A franchise famous for its tiny, adorable characters, Chiikawa is now behind one of the most remarkable box office phenomena in Japan in 2026. Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island keeps setting revenue records and has overtaken Detective Conan to temporarily lead Japan’s box office this year.
Chiikawa Opens Big, Enters Japan’s All-Time Top 10 Opening Days
Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island opened in Japan on July 24, 2026. On its first day, the film earned around ¥990 million, becoming one of the biggest opening days in Japanese box office history. According to the Japan Times, the result ranks 7th for opening-day revenue in the Japanese market. Japan Times
By the end of its opening weekend, the film had earned about ¥2.24 billion and quickly took the top spot at the box office. Chiikawa’s appeal held strong in the following weeks. Just 30 days after release, the film passed ¥10 billion, drawing around 7.66 million viewers as of August 23.
Notably, the film also overtook several well-known anime titles, such as Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc and Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, on Japan’s box office chart.
Chiikawa Overtakes Conan to Lead Japan’s 2026 Box Office
By September 6, 2026, Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island had grown its total to about ¥13.9 billion after seven weeks in theaters.
That result puts it ahead of Detective Conan: Highway no Datenshi, the 2026 Conan film, at around ¥13.7 billion. As a result, Chiikawa has temporarily become the highest-grossing Japanese film/anime in Japan among releases since the start of 2026.
On top of that, ¥13.9 billion places Chiikawa around 23rd on the list of the highest-grossing films in Japanese history, ahead of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine.
What’s remarkable is that the film has kept its momentum well into its seventh week. Over the September 4–6 weekend, it sold around 928,000 tickets, earned another ¥1.415 billion and even returned to No. 1 at the weekend box office. Total admissions have now passed 9.6 million.
Why Has a “Cute” Anime Become Such a Huge Hit?
Chiikawa began as an online manga by artist Nagano, centered on Chiikawa, Hachiware, Usagi and other tiny creatures with adorable looks.
Behind that cute image, however, are stories that can be surprising and sometimes quite dark. Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island adapts the Siren Arc, in which Chiikawa, Hachiware and their friends travel to a mysterious island after an invitation promising delicious food and tempting rewards. The trip gradually reveals the secrets behind the seemingly peaceful island.
The contrast between its kawaii look and its surprising, even frightening twists is one of the things that has drawn so much attention to the film. The Japan Times also noted that the movie has much darker layers than the franchise’s appearance suggests.
With the film still in theaters, ¥13.9 billion is not the final figure. Even so, Chiikawa overtaking Conan and entering the ranks of Japan’s highest-grossing films already shows how special this franchise’s appeal is in its home market.