Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram has become the biggest film in the long-running Japanese anime franchise with takings of $89.6m (¥14.1bn), cementing its position as the most successful Japanese film of 2024 to date.
The 27th instalment of the popular Detective Conan series reached 9.77 million admissions as of May 27 and now ranks as the 12th highest-grossing Japanese film of all time at the local box office. It has topped the box office for six consecutive weekends in Japan.
The Million-Dollar Pentagram is the latest story set in the world of Conan Edogawa, the child-sized detective created by manga author Gosho Aoyama in 1994. The films, released annually since 1997, are animated by TMS Entertainment and distributed by Toho. The franchise is known as Case Closed in North America and some other territories, and there is also an ongoing manga and TV anime series.
The Million-Dollar Pentagram was released in Japanese cinemas April 12, debuting at the top of the box office and earning $22.2m (¥3.35bn) from 2.27 million admissions over its three-day opening – the best three-day opening in franchise history.
The previous series record holder and the first Conan film to surpass ¥10bn was last year’s Detective Conan: The Black Iron Submarine, which earned $88.2m (¥13.88bn).
Toho announced in late April that the Conan film series had cumulatively surpassed 100 million admissions. Two further franchises that have reached that milestone in Japan are Godzilla and Doraemon, of which the latter is another annual anime franchise based on a long-running manga.
A celebratory video released by Toho to mark Conan’s 100 million admissions points to a key factor in its continued and growing popularity. After nearly three decades, there are now multiple generations of fans. In addition, the films are traditionally released during or directly before Golden Week, a series of national holidays in late April and early May.
The latest instalment points to the continued dominance of animation in the country. The top three highest grossers in 2023, which all surpassed ¥10bn, were animated features The First Slam Dunk (¥15.9bn), The Super Mario Bros. Movie (¥14bn) and Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine (¥13.88bn).
The Million-Dollar Pentagram is set for release in the MENA region on May 30 through Spacetoon, followed by France on June 19 by Eurozoom; Taiwan on June 28 by Proware; and Hong Kong and Macau on July 18 by Mighty Media.
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