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24th Detective Conan Film Ends Evangelion 3.0+1.0's 5-Week Reign at #1

The Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet (Meitantei Conan: Hiiro no Dangan film sold 1,533,054 tickets and earned 2,218,130,800 yen (about US$20.5 million) in its first three days to rank #1 in the Japanese box office in its opening weekend.

The film earned the equivalent of US$16.8 million in China in its first three days, and its global earnings total US$37 million.

Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet is the 24th film in the franchise. The film was slated to open on April 17 last year, but was delayed from its original date due to concerns about the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The film opened in Japan on Friday. The film also had a simultaneous release in 22 countries and territories outside of Japan: Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and France.

Tomoka Nagaoka (Detective Conan: Fist of Blue Sapphire) directed the film, and Takeharu Sakurai (Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer) wrote the script. Katsuo Ono returned to compose the music. Rock band Tokyo Jihen performed the theme song "Eien no Fuzaishōmei" (The Eternal Alibi).

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time (Shin Evangelion Gekijō-ban :||), the "final" Evangelion film, dropped from #1 to #2 in its sixth weekend. The film earned 155,078,150 yen (about US$1.43 million) from Friday to Sunday. It has sold a total of 5,088,007 tickets and has earned a cumulative 7,799,314,050 yen (about US$71.7 million).

In its third week, the film surpassed the domestic earnings of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, which earned a total of 5.3 billion yen. The new film is now the highest-earning film in the series domestically and internationally.

The film ranked #1 in its opening weekend. The film sold 2,194,533 tickets for 3,338,422,400 yen (about US$30.6 million) in its first seven days in 466 theaters in Japan. The film sold 33.6% more tickets for 45.1% more yen than the previous Evangelion film during their respective first seven days. The film earned the equivalent of US$3.4 million in 38 IMAX theaters during its first seven days— the second-highest opening week for IMAX screenings of a domestic title in Japan, behind only last year's Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train. Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 also played in 82 theaters equipped for 4D screenings.

The staff had delayed the film from January 23 to March 8, after careful consideration due to the new state of emergency declared in four prefectures in Japan on January 8, and then extended to a total of 11 prefectures. The film had an earlier delay due to concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its spread inside and outside of Japan. The film was originally scheduled to open in Japan on June 27, 2020.

The live-action film of CAPCOM's Monster Hunter game franchise dropped from #3 to #4 in its fourth weekend in Japan. The film earned 52,473,200 yen (about US$484,700) from Friday to Sunday. The film has earned a cumulative total of 1,087,241,100 yen (about US$10.04 million).

The film earned 256,244,150 yen (about US$2.33 million) to rank #2 in its opening weekend. The film opened in Japan on March 26.

The film opened in the United States on December 18. The film earned US$2.2 million to rank at #1 in its opening three days in the United States box office.

The film stars Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil movie franchise) as film-original character Captain Natalie Artemis and martial arts actor Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak film series) as "The Hunter." Additionally, Ron Perlman (Hellboy film series, Pacific Rim, Sons of Anarchy) plays the Admiral, who is the leader of The Hunter's crew. T.I. Harris (Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp) plays a sniper named Link, Diego Boneta (Luis Miguel: La Serie, Pretty Little Liars) plays Sergeant Marshall, and Hirona Yamazaki plays the Handler. Meagan Good and Josh Helman also have roles in the film.

Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train fell from #4 to #5 in its 27th weekend. The film earned 36,684,900 yen (about US$338,900) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold a total of 28.76 million tickets for 39,722,939,300 yen (about US$366.9 million).

After 12 consecutive weeks at #1 in the box office in Japan, Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train dropped to #2 during the January 9-10 weekend, its 13th weekend. The film had ranked in the top three spots weekly in Japan since then, until its 22nd weekend.

The film has surpassed Hayao Miyazaki's 2002 Spirited Away, its last rival for all-time highest earnings in Japanese box office history. (Spirited Away earned 30.8 billion yen in its original run, but has since earned a total of 31.68 billion yen after last summer's revival screenings.) The film has also surpassed Spirited Away as the #1 highest-earning Japanese film of all time worldwide.

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 starting on April 23, and will release the film digitally on June 22.

The third film in the six-part Girls und Panzer das Finale film series rose back to the top 10 at #8 in its fourth weekend. The film earned 26,875,300 yen (about US$248,200) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 389,349,300 yen (about US$3.59 million)

The film opened in Japanese theaters on March 26. The film earned 106,879,400 yen (about US$973,000) in its first three days.

The first Girls und Panzer das Finale film opened in Japan in 59 theaters in December 2017. The film features new characters from BC Freedom High School as they engage in a winter battle.

The second film opened in Japan in June 2019. The film depicts the finale of the battle between Ooarai Girls Academy and BC Freedom High School, and also shows the battles for Kuromorimine Girls Academy, Pravda Girls High School, and other schools. The film's Blu-ray Disc and DVD release in Japan included a new original video animation (OVA) titled "Taiyaki War!" when it shipped in February 2020.

Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin, Eiga.com, comScore via KOFIC