Well maybe since it wasn't probably geared to
general audience or otaku then it wasn't fated to be popular like EVA, One Piece, etc. Limited releases are done when it's not anticipated to be popular imo.
If you're surrounded by the culture on a daily basis, you're probably not going to want to see it again in a movie theater. This is sounding a little like
Seirei no Moribito which prob won't help it too much either. "See it on TV, why pay for it in a movie theater?" as the thinking goes.