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Demon Slayer Stays at #1, Searching for Magical Doremi Debuts at #4

Demon Slayer - Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train stayed at #1 for its fifth weekend. It sold 1,147,000 tickets for 1,521,657,050 yen (about US$14.56 million) over the weekend. The film has now sold a total of 17,505,285 tickets for a cumulative earning of 23,349,291,050 yen (about US$223 million).

Last week, the film became the fifth highest-earning film of all time in Japan, surpassing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone's 20.3 billion yen gross, and becoming the third highest-earning anime film of all time in Japan.

The film opened on October 16 at #1 in its opening weekend, and had the highest opening weekend globally for the October 16-18 weekend. 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 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 main staff members of the previous television anime returned for the sequel film. Toho and Aniplex are handling the film's distribution in Japan. Funimation and Aniplex of America will screen the film in theaters in North America in early 2021.

Looking for Magical Doremi (Majo Minarai o Sagashite), the brand-new anime film commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Ojamajo Doremi magical girl anime franchise, opened at #4. The film earned 74,061,680 yen (about US$709,100) from Friday to Sunday.

The film opened last Friday after a COVID-19 delay. It premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival on November 10. Toei and Toei Animation announced in March that they were postponing the May 15 opening of the movie due to production issues, and later rescheduled the anime for fall.

The story follows 27-year-old Tokyo office worker Mire Yoshizuki who just returned to Japan, 22-year-old fourth-year college student Sora Nagase who aspires to be a teacher, and 20-year-old boyish, part-time Hiroshima okonomiyaki shop worker and freelancer Reika Kawatani. What draws together these three women from completely different walks of life are Magic Spheres. A "New Magical Story" begins when they are mysteriously brought together by chance and embark on a journey.

Junichi Sato (Sailor Moon, Aria, Princess Tutu), the director of the original Ojamajo Doremi anime, directed the new film alongside Yū Kamatani (Precure franchise episode director) at Toei Animation. Midori Kuriyama (episode scriptwriter for Lovely Complex, Heartcatch Precure) and Yoshihiko Umakoshi (Boys Over Flowers, Mushishi) also returned from Ojamajo Doremi as scriptwriter and character designer, respectively, and Umakoshi is also credited as chief animation director. Shouko Nakamura (Doukyusei -Classmates-) is also credited as animation director for the film, and Hiromi Seki led her team as producer.

The Eiga Precure Miracle Leap: Minna to Fushigi na 1-nichi (Everyone and the Mysterious One Day) anime film dropped from #4 to #5 in tickets sold in its third weekend. The film earned 38,830,790 yen (about US$371,700) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 290,429,000 yen (about US$2.78 million).

The film ranked at #3 and earned earned 107,952,960 yen (about US$1.03 million) over its opening weekend.

The film was originally slated to open on March 20, but was delayed to May 16 in order to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). It was then delayed to October 31.

Kyoto Animation's Violet Evergarden: The Movie anime film rose from #10 back to #7 in number of tickets sold in its ninth weekend. The film earned 46,730,900 yen (about US$447,400) from Friday to Sunday. The film has now earned an overall total of 1,844,810,900 yen (about US$17.6 million). The film is the first new Japanese anime film (as opposed to compilation films) to open in Dolby Cinemas, where it began screening last Friday.

The film opened in Japan on September 18, and it ranked at #2 in its opening weekend.

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 Monster Strike The Movie: Lucifer Zetsubō no Yoake (Lucifer Dawn of Despair) film dropped from #6 to #9 in its second weekend. The film earned 25,873,370 yen (about US$247,600) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 120,408,060 yen (about US$1.15 million).

The film opened at #6 in Japan.

The film had been rescheduled from June to a November 6 opening, after a delay to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Kobun Shizuno (Detective Conan films) directed the movie at Anima and Dynamo Pictures, and Masaya Honda (Boruto: Naruto Next Generations) wrote the script. Masayoshi Ōishi contributed the film's theme song "Eiyū no Uta" (Heroes' Song).

The theatrical screening of the seventh, eighth, and ninth episodes of the Sōkyū no Fafner THE BEYOND anime project topped the mini-theater rankings in Japan in its opening weekend. The screenings earned 38,460,100 yen (about US$368,000) from Friday to Sunday. The screenings opened last Friday.

Date A Bullet: Nightmare or Queen, the second part in the two-part theatrical anime adaptation of Yuichiro Higashide's Date A Live Fragment: Date A Bullet spinoff novels, ranked at #4 in the mini-theater rankings in Japan in its opening weekend. The film opened in Japan last Friday. Date A Bullet: Dead or Bullet, the first film, opened in Japan on August 14.

Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), Eiga.com, comScore via KOFIC