Imagine if people looking at their phones in the movie theater werent an annoyance but rather a fun, essential part of the cinemagoing experience. Japanese production company King Records has achieved something close to that improbable scenario with the innovative musical anime feature Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle, which the company says is the worlds first fully interactive theatrical film.

Released in just 85 cinemas across Japan on Feb. 21, Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle ranked eighth at Japans box office in its opening weekend and has earned over $5 million to date. More impressively, however, over 30 percent of the films viewers returned to see it more than once. Repeat viewing is an essential part of the interactive movie mediums appeal to both viewers and the projects financiers, Hypnosis Mics creators say.

To watch the Hypnosis Mic, viewers must first download a mobile app onto their phone and scan a QR code at the cinema that identifies which screening they are attending. The anime tells the story of six battle rap teams vying for musical glory and stardom. The story is structured around a sequence of battles featuring original songs by some of Japans leading hip hop groups, such as Creepy Nuts and Kreva and at numerous points throughout the film, viewers are prompted to vote on their desired outcome. The audiences preferences are instantly tallied and the film is recut accordingly. One viewing of the full feature takes 100-106 minutes, depending on the route the audience takes through the story. Altogether, the film is made up of over five hours of available footage comprising 48 different potential versions.

The story and the entertainers who are the characters really move the audiece, says Kenji Okazaki, an executive at King Records. But weve found that the audience gets even more engaged with the outcome, because they are shaping the story with their fellow viewers. Fans go to the theater a number of times, because they want to experience their ideal route and it doesnt always happen because its a voting process.

Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle Interactive storylines are not original to gaming or even television. Netflix unveiled theinteractive film, Bandersnatch,as an episode in the science fictionanthology seriesBlack Mirror in 2018.

Whats new is that Hypnosis Mic is the first theatrical version of interactive content where its a collective interaction with the content, not just one viewer at home with their TV remote or controller, says Ronan Wong, CEO of Kino Asia, the Hong Kong-based technology company that partnered with King Records to produce Hypnosis Mic. There are two layers to the experience, he adds. There is the content and then the interaction among the audience.

King Records publishes the various outcomes of the votes live online, so viewers are able to band together in advance of screenings or in real-time to support the character they favor.

The technology required to accomplish the interactive screenings is also relatively simple for cinemas. King Records and Kino Asia supply a box thats about the size of two PlayStations to cinemas. The device sits in the place of a DCP and requires only two connections high-speed internet and a 2K or 4K connection to the theaters projector.

The business model is similar to Imax, where viewers are charged a premium ticket price 2,500 yen in Japan (about $18) which is split between the theater and King Records.

Okazaki says King Records has other interactive titles in development. The executive is also attending Hong Kongs Filmart content market this week to meet with potential distribution partners from across Asia for Hypnosis Mic and its technology.

The interactive Hypnosis Mic feature is the latest installment in a broader anime franchise produced by King Records, which has comprised music publishing projects and a popular anime TV series.

Says Okazaki:The Hypnosis Mic franchise already has a fanbase in Korea and China, so we are hopeful that we can introduce the potential of interactive movies to other markets soon.