News

2026 Doraemon Film Stays at #1, New Assassination Classroom Film Opens at #7

The 2026 Doraemon film, Eiga Doraemon: Shin Nobita no Kaitei Kiganjō (Doraemon the Movie: New Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil), stayed at #1 in its fourth weekend. The film sold 346,000 tickets and earned 445,352,800 yen (US$2.79 million) over the three-day weekend. The film has sold a total of 1.94 million tickets and earned a cumulative total of 2,496,012,650 yen (about US$15.64 million).

The film opened on February 27 and ranked at #1 in its first weekend. The film sold 621,000 tickets and earned 779,681,350 yen (about US$4.96 million) in its first three days.

The new and 45th 2D anime film (not counting the 3D CG Stand By Me Doraemon films) remakes the classic 1983 film Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil.

Tetsuo Yajima (Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle, Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us, Pokémon XY) returns after directing episodes of the Doraemon television anime and contributing in other capacities to Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Great Adventure into the Underworld, Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Steel Troops: The New Age, and Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Chikyū Symphony. Another veteran of the television anime, Isao Murayama (Witchy Precure!, Star Twinkle Precure, Bakugan), wrote the new film's screenplay.

Golden Kamuy: Abashiri Kangoku Shūgeki-hen (Golden Kamuy: Attack on Abashiri Prison Arc), the second live-action film based on Satoru Noda's Golden Kamuy manga, dropped from #3 to #4 in its second weekend. The film earned 234,180,900 yen (about US$1.46 million) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 802,605,800 yen (about US$5.03 million).

The film opened on March 13. It sold 246,900 tickets and earned 368,611,300 yen (US$2.30 million) in its first three days. The film is getting IMAX screenings. 

Kento Yamazaki reprised his role as Saichi Sugimoto and Anna Yamada as Asirpa. Yū Inaba, Sōkō Wada, and Tetta Sugimoto joined the film's cast as Tokishige Usami, Toshiyuki Kadokura, and Anji Toni, respectively.

Kenji Katagiri directed the film at CREDEUS based on a script by returning writer Tsutomu Kuroiwa. Yutaka Yamada is also back composing the music, and Hiroshi Nakagawa and Debo Akibe served as Ainu culture and language supervisors.

Rock band 10-FEET perform the theme song "Kowarete Kieru made" (Until It Breaks and Disappears).

The first live-action Golden Kamuy film opened in Japan in January 2024 and topped the Japanese box office in its first weekend. The film sold 356,000 tickets for 533,848,690 yen (about US$3.44 million in current conversion) in its first three days.

The Gekijōban Ansatsu Kyōshitsu Minna no Jikan (Assassination Classroom the Movie: Everybody's Time) anime film opened at #7. The film earned 167,864,310 yen (about US$1.05 million) in its first three days.

Masaki Kitamura (After-School Hanako-kun, Gundam Evolve) directed the film at Lerche. Makoto Uezu returned to pen the script for the film, and Aya Higami (After-School Hanako-kun) designed the characters. Singer-songwriter Sora Tomonari performs the film's theme song "Teacher." 

Avex Film Labels is distributing the title.

The new film contains a full collection of episodes that were left out of the anime due to time constraints. The original manga's author Yūsei Matsui stated that the film is not just a 10th anniversary project, but is also a continuation of the main story.

Shingo Yamashita's Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (Chō Kaguya-hime!) anime film fell from #5 to #10 in its fifth weekend after the film's limited one-week theatrical screening run in Japan was extended. The film earned 117,320,100 yen (about US$735,500) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 1,342,687,200 yen (about US$8.41 million).

The film's limited theatrical run started on February 20. Tickets quickly sold out, with some theaters having to increase the number of screenings to more than 10 times a day.  The film earned a total of 223,485,400 yen (about US$1.43 million) in Japanese theaters in its first three days after its run was extended.

Netflix began streaming the film on January 22.

Yamashita (Pokémon: Twilight Wings, opening animation for Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, 2022 Urusei Yatsura) made his feature-length directorial debut with the film in a collaboration between his Studio Chromato and Studio Colorido. Hechima (The Idolmaster Gakuen) and Akihiro Nagae (Drifting Home) designed the characters, with the former in charge of the Tsukuyomi designs and the latter handling the real-world character designs.

Saori Hayami as Yachiyo performs the theme song "Ex-Otogibanashi" ("Ex-Fairy Tale"), composed by Ryo (supercell).

The film features songs by Vocaloid producers Ryo (supercell), kz (Livetune), 40mP, HoneyWorks, Aqu3ra, and yuigot.

The re-release of Escaflowne: The Movie ranked at #4 in the mini theater rankings.

Eiga Himitsu no AiPri Mankai Bazulium Live!, an anime film in the Himitsu no AiPri (Secret AiPri) mixed media work, fell off the top 10 in its second weekend.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime the Movie: Tears of the Azure Sea (Gekijō-ban Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken: Sōkai no Namida-hen), the second anime film in the That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken) franchise, dropped off the list in its fourth weekend.

Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2, link 3), comScore via KOFIC