Japanese Cult Blockbuster ‘Rex: A Dinosaur’s Story’ to Get First U.S. Theatrical Release in December

Kani Releasing will bring the 1993 feature “Rex: A Dinosaur’s Story” stateside in December, setting its first-ever U.S. theatrical release. The Christmas-set comedy, which features animatronics by Italian effects guru and “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial” design creator Carlo Rambaldi, will receive a one-week run at New York’s independent theater Metrograph on December 11, with openings in Chicago, Seattle, Austin, and other markets to follow.

Released in Japan on July 3, 1993, “Rex” was heavily marketed and positioned to contend with the ranks of rival U.S. tentpoles. The blockbuster ambitions are best illustrated by the production’s recruitment of Rambaldi. The effects artist began his career in the Italian film industry, working filmmakers like Dario Argento and Mario Bava, before making a jump to Hollywood and contributing to productions like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Alien,” and “Dune.” “Rex” was certainly chasing the child-actor and animatronic two-hander dramatics of “E.T.,” which were made possible by Rambaldi’s work designing the character.

“Rex” was actually a strong box office draw in Japan, grossing 2.2 billion yen in its theatrical run to rank as the seventh-highest-grossing release of 1993. But at a production budget of 2 billion yen, the family film was still a money loser in theaters.

As Kani Releasing describes it, original distributor Shochiku also pulled “Rex” from theaters after the film’s then-dominant director Haruki Kadokawa was accused of instructing an aide to smuggle cocaine from the United States. Though the blockbuster director argued his innocence, he was convicted in 1994 and served a two-and-a-half year sentence. (Shortly after, he had managed to direct another feature: the 1997 adaptation of Yasutaka Tsutsui’s sci-fi novel “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.”)

The North American release comes after Japan Society programmed a new remaster during its 2026 edition of New York’s Japan Cuts festival in July. Kani Releasing is handling distribution, adding to its catalogue of repertory titles and rising directors from Asian film industries.

“Rex: A Dinosaur’s Story” will play Metrograph to open its “Dinosauria” series. Running through January 3, other titles programmed include “Fantasia,” “Godzilla,” “Journey to the Beginning of Time,” “Jurassic Park,” “The Land Before Time,” and “The Tree of Life.”