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2024 Doraemon Film Opens at #1, 1st Haikyu!! Final Film Drops to #2
posted on by Adriana Hazra
The new film has a music theme, as Doraemon and friends go on an adventure to meet new buddies, connect to people with music, and save the world from a crisis.
Kouji Kikkawa makes his voice-acting debut as Maestro Vento in the film. (Kikkawa previously narrated the Gifū Dōdō!! Kanetsugu to Keiji anime.) Kanji Ishimaru plays the robot musician Wakner in his first foray in the Doraemon film series. Comedian duo Kagaya (Shō Kaga and Sōya Gaya) guest-star in the film in multiple roles.
Kazuaki Imai (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Treasure Island, Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Dinosaur) directed the film. Teruko Utsumi, a writer for the Doraemon television anime, penned the script for the film. The television anime's current cast members reprised their roles for the film.
The film premiered in Japan on February 16 and is also screening in IMAX. Susumu Mitsunaka (first, third Haikyu!! television anime) both directed and wrote the script for the film.
The film sold 1,529,000 tickets and earned 2,230,465,540 yen (about US$14.83 million) in its first three days of screening. The film now has the biggest opening weekend for a film so far this year in Japan, beating Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM anime film's 1,065,983,130 yen opening weekend earnings.
The anime's staff had announced the two films in August 2022. The first film depicts the "fated showdown" between Karasuno High and Nekoma High.
The film is screening in 353 cinemas in Japan, and added 4DX, MX4D, and Dolby Cinema screenings starting on February 9.
The film opened at #1 in the Japanese box office, selling 634,182 tickets for 1,065,983,130 yen (about US$7.20 million) in its first three days, marking the Gundam franchise's highest three-day opening in box office earnings. Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM opened in Japan on January 26. The film is planned to screen in 56 countries and territories.
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed director Mitsuo Fukuda directed the film at Bandai Namco Filmworks. Fukuda also co-wrote the script along with his late wife Chiaki Morosawa and Liu Goto. Hisashi Hirai (Mobile Suit Gundam Seed) designed the characters.
The screenings opened at #1 in the Japanese box office in their debut weekend in Tokyo on February 2, and sold 443,700 tickets for 646,790,467 yen (about US$4.35 million) in their first three days.
The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training Arc anime will premiere on television this spring.
The film opened in Japan on January 19 and topped the Japanese box office in its first weekend. The film sold 356,000 tickets for 533,848,690 yen (about US$3.62 million) in its first three days.
Shigeaki Kubo directed the film at production company CREDEUS. Tsutomu Kuroiwa wrote the script. Yutaka Yamada composed the music. Hiroshi Nakagawa and Debo Akibe are credited for Ainu supervision. Japanese rock group ACIDMAN performed the theme song "Kagayakerumono" (Those Who Shine).
Satoru Noda launched the manga in Shueisha's Young Jump magazine in 2014, and ended it in April 2022. The manga has inspired four anime seasons, and production of the anime's final arc has been green-lit.
The SPY×FAMILY Code: White anime film dropped off the top 10 in its 11th weekend.
The new "fan movie" for Square Enix's SINoALICE game, titled SINoALICE Ichiban Saigo no Monogatari (The Last Story), dropped from #3 to #5 in the mini-theater rankings in its second week.
Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2, link 3), comScore via KOFIC
