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Mamoru Hosoda's Scarlet Film Opens at #3
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The film was previously slated to open in the United States on December 12, but has been delayed to an early 2026 release date in North America. The film is still planned to have an awards-qualifying run in North America this year.
The 82nd Venice International Film Festival screened the world premiere with five screenings on September 4-5. The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) screened the North American premiere at the 50th annual event as a Special Presentation, with four screenings on September 10-12. The New York Film Festival presented the film with two screenings on October 7-8. October 17-19's Animation is Film Festival showed the film in competition in Los Angeles.
Sony Pictures describes the film:
From visionary Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (MIRAI) comes a powerful, time-bending animated adventure about SCARLET, a medieval-era, sword fighting princess on a dangerous quest to avenge the death of her father. After failing at her mission and finding herself gravely injured in the Otherworld that exists somewhere between life and death, she encounters an idealistic young man from our present day who not only helps her to heal but shows her the possibility of a future free of bitterness and rage. When confronted again by her father's killer, Scarlet faces her most daunting battle: can she break the cycle of hatred and find meaning in life beyond revenge?
The film opened on November 7 and sold 417,700 tickets and earned 639,785,800 yen (about US$4.13 million) in its first three days.
The film, known as Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution -Shibuya Incident x The Culling Game Begins in Japan, is a compilation of the second season's "Shibuya Incident," along with the first two episodes of the third season (before the season premieres in January). The film opened on November 7 simultaneously on both IMAX screens and regular theaters.
Kōji Yusa voices the character Naoya Zen'in in the film.
The third season will premiere in Japan on January 8.
The film opened on September 19 and debuted at #1 in its opening weekend, 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.
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has acquired worldwide theatrical rights the film. The company opened the film in theaters in the United States on October 24.
Reina Ueda plays Reze in the film.
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.
The film opened in China on November 14, and it earned 373 million RMB (about US$52.53 million) in its first three days in China. The film's IMAX screenings in the country earned the equivalent of US$12.3 million, becoming the highest-earning and selling IMAX opening for a Japanese film in China. China's Ne Zha 2 is the only animated film with a higher IMAX opening in the country.
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. The film has sold 89,177,796 tickets for 106,370,568,950 yen (about US$685 million) worldwide as of Sunday, November 16. This feat makes it the first Japanese film to earn over 100 billion yen (about US$644 million) worldwide.
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 opened in Japan on October 31, and ranked at #4 in its opening weekend. The film sold 150,000 tickets and earned 183,974,840 yen (about US$1.19 million) in its first three days. Counting November 3 (which was the Culture Day holiday in Japan), the film sold a total of 208,000 tickets and earned 253 million yen (about US$1.64 million) in its first four days.
Yoshihiko Inohara and Manami Honjō return as narrators for the film at Fanworks.
Naomi Iwata (Pingu in the City, Obake Zukan) directed the fourth film at Fanworks. Takashi Sumita returned from the first and third Sumikko Gurashi films as the scriptwriter. Kaori Hino similarly returned from the first and third films as art director. Kaela Kimura performed the film's theme song "Kimi no Kasa" (Your Umbrella).
Asmik Ace, Inc. is distributing the film.
The live-action film of Makoto Shinkai's 5 Centimeters per Second anime film is still out of the top 10 in its seventh weekend, but still earned 43,032,300 yen (about US$275,700) from Friday to Sunday. The film has earned a cumulative total of 2,139,486,100 yen (about US$13.70 million).
Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), comScore via KOFIC
