Many of us born in the 1990s, whether fans or not, acknowledge the cultural influence of Pokemon around the world. As most born in that era are now entering their adult years, the Pokemon series continues with the newest addition to the series, "Pocket Monsters Best Wishes". Just how many pokemon are there now? You might have dropped off at the good old days of 151, but with a modern�total of just over 640, the brand is going stronger than ever.

The two movies in the series, "Victini and the Black Hero: Zekrom" and "Victini and the White Hero: Reshiram", were released simultaneously on July 16th, and have sold more than 2 million tickets from the 15th to the 19th. This continues a consecutive five year streak of successful ticket sales for the series, starting with 2007's "Diamond & Pearl the Movie: Dialga vs. Palkia vs. Darkrai". The series is appropriately boasting the slogan "Summer is Pokemon!", referring to the brand's successful summer movie releases.

The success all started over a decade ago with the release of the first Pokemon movie, "Mewtwo Strikes Back" (1998), continuing with strong popularity even up until 2008's "Giratina and the Sky Bouquet: Shaymin", which broke a Guiness World Record with ticket sales of 2,384,198.

In just two days from the 16th to the 18th, the newest Pokemon movies have been viewed by 789,140 people, generating a revenue of 826,306,800 yen (USD$10,439,735) at the box office this past weekend. The enthusiastic reception rocketed the series to the top three,�going against gigantic world franchise Harry Potter, of which the final installation, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" was released worldwide at the end of last week. The competition between the two competing series is said to have helped both of them gain great reception at Japanese box offices, with the final chapter of Hogwarts landing at the top stop.

Source: Oricon