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Live-Action Silent Service Sequel Film Opens at #3

posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda


Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc MX4D, 4DX, Dolby poster
Image via Chainsaw Man anime's website

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, the film based on the Reze Arc of Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man manga, stayed at #1 in its second weekend at the Japanese box office. The film sold 523,000 tickets and earned 799,728,500 yen (about US$5.40 million) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold a total of 1.96 million tickets and earned a cumulative total of 2,989,518,900 yen (about US$20.19 million).

The film opened at #1 replacing the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle - Akaza Sairai film, which had topped the box office for nine straight weeks. The film sold 807,000 tickets for 1,251,178,500 yen (about US$8.46 million) in its opening weekend in Japan.

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc film sold over 272,000 tickets for over 420 million yen (about US$2.8 million) on its opening day in Japan on Friday.

The film opened in Japan on Friday in 421 theaters, and had midnight screenings in 12 theaters across Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Hokkaido in Japan. The film also has MX4D, 4DX, and Dolby Cinema screenings. The film's distributor TOHO projects the film could eventually earn 5 billion yen (about US$34 million) over its entire theatrical run.

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has acquired worldwide theatrical rights the film. The company will open the film in theaters in the United States on October 24, several days earlier than its originally scheduled October 29 release. The film will open in the United Kingdom on October 29, and it began screening earlier in more than 80 countries on September 24.

Reina Ueda plays Reze in the film.

kimetsu
Image via Demon Slayer franchise's X/Twitter account

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle - Akaza Sairai, the first film in the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle trilogy, stayed at #2 in its 11th weekend. The film sold 271,000 tickets for 447,408,600 yen (about US$3.02 million) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold a total of 24.26 million tickets for 35,064,331,400 yen (about US$236 million).

The film had sold a total of 23,042,671 tickets for 33,056,606,000 yen (about US$224 million) as of September 15, its 60th day in the Japanese box office. This made it the second highest earning film of all time at the Japanese box office, surpassing Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's 2001 film Spirited Away, which earned 31,680,000,000 (about US$315 million in 2001's yen-dollar conversion) to become the #2 highest-earning film of all time in Japan. The film had earned an estimated total of US$555 million worldwide as of September 21. The film is now the highest-earning anime film of all time worldwide, as well as the highest-earning Japanese film of all time worldwide. It is also the #9 highest-grossing film worldwide for 2025, after surpassing The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Captain America: Brave New World.

The film earned an estimated US$17.3 million in the United States in its second weekend in the U.S. box office, thus ranking #1 in the U.S. box office for its second weekend. It is the first anime film to top the U.S. for two consecutive weekends. With US$104,730,034 in the United States, it has become the highest-grossing anime film in the country (unadjusted for inflation) and also the first to earn over US$100 million there. 

Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train, the October 2020 film from the same franchise, is currently the highest earning film in Japan, with a 40.75 billion yen (about US$277 million in current conversion) total take in Japan. The film itself surpassed Spirited Away (then the #1 highest earning film in Japan) in December 2020, two months after it opened in Japan.

Haruo Sotozaki is directing the anime at ufotable, and ufotable is also credited for the screenplay. Aimer is performing the song "Taiyō ga Noboranai Sekai" ("A World Where the Sun Never Rises"), and LiSA is performing the song "Zankoku no Yoru ni Kagayake" ("Shine in the Cruel Night").

Poster for Chinmoku no Kantai Hokkyoku-kai dai kaisen
Image via The Silent Service film's X/Twitter

Chinmoku no Kantai Hokkyoku-kai dai kaisen (The Silent Service: The Battle of the Arctic Ocean), the sequel film for the live-action project of Kaiji Kawaguchi's The Silent Service manga, ranked at #3 in its opening weekend. The film sold 195,000 tickets and earned 282,233,100 yen (about US$1.90 million) in its first three days.

The film opened on September 26. Kōhei Yoshino directed the film, with a script by Hikaru Takai.

Kōhei Yoshino directs the film with a script by Hikaru Takai. Yoshihiro Ike composes the music. Ado performs the theme song "Kaze to Watashi no Monogatari" (The Tale of The Wind and I).

The first film opened in Japan on September 29, 2023, and sold 274,000 tickets for 370,136,800 yen (about US$2.46 million) in its first three days. Takao Osawa and Shinzō Matsuhashi produced the live-action film, Kōhei Yoshino directed the film, and Hikaru Takai wrote the script. 

In the story, Shiro Kaieda is appointed the captain of Japan's first nuclear submarine, jointly built by Japan and the United States in top secret. However, he and his 76 crew members go rogue in this story that delves into themes of nuclear war, international politics, and world peace.

The live-action series sequel titled Chinmoku no Kantai Season 1: Tokyowan Daikaisen (Silent Service Season 1: The Battle of Tokyo Bay) premiered on Amazon Prime in February 2024. The series' first four episodes focus on unreleased scenes not depicted in the film. Episodes 5-8 tell a sequel story.

Kawaguchi (Eagle, Kūbo Ibuki) serialized the manga in Kodansha's Morning magazine from 1988 to 1996. The manga already inspired a television anime special from Sunrise in 1996, followed by Sunrise's two-part original video anime from 1997 to 1998. Central Park Media offered the anime on videotape and later DVD.

The Exit 8
Image via The Exit 8 film's X/Twitter account

The live-action film of KOTAKE CREATE's infinite-loop horror game The Exit 8 (8-ban Deguchi) dropped from #3 to #4 in its fifth weekend. The film sold 168,000 tickets and earned 236,383,300 yen (about US$1.59 million) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold a total of 3.01 million tickets and earned a cumulative total of 4,253,645,900 yen (about US$28.74 million).

The film opened in Japan on August 29, and ranked at #2 in its opening weekend. The film sold 672,000 tickets and earned 960,867,600 yen (about US$6.46 million) in its first three days. The film now has the highest earning opening three days for a live-action film in Japan for 2025.

The film had its world premiere screening at Cannes during the festival on May 19. The film had an eight-minute standing ovation at its Cannes screening. The film's poster (image right) also won Cannes' Prix Luciole poster competition.

The film had a screening at the Centrepiece Section of the 50th Toronto International Film Festival, which will be held on September 4-14. It will also screen at the 58th SITGES - International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia in Spain on October 9-19.

North American film distribution company NEON (Oscar-winning films Parasite, Anora U.S. distributor) will release the film in North America in early 2026.

Singer and actor Kazunari Ninomiya (live-action Letters from Iwo Jima, Ōoku, Gantz, Assassination Classroom) stars in the film in his first collaboration with writer-director Genki Kawamura (producer on your name., Fireworks, Should We See it from the Side or the Bottom?, Suzume).

In the game, a player is trapped at a subway train station, in an underground passageway that goes in an endless loop. To escape to "Exit 8," the player must keep walking while looking carefully for any anomaly that foreshadows danger.

go1a4oiamaayr-r
Image via You and Idol Precure film's X/Twitter account

Eiga Kimi to Idol Precure♪ Omatase! Kimi ni Todokeru Kirakkilive!, the film for You and Idol Precure♪ (Kimi to Idol Precure♪), the 22nd main anime entry in the Precure franchise, dropped from #6 to #7 in its third weekend. The film earned 113,597,350 yen (about US$767,600) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 919,462,920 yen (about US$6.21 million).

The film opened on September 12. It sold 283,000 tickets and earned 346 million yen (about US$2.35 million) in its first three days.

The film's story is set on Aiai Island during the Super Miracle Idol Festival, the #1 idol festival in the universe. Uta and the others join idols from around the world, but Uta meets Tera, a red-haired girl who despises idols. The film previously teased the appearances of the characters from the franchise's previous two main anime entries, Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure and Wonderful Precure!

The five Precure girls (as voiced by their respective cast members) perform the "♪HiBiKi Au Uta♪" theme song. 

The cast also includes Maaya Uchida as Tera, Ayane Sakura as Amas, and comedian Atsuhiro Tsuda, from the comedy duo Diane, as Totto. 

Each filmgoer who is in junior high school or younger will receive one of two different, randomly distributed light-up Miracle Aiai Bracelets. The nationwide concert tour accompanying the film will feature the film's theme song, and participating theaters will stream the tour's final stop for live viewing.

gwf3md1xuaekx4_
Image via 100 Meters anime's X/Twitter account

The anime film of Uoto's 100 Meters (Hyakuemu) manga dropped from #8 to #10 in its second weekend. The film earned 73,777,820 yen (about US$498,600) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 270,214,400 yen (about US$1.82 million).

The film opened at #8. The film earned 102,666,040 yen (about US$694,700) in its first three days.

The film held its world premiere at Annecy on June 12. The movie premiered in Japan on September 19.

GKIDS will screen the film on October 12-14 in Japanese with English subtitles and with an English dub. There will be an opening screening in Los Angeles on October 10. 

Tori Matsuzaka plays the gifted runner Togashi, while Shōta Sometani plays Komiya, a hard worker whose obsession with the 100-meter dash began when he met Togashi. 

Kenji Iwaisawa (ON-GAKU: Our Sound) directed the film at Rock 'n' Roll Mountain. Pony Canyon, TBS TV, and ASMIK Ace are credited with production. Yasuyuki Mutō (Tokyo Revengers) wrote the script. Keisuke Kojima was the character designer and chief animation director, and Keikankun Yamaguchi was the art director. Producers include Yūsuke Terada, Yūki Katayama, and Akane Taketsugu. Hiroaki Tsutsumi composed the music for the film.

The band Official HiGE DANdism performs the film's theme song "Rashisa."

Karada Sagashi The Last Night, the sequel to the 2022 Karada Sagashi live-action film adaptation of Katsutoshi Murase and Welzard's horror manga, dropped off the top 10 once more in its fourth weekend.

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


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