Ask John: Why is the Inuyasha Movie Getting Less Theatrical Exposure than the Yu-Gi-Oh Movie?

Question:
Why is the new Inuyasha movie only going to be out in a few cities and not everywhere like the Yugioh movie?

Answer:
Quite simply, Yu-Gi-Oh is far more successful and popular in America than Inuyasha is, which explains the difference in theatrical distribution. To anime fans, it may seem as though Inuyasha is massively successful, and on the relative scale of anime in America, Inuyasha is successful. But Inuyasha is not a recognized, mainstream property in America the way Yu-Gi-Oh is. Inuyasha has a successful late night cable television broadcast, a moderately successful domestic manga and DVD release, and a dated PSone video game. On the other hand, Yu-Gi-Oh is supported by a popular TV broadcast on network television, a massively successful collectable card game, multiple domestic video game releases on multiple platforms, and backing from influential American corporate sponsors including Burger King and Warner Bros. Inuyasha is a hit within the American anime fan community while Yu-Gi-Oh is a hit within mainstream American culture, which explains their relative scale of exposure.