Setting The Rise of Darkrai is set in an area based on Barcelona, Spain. The staff visited this area in September 2006 to form a basis for the movie’s setting. Yuyama travelled there with screenwriter Hideki Sonoda and composer Shinji Miyazaki. Places in The Rise of Darkrai are inspired by places in Spain - the Space-Time Towers and Oración featured are based on the incomplete Sagrada Família and the Park Güell, respectively, in Barcelona. The name of the architect behind the Space-Time Towers, Godey, and the name of his descendant, Tonio, bear homage to the name of Sagrada Família's architect, Antoni Gaudí. Cast Development As with all Pokémon films, it was announced in Japan after the ending credits of the previous Pokémon film; in this case, Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. Release Theatrical run The film originally distributed by Toho was released on Japanese theaters on July 14, 2007 in Japan. Broadcast airing On January 25, 2008, Cartoon Network revealed the title to be Pokémon: The Rise Of Darkrai, with a preview that aired on February 1, 2008 as part of a two-hour premiere involving a tag team battle at 8 PM ET/ PT, and was shown on Cartoon Network on February 24, 2008 in the United States at 7 pm ET/PT. This is the first English dub done by DuArt Film and Video instead of TAJ Studios. Home media In the UK, the movie was released on DVD by Network DVD, who specialise in distributing old British TV shows. Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the film on DVD in Northern European countries. It was later re-released on DVD in the UK with the other Diamond and Pearl movies as part of the 4 disc Diamond & Pearl Collection from Manga Entertainment, released on May 21, 2018. It was then later re-released as a separate title again by Manga Entertainment on April 15, 2019. Blu-ray Release on December 13, 2021 in the UK. Reception Box office The Rise of Darkrai topped the Japanese box office charts in the first three days of its release. With a revenue of ¥1.13 billion ($9.26 million) from 1,074,000 viewers, the movie performed better than its predecessor Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. The Rise of Darkrai eventually earned a franchise record of (). It was the fourth highest-grossing film in Japan of 2007, behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At