Chiikawa Movie Box Office: Why Is It Japan's Biggest Film of 2026?

The Chiikawa movie box office has passed 18.49 billion yen (about US$117 million) in Japan, making Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island (Eiga Chiikawa: Ningyo no Shima no Himitsu) the biggest film in Japan this year. Three months after opening, it even climbed back to No. 2 in its 14th weekend, and it now sits 12th on Japan's all-time box office chart.

How Much Has the Chiikawa Movie Made at the Box Office?

The Chiikawa movie has made 18,486,970,600 yen (about US$117 million) from 12.65 million tickets in Japan. In its 14th weekend it sold 185,000 tickets and earned 279,333,800 yen (about US$1.77 million), enough to move back up to No. 2, Anime News Network reported on October 29.

The film started big. It opened at No. 1 on July 24 with 1,508,500 tickets and 2,240,333,500 yen (about US$13.7 million) in its first three days. By box office gross, Real Sound ranked it the 10th-best opening in Japanese history. What makes the run unusual is how long it has lasted, and that shows in where it now ranks.

Where Does Chiikawa Rank Among Japan's Biggest Films?

Chiikawa ranks 12th among the highest-grossing films ever released in Japan, and first among all films released there in 2026. The next film above it is Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle, at about 19.6 billion yen, so Chiikawa still has room to climb while it stays in theaters.

For a film based on a cute character manga with very short TV episodes, that is a huge result. To understand it, you have to look at how Chiikawa became so popular in the first place.

Why Is Chiikawa So Popular?

Chiikawa is popular because it reaches both children and adults: the characters look soft and cute, but the stories are often sad, scary or cruel. Illustrator Nagano started it as posts on X (then Twitter), and since its serialization began in 2020 it has spread across Japan through merchandise and collaborations. It has won the Japan Character Grand Prize three times, and catch-up views of the short TV anime, which started in 2022, have passed 400 million on YouTube, the film's official site says.

The movie keeps that mix. It adapts the manga's "Siren Arc" (also called the "Island Arc"), which Nagano posted on X from March to November 2023. Nagano wrote the script, and in an interview on the official site said they asked the staff to keep the characters' expressions exact, down to the angle of an eyebrow. Writing for Gendai Business, Yukiko Kamimura noted that adult viewers online compared the film to a Seishi Yokomizo mystery, to Crime and Punishment and even to Attack on Titan. Families came for the cute characters and adults came for the darker story. Then the theaters gave both a reason to come back.

How Did Ticket Bonuses Keep Fans Coming Back?

The Chiikawa movie kept fans coming back with seven rounds of visitor gifts, each given only to people who watched the film in a theater. They included random mini charm figures, stickers, a pull-back toy car, a booklet of new Nagano illustrations and, from October 24, four holographic clear cards newly drawn by Nagano. Each viewer gets one random item per screening, so collectors have a reason to see the film again.

Visitor gifts like these are common for anime films in Japan, and changing the gift every few weeks gives fans a fresh reason to buy another ticket. The film's success has now spread beyond Japan, too.

Is the Chiikawa Movie Coming to the US?

No US release of the Chiikawa movie has been announced as of October 31, 2026. The film has opened in South Korea, where it passed 1 million admissions within 10 days of its September 30 release, distributor Daewon Media said. Inven Global noted that is two days faster than Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc reached the same mark there. There is no announced date for North America or Europe yet, so international fans will have to wait for news from TOHO.

For more on how anime films and studios make money, read how anime studios make money and our report on the record 4.45 trillion yen anime industry, or browse all our industry news.

Sources: Anime News Network (box office, rank, opening weekend), Anime News Network (staff, Siren Arc, release), Chiikawa movie official site (background, Nagano interview, visitor gifts), Real Sound, Gendai Business, Inven Global (South Korea). Images ©ナガノ / 2026「映画ちいかわ」製作委員会 (key visual via the official site).