Japan Box Office: Demon Slayer Has Extended Its No.1 Run to 11 Weeks

December 29, 2020

We witnessed a moment in the history of Japanese cinema being rewritten. In its 11th week, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train made an impressive 907,618,200 yen (about 8.77 million USD) on 575,640 admissions, bringing its total to 32,478,895,850 yen (318 million USD). Thanks to the new bonus item and the start of screening at MX4D/4DX theaters, it achieved an astounding 204 percent in attendance and 232 percent in box-office revenue compared to the previous week.

Not only did it dominate the weekend box office ranking for 11 weeks in a row, but the film finally became the top-grossing film of all-time in Japan, surpassing the previous record of 31.68 billion yen marked by Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away in 2001. We have no idea at this point how far the record will be broken.

The 23rd Pocket Monster/Pokémon anime feature film, Pocket Monster: Coco / Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle made its second-place debut with 276 million yen (2.67 million USD) on 234,000 admissions. The opening weekend gross was about 55 percent of that of the 21st film Pokémon Pocket Monster: Minna no Monogatari / Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us in 2018. The 99-minute film earned 378 million yen (3.65 million USD) in its first three days, and is expected to end its domestic run with around 2 billion yen (19 million USD).

The anime feature film adaptation of Japanese comedian Akihiro Nishino's picture book Entotsu-cho no Poupelle / Poupelle of Chimney Town was released in 306 theaters in Japan on December 25 and earned 207 million yen (2 million USD) on 144,000 admissions to rank fourth in its opening weekend.

The live-action film adaptation of Kaiu Shirai (story) and Posuka Demizu (art)'s dark fantasy shonen manga Yakusoku no Neverland / The Promised Neverland dropped two positions to fifth in its second weekend. The 118-minute film has made 800 million yen (7.3 million USD) so far.

Another new anime film of the week was Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi / Josee, the Tiger and the Fish, a Bones-produced feature based on the late Seiko Tanabe's romance short novel of the same name. The 98-minute film was released in 150 theaters, a small number compared to other anime films, and ranked ninth in its debut weekend.

Weekend box office in Japan (December 26-27, 2020)

(ticket sales basis)

1 (1). "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train" - 32.47 billion yen

2 (new). "Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle" - 378 million yen

3 (2). "Shin-kaishaku Sangokushi" - 2.25 billion yen yen

4 (new). "Poupelle of Chimney Town" - 207 million yen

5 (3). "The Promised Neverland" - 8003 million yen

6 (4). "STAND BY ME Doraemon 2" - 2.15 billion yen

7 (6). "Wonder Woman 1984" - 320 million yen

8 (5). "Kamen Rider Zero-One The Movie: REAL X TIME / Kamen Rider Saber Theatrical Short Story: The Phoenix Swordsman and the Book of Ruin" - 270 million yen

9 (new). "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish"

10 (8). "Tangaramon" - 420 million yen

"Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle" trailer: