The Case Closed: The Million-dollar Pentagram film continues to dominate the Japanese box office, retaining its number one spot for the third consecutive weekend. The movie sold an impressive 940,000 tickets and earned approximately 1.35 billion yen (about US$8.85 million) from Friday to Sunday. With Monday being a holiday in Japan and marking the start of the Golden Week holidays, the film’s total ticket sales have reached 6,449,000, amassing a cumulative total of 9.291 billion yen (about US$60.71 million).
This 27th installment in the Detective Conan franchise not only had a record-breaking opening weekend but has also surpassed the opening weekend earnings of the previous 26th Detective Conan film, setting a new high for the franchise. Furthermore, it has achieved the largest opening weekend for any film in Japan this year, outperforming HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle, which sold 1,529,000 tickets and earned 2.23 billion yen (about US$14.83 million) in its opening weekend.
The film’s success is bolstered by its expansive release, showing in 515 cinemas across Japan, making it the most widely screened entry in the franchise to date. It is also being shown in IMAX, MX4D, 4DX, and Dolby Cinema in select theaters. The film’s theme song “Sōshi Sōai” (Mutual Love) is performed by AIKO.
Meanwhile, the sequel film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire debuted at number 2 in the Japanese box office, selling 306,000 tickets and earning 466 million yen (about US$3.05 million) in its first three days. Its United States opening was two weeks prior to Japan’s, with the film earning US$8 million during preview screenings in roughly 3,400 locations, marking the second-best preview performance for a “Monsterverse” movie.
The BLUELOCK -Episode Nagi- film fell to number 3 in its second weekend, having earned 251 million yen (about US$1.64 million) from Friday to Sunday, leading to a cumulative total earning of 841 million yen (about US$5.50 million). This film opened to strong sales, selling 337,000 tickets and earning 463 million yen (about US$2.99 million) in its first three days, and it initially ranked number 2 in its opening weekend at the Japanese box office.
Additionally, the Onmyoji 0 live-action film, a prequel set in the universe of the original Onmyoji, saw a decrease to number 4 in its second weekend. The movie stars Kento Yamazaki as the young mystic Abe no Seimei and has cumulatively earned about 564 million yen (about US$3.68 million) since its opening.
The live-action film Hen na Ie, based on the novel by Uketsu, remained in the top 5 for the seventh weekend, maintaining its popularity with earnings of 130 million yen (about US$855,300) from Friday to Sunday, bringing its cumulative total to approximately 4.33 billion yen (about US$28.31 million).
In contrast, the highly anticipated HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle film has dropped to number 6 in its 11th weekend, despite having earned a cumulative total of almost 10 billion yen (about US$65.07 million) thus far.
The box office results provide a fascinating insight into the preferences of Japanese cinema-goers, showcasing a mix of anime adaptations, live-action films, and franchise continuations that continue to draw in crowds.
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