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Chiikawa Anime Film Opens at #1, 5th Live-Action Kingdom Film Drops to #3
posted on by Adriana Hazra
Eiga Chiikawa: Ningyo no Shima no Himitsu (Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island), the first anime film adaptation of Nagano's Chiikawa manga, opened on Friday and ranked at #1 for its opening weekend. The film earned 990 million yen (about US$6.05 million) on its opening day.
The film sold 1,508,500 tickets from Friday through Sunday and earned 2,240,333,500 yen (about US$13.70 million).
The film is based on the manga's arc posted on X (formerly Twitter) from March to November 2023, nicknamed the "Siren Arc" or "Island Arc."
The film's story begins with Chiikawa and Hachiware relaxing, when a rabbit with a flyer on its face suddenly appears. Hachiware looks at the flyer, which reads, "Invitation to a special island." Lured by tempting promises including great rewards for simple hunts on the island and essentially free sweet and spicy dishes such as limited-edition island ramen and sweets, Chiikawa and friends decide to go to the island. Suspicious with the flyer, Rakko goes with them to the island. What awaits them when they arrive on the island?
Nagano is credited for the original story and also wrote the film's script. Under Nagano's supervision, Kei Oikawa (Uma Musume Pretty Derby 3 seasons, Hinamatsuri, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU TOO!, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax) directed the film at Cygames Pictures. QTORY inc. managed the production, and TOHO is distributing the film.
Makoto Tanaka, who voices Hachiware, performs the opening theme song "Kutsuzure" (Shoe Sore). Series creator Nagano wrote the lyrics.
Momoka Terasawa and Sayumi Suzushiro voice Hitoha and Futaba, respectively, the two islanders that Chiikawa and friends encounter.
Kingdom: Tamashii no Kessen (Decisive Battle of the Soul), the fifth live-action film based on Yasuhisa Hara's Kingdom manga, dropped from #1 to #3 in its second weekend. It sold 449,600 tickets and earned 734,257,500 yen (about US$4.49 million) over the weekend. The film has now made a cumulative total of 3,354,667,400 yen (about US$20.52 million) with 2.14 million tickets sold.
The film sold 993,000 tickets and earned 1,584,148,300 yen (about US$9.67 million) in its first three days. Counting the Marine Day holiday on July 20, the film sold 1,315,000 tickets and earned 2.064 billion yen (about US$12.59 million) in its first four days.
The new film opened in Japan on July 17.
Yasuhisa Hara's historical manga centers around the slave boy Xin and his dream of becoming a great general for the state of Qin. Xin helps Ying Zheng, the young Qin king who shares his desire to unify China, rise to power within the state. Xin does all he can to become a superior commander of an army capable of defeating the Seven Warring States.
Shinsuke Satō (live-action Gantz, Death Note Light up the NEW world, Bleach) returned to direct. Tsutomu Kuroiwa (Black Butler, Golden Kamuy) wrote the screenplay with Hara. Yutaka Yamada (Bleach, Golden Kamuy -The Hunt of Prisoners in Hokkaido-) composed the music.
The first live-action film opened in Japan in April 2019, and eventually earned a cumulative total of 5.73 billion yen (about US$53.2 million). Funimation screened the film at Anime Expo in July 2019, and screened the film in theaters in the United States and Canada in August 2019. The second film Kingdom II: Harukanaru Daichi e (To Distant Lands) opened in Japan in July 2022, and earned 5.16 billion yen (about US$37.8 million), making it the highest-earning Japanese live-action film in Japan in 2022.
The third film opened in Japan in July 2023 and ranked at #1 in its opening weekend. The film had the best opening weekend among the first three Kingdom films. The fourth film opened on July 12, 2024. Netflix began streaming the fourth film in January 2025.
The Kamen Rider Zeztz & Super Space Sheriff Gavan Infinity W Hero Natsu Eiga 2026 film opened at #5.
The anime film of Kaori Mado's You, Fireworks, and Our Promise (Kimi to Hanabi to Yakusoku to or Kimi-Hana for short) novel series dropped off the top 10 in its second weekend.
Soreike! Anpanman: Pantan to Yakusoku no Hoshi (Pantan and the Promised Star), the 37th film in the franchise, dropped left the list in its fifth weekend.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa's live-action film adaptation of Honobu Yonezawa's The Samurai and the Prisoner (Kokurōjō) samurai historical mystery novel left the list in its sixth weekend.
Detective Conan: Highway no Datenshi (Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway), the Detective Conan franchise's 29th film, fell off the top 10 in its 16th weekend.
Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), comScore via KOFIC, Cinema Today
