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Demon Slayer Film Opens at #1, Violet Evergarden Film Sells Over 1 Million Tickets

The Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train film for the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba series opened at #1 at the Japanese box office. The film sold 3,424,930 tickets and earned 4,623,117,450 yen (about US$43.85 million) in Japan in its first three days.

The film sold 910,507 tickets and earned over 1,268,724,700 yen (about US$12.03 million) in its opening day alone, making it the highest weekday opening day for in Japan ever.

The film sold 1,270,234 tickets and earned 1,701,723,350 yen (about US$16.14 million) on its second day. It sold 1,239,752 tickets and earned 1,652,669,400 yen (about US$15.67 million) on its third day. The Saturday and Sunday totals combined are Japan's highest weekend opening ever.

The film opened in Japan last Friday in 403 theaters, and it also began screening in all 38 IMAX theaters in Japan on the same day. Some theaters reportedly screened the movie 40 times each day. The film is the first Japanese film that opened this year to screen in IMAX theaters. Funimation and Aniplex of America will screen the film in theaters in North America in early 2021.

Theatergoers in Japan receive a "Rengoku Volume 0" manga volume, which is limited to 4.5 million copies. Original manga creator Koyoharu Gotouge drew the manga, which shows Rengoku's first mission.

The main staff members of the previous television anime are returning for the sequel film. TOHO and Aniplex are handling the film's distribution in Japan.

Kyoto Animation's Violet Evergarden: The Movie anime film dropped from #3 to #5 in its fifth weekend. The film earned 77,441,300 yen (about US$733,700) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold over 1 million tickets and earned a cumulative total of 1,454,170,500 yen (about US$13.77 million).

The film opened in Japan on September 18, and it ranked at #2 in its opening weekend. As of September 22, the film had sold 390,000 tickets to earn 559 million yen (about US$5.31 million), and had a per-screen average of 1.64 million yen (about US$15,600).

The film's official website announced on April 6 that Kyoto Animation postponed the film's opening in Japan due to concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The film was slated to open in Japan on April 24. This was the second delay for the film, as it was originally slated for a January 10, 2020 opening in Japan.

The franchise's separate side-story anime, titled Violet Evergarden I: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll (Violet Evergarden Gaiden: Eien to Jidō Shuki Ningyō), opened in theaters in Japan last September, and it screened for at least five weeks. The film eventually earned a cumulative total of 831 million yen (about US$7.90 million). Netflix debuted the anime on April 2.

The Eiga Crayon Shin-chan Gekitotsu! Rakuga Kingdom to Hobo Yonin no Yūsha (Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Crash! Rakuga Kingdom and Roughly Four Heroes) film dropped from #5 to #7 in its sixth weekend. The film earned 30,384,450 yen (about US$287,800) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 1,085,377,700 yen (about US$10.28 million).

The 28th Crayon Shin-chan film opened on September 11 after it was delayed from its April 24 opening due to the effects of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The film opened at #1. The film sold 212,000 tickets and earned 262 million yen (about US$2.47 million) in its opening weekend.

Takahiko Kyōgoku (Land of the Lustrous, Love Live! School idol project, GATE) directed the film, and Ryō Takada (Meow Meow Japanese History) wrote the script. Shinei Animation, TV Asahi, ADK, and Futabasha are credited for production. musician Takafumi Ikeda's "solo unit" Rekishi performed the film's theme song "Giga Aishiteru."

The Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Shin Kyōryū (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Dinosaur) anime film climbed from #6 to #10 in its 11th weekend. The film earned 23,699,000 yen (US$224,400) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 3,250,964,550 yen (about US$30.79 million).

The film opened at #1 in 377 theaters in its first weekend. The film sold 630,000 tickets for 761 million yen (about US$7.13 million) from August 7-9. The film sold 334,000 tickets for 413 million yen (about US$3.86 million) on Saturday and Sunday. The film opened in Japan on August 7, after being postponed from its original March 6 opening in order to curb the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The film's story begins with Nobita meeting two twin dinosaurs named Kyu and myu. Despite the film's similarity in title to Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Dinosaur, the first film in the franchise, the story is completely different. The new film is the franchise's 40th, and it marks the 50th anniversary of the original manga.

Kazuaki Imai, an episode director on the Doraemon television anime, and the director of 2018's Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Treasure Island film, directed the 40th film. Genki Kawamura also returned from the 2018 film to pen the new film's script. Mr. Children performed the theme songs "Birthday" and "Kimi to Kasaneta Monologue" for the film. The film is the franchise's first to feature two theme songs, and it is also the first work for which Mr. Children have written two songs.

Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin, The Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web, Eiga.com, comScore via KOFIC