Anime Dominates 2024 Japanese Box Office With Detective Conan’s 27th Feature Film Taking The Crown

Anime films claimed six of the top 10 spots in Japan’s 2024 domestic box office rankings, with Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Pentagram taking the top spot by earning 15.8 billion yen, according to a report by Japanese entertainment news website Cinema Today.

The anime film adopted a unique marketing strategy, skipping pre-release screenings and hosting midnight premieres in 23 theaters across 10 prefectures on April 12.

This approach sparked a frenzy, with tickets selling out almost instantly. Upon its nationwide release in 515 theaters, the film drew 2.274 million viewers and earned 3.352 billion yen in its first three days.

It topped the box office for six consecutive weeks, surpassing 14 billion yen by week seven and becoming the first in the series to exceed 10 million admissions.

Taking the second spot is Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle at 11.64 billion yen. The film re-entered the top 10 in its 18th week after a special August screening event.

Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General, a live-action film, ranked third with 8.03 billion yen, marking the highest-grossing entry in the franchise. 

Top 10 Highest Grossing Films At Japanese Domestic Box Office For 2024 are as follows:

1. Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram – 15.8 billion yen
2. Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle – 11.64 billion yen
3. Kingdom: Return of the Great General – 8.03 billion yen
4. SPY×FAMILY CODE: White – 6.32 billion yen
5. The Last Mile – 5.91 billion yen
6. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM – 5.36 billion yen
7. Strange House – 5.07 billion yen
8. Till We Meet Again On The Lily Hill– 4.54 billion yen
9. Doraemon The Movie: Nobita’s Earth Symphony – 4.31 billion yen
10. My Hero Academia: You’re Next – 3.6 billion yen

In terms of distribution, Toho led with eight films in the top 10, including Kingdom (co-distributed with Sony Pictures), and is projected to achieve 91–92 billion yen in annual revenue. Shochiku followed with two entries, including Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM, which was co-distributed with Bandai Namco Filmworks.

Source: Cinema Today