minutes while the movie continued to play. FUNimation became aware of the subtitle problem on Monday, September 28. All exhibitors were alerted to the issue and worked with Deluxe to provide a simple fix that same day to correct the software error. FUNimation and Deluxe followed up with all exhibitors the next day – Tuesday, September 29.
The handful of theaters that experienced the subtitle problem last night did not implement the fix, which resulted in the glitch during their screenings. Our theatrical division and Deluxe are in contact with these specific locations to confirm the fix is being implemented and what, if any, assistance FUNimation can provide to ensure this problem does not occur again during the remainder of the Attack on Titan Part 1 theatrical run. FUNimation will be hardcoding subtitles on Attack on Titan Part 2 and other future releases to prevent this problem from happening again.
Hopefully this means that no further issues will arise for Part 1 and hopefully nothing of the sort will happen for Attack on Titan: Part 2, which comes to theaters October 22 and October 26.