Chiikawa Slips to Second at Japan’s Box Office as Precure Holds Third

Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island (Eiga Chiikawa: Ningyo no Shima no Himitsu) fell from No. 1 to No. 2 in its 10th weekend at Japan’s box office. From Friday through Sunday, it sold 182,000 tickets and earned 280,160,700 yen, about US$1.78 million.

The first anime film based on Nagano’s Chiikawa manga has sold 11.55 million tickets, earning 16,857,364,400 yen, about US$107 million. It remains Japan’s highest-grossing film this year and now places 14th on the country’s all-time box office chart.

The film opened July 24 and led the box office in its debut weekend. Its opening-day earnings reached 990 million yen, about US$6.05 million.

Across its first three days, it sold 1,508,500 tickets and earned 2,240,333,500 yen, about US$13.70 million. By September 23, the end of Japan’s “Silver Week” holidays, sales totaled 11.33 million tickets and 16.5 billion yen, about US$104.3 million.

Special screenings followed this schedule:

• September 5: 4DX screenings began.
• September 11: Cheering screenings ran for one day only.
• September 23: Penlight screenings took place.

The story adapts the manga arc Nagano posted on X, formerly Twitter, from March through November 2023. Fans call it the “Siren Arc” or “Island Arc.”

Nagano received the original-story credit and wrote the screenplay. Kei Oikawa directed at Cygames Pictures under Nagano’s supervision, with QTORY inc. managing production and TOHO handling distribution.

Oikawa’s directing credits include:

• Three seasons of Uma Musume Pretty Derby
• Hinamatsuri
• My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU TOO!
• My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax

Star Detective Precure! The Movie: The Mysterious Garden and the Secret of 2 People (Eiga Meitantei Precure! Fushigi na Niwa to Futari no Himitsu) held No. 3 in its second weekend. It accompanies Star Detective Precure!, the Precure franchise’s 23rd main anime entry.

The film sold 134,000 tickets from Friday through Sunday, earning 174,435,520 yen, about US$1.11 million. Its cumulative sales reached 740,000 tickets and 930,809,150 yen, about US$5.93 million.

Following its September 18 Japanese opening, the film sold 358,000 tickets and earned 446 million yen, about US$2.82 million, over three days. Its first six days, through September 23, brought 606,000 ticket sales and 746 million yen, about US$4.71 million.

The voice cast for its original characters includes:

• Akari Kitō as Karin, a 14-year-old girl central to the story’s mystery.
• Nobunaga Shimazaki as Alan, a fairy watching over Karin.
• Kōki Uchiyama as Rain, a fairy seeking help from the Detective Precures.

The film’s staff includes:

• Director Hanako Ueda, whose episode-directing credits include You and Idol Precure♪, Summer Time Rendering, and My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON.
• Screenwriter Yoshimi Narita, whose film credits include Eiga HappinessCharge PreCure! Ningyō no Kuni no Ballerina, Eiga Precure All Stars New Stage 3: Eien no Tomodachi, and Eiga Tropical-Rouge! Precure: Yuki no Princess to Kiseki no Yubiwa!
• Composer Erika Fukasawa, whose credits include Eiga Kimi to Idol Precure♪ Omatase! Kimi ni Todokeru Kirakkilive!
• Composer Misaki Umase, whose credits include You and Idol Precure♪.
• Character designer and chief animation director Emiko Miyamoto, whose credits include Eiga Precure All Stars F and original character design for Precure Super Stars!

Yūka Masui and Chihaya Yoshitake sing the ending theme, “FIRST PRISM.” Ami Ishii sings the insert song “First Step.”

Shingo Yamashita’s Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (Chō Kaguya-hime!) slipped from No. 6 to No. 10 in its second week following its September 18 theatrical return. The return introduced MX4D, 4DX, SCREENX, ULTRA 4DX, and Dolby Atmos screenings.

The film earned 88,436,840 yen, about US$564,000, from Friday through Sunday. Its total earnings reached 3,181,757,980 yen, about US$20.29 million.

Netflix started streaming the film on January 22. Its initial limited theatrical release began February 20, and tickets sold out quickly. Some theaters expanded their schedules to more than 10 screenings daily.

Originally planned for one week, the Japanese theatrical run received an extension and ultimately ended June 18.

The film includes songs by these Vocaloid producers:

• Ryo (supercell)
• kz (Livetune)
• 40mP
• HoneyWorks
• Aqu3ra
• yuigot

Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht: Rising (Gekijōban Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magica: Walpurgis no Kaiten) left the top 10 in its fifth weekend. It nevertheless earned 62,114,740 yen, about US$396,100, from Friday through Sunday.

The film’s cumulative earnings stand at 2,176,335,280 yen, about US$13.87 million.

Sound! Euphonium, The Final Movie Part 2 (Saishū Gakushō Hibike! Euphonium Kōhen) remained outside the top 10 in its fourth weekend. It earned 36,546,320 yen, about US$233,000, from Friday through Sunday, bringing its total to 358,316,660 yen, about US$2.28 million.

The first installment of the Re:cycle of Penguindrum compilation film project placed No. 3 in the mini-theater rankings.

The live-action adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s “Look Back” one-shot manga exited the rankings in its third weekend.