TOHO Eyes Historic 20 Billion Yen Milestone For Chiikawa Movie As It Continues Successful Box Office Run

Distributor TOHO and the production committee for Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island revealed that the film is aiming to reach 20 billion yen at the Japanese box office before the end of the year.

The late-year theatrical push is supported by additional waves of limited-edition theatergoer bonus giveaways scheduled through December.

Through its first 108 days in theaters as of Nov. 8, 2026, the film has earned 18.79 billion yen, (around USD 118.9 million) from 12.86 million ticket sales.

These figures make it the highest-grossing film released in Japan in 2026, sitting ahead of Zootopia 2 at 15.71 billion yen and Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway at 13.70 billion yen.

Outside Japan the Chiikawa movie has earned USD 21 million from over 2.78 million admissions across six weeks in South Korea, alongside 174.4 million New Taiwan dollars in Taiwan, 25.8 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong, and 24.2 billion dong in Vietnam, bringing its worldwide box office total past USD 159 million.

If Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island reaches the 20 billion yen mark, it will join a small group of releases in Japanese cinema history.

Only six anime films till now have ever passed 20 billion yen in Japan. Crossing that threshold will push the Chiikawa momvie past Hayao Miyazaki’s 2004 film Howl’s Moving Castle, which earned 19.60 billion yen during its run in the country.

TOHO has distributed or co-distributed almost every domestic film that has crossed the 20 billion yen mark in Japan.

After the company recorded a net profit of 51.7 billion yen in the fiscal year ended February 2026 on the strength of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle and Kokuho, Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island has served as a driver for the fiscal year ending February 2027.

First announced on Nov. 24, 2025, the 99-minute film was directed by Kei Oikawa at animation studio CygamesPictures.

Original creator Nagano wrote the screenplay and supervised the production, which features character designs by Tomoko Tsuji, music by Shugo Tokumaru and Chikara Uemizutaru, and the theme song Kutsuzure written by Nagano and performed by Makoto Tanaka.

The movie adapts the Siren Arc from the ongoing manga and follows Chiikawa, Hachiware, Usagi, and their companions as they travel to an island camp offering easy job rewards and free food. There, they get caught in a conflict to supress a vengeful sea creature named Siren.

Source: Oricon