It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Japan on June 24, 2011, and in the United States by Funimation's live-action client, Giant Ape Media, on April 29, 2014.

On Earth, Mamoru's brother Susumu is scavenging on the irradiated surface near the half-buried wreck of the battleship Yamato, when an object impacts near him and knocks him unconscious.

He is rescued by Okita's returning ship and it is discovered that the capsule contains engineering schematics for a new warp drive and coordinates for the planet from which it came, Iskandar.

After learning what happened at Mars, Susumu accuses Okita of using his brother as a living shield and tries to hit him, but crew member Yuki Mori violently stops him.

He also reveals that the capsule contained only the plans for the Wave Motion Engine and the coordinates to Iskandar, and the idea of the device was made up to give humanity hope.

Kodai reluctantly orders Yuki, in her fighter, to blast the third bridge support away moments before it detonates, saving the Yamato but killing several crewmates.

The Yamato arrives at Iskandar, but is met by the Gamilas from the large fleet who send a spacecraft to obstruct the muzzle of the Wave Motion Cannon.

With their main weapon disabled, Kodai makes the dangerous choice to conduct a random warp and ends up at the opposite side of Iskandar.

Much of the assaulters are killed, and the remaining pilots stay behind to cover for Kodai, science officer Sanada, Saito and Mori as they head for the coordinates.

The crewmen of the Yamato rejoice at their return home, but a surviving Gamilas ship ambushes them and severely damages the battleship, disabling all of its weapons.

The Daily Sports newspaper reported that 80% of the scenes incorporate the latest CGI technology to recreate the space battles from the television series.

[7] Erika Sawajiri was originally scheduled to also star in the film as the female lead character Yuki Mori, but was replaced by Meisa Kuroki.

The book further explains the story behind the 2194 planet bomb attacks and also includes a scene where Shima's mute son, Jiro, finally speaks for the first time upon seeing the Yamato survivors' arrival.

[15] Space Battleship Yamato debuted at number 1 on the Japanese box-office, ousting Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.

[4] Zac Bertschy of the Anime News Network rated the film a B, calling it "a thoroughly modernized adaptation, one that hits the gas pedal right out of the gate and doesn't stop for a moment, unashamed to just try and entertain the hell out of you.

The reviewer said the pressure of releasing a film with much corporate backing and expectations by die-hard fans put much stress on the production team, but they were able to have sufficient entertaining fare for kids and make serious drama work.

[19] On the other hand, Christoph Mark of The Daily Yomiuri said the film "lacked gravity" and criticized the production design as too reminiscent of the Battlestar Galactica remake.