From our other sites
The story
In the national box office rankings for September 11–13, “Chiikawa the Movie: Secret of the Mermaid Island” held on to the No. 1 spot for a second straight week. Many were surprised it kept the top spot even in a week with no admission bonus items being handed out, while the newly opened “Look Back” didn’t climb as high as expected, prompting comparisons with the original manga and its earlier anime film. The other new release, “The Odyssey,” topped Chiikawa in average ticket price and has been taking the No. 1 spot in country after country overseas — including the U.S. and U.K. — yet still couldn’t beat Chiikawa in Japan, which also became a talking point.
September 14, 2026
The Top 10 national box office rankings for September 11–13 were released by Kogyo Tsushinsha, with “Chiikawa the Movie: Secret of the Mermaid Island” topping the chart for a second consecutive week.
(…snip…)
Source: natalie.mu / Original article here
What people said
Well, the anime turned out great too, so I guess it didn't need a live-action version.
Eh, the anime wasn't all that either…
Nah, that's impossible lol
There were no bonus items last week
They'd already handed them all out by the 6th
New bonus items start up again this Saturday
What wasn't expected was Look Back flopping this hard
Chiikawa had no bonus items this time
I saw a news post saying some round of bonuses includes drop stickers and even a 50-page booklet
This Saturday's bonus item is the booklet
It'll probably sell out instantly
Should be gone by Sunday
The bonus from two weeks ago sold out over that Sat-Sun
The next one doesn't start until this weekend, meaning there was no bonus at all this past week
That pattern again, huh lol
Average ticket price is ¥1,640 for Odyssey vs ¥1,420 for Chiikawa
Friday, Odyssey led in attendance too
Saturday, Chiikawa won attendance but Odyssey still won revenue
But by Sunday, Chiikawa pulled well ahead
And that's during a week with no bonus items lol
Even with an attendance gap like that, Nolan's incredible — takes No. 1 in revenue with a sky-high ticket price
No. 1 in the UK → The Odyssey
No. 1 in Canada → The Odyssey
No. 1 in France → The Odyssey
No. 1 in South Korea → The Odyssey
No. 1 in Japan → Chiikawa
Japan, refusing to go with the flow
Because 'Odyssey' was already used as the Japanese title for that Matt Damon Mars movie
It's fine, it sticks to the source title.
That other 'Odyssey' was a near-future Mars survival movie with the same director and lead actor, so it already claimed the name.
Japan's the only place where it's actually growing
Say what you want, but thriving thanks to homegrown films isn't a bad thing
It's the movie boom Demon Slayer kicked off
Reminds me of Space Battleship Yamato
Even if some people roll their eyes like 'Conan again?! Chiikawa again?!'
it still gets people who normally wouldn't set foot in a theater to show up
and some of them turn into repeat moviegoers
You'd think Fuji TV's cut would be bigger from 'Bayside Shakedown' than from Chiikawa though lol
Wait, isn't that 'The Martian'?
Why'd they change it to 'Odyssey'?
Beats me… go ask whoever renamed it
Honestly, it was nice that it wasn't crowded
But I do want the next bonus item lol
You're mixing up 'Odyssey' with 'Interstellar'
'Odyssey's' director is Ridley Scott
My bad.
'Odyssey' is also about a lone astronaut on Mars, trying and failing his way toward getting home — so the title does fit, in its own way.
I figured they'd hold off on bonuses this week out of courtesy to 'Bayside Shakedown,' but nope — they've got an extra-large one ready
Depends on screen count and showtimes, but it'd be pretty bad if 'Bayside Shakedown' can't take No. 1 on opening weekend
'Bayside Shakedown' has taken a lot of hits to its reputation over the years, and they're making this one like a decade too late — it might just flop
It'll have to make its money on opening Friday
If the content turns out bad, that'll be the end of it
Background and Key Points
The box office rankings are compiled by Kogyo Tsushinsha over a three-day Friday-to-Sunday window, and attendance (number of ticket-buyers) and box office revenue (yen amount) are two separate metrics. That distinction is what caught the thread’s attention: even in a week with no bonus items, “Chiikawa the Movie” held on to the No. 1 spot in attendance, while “The Odyssey,” which has a higher average ticket price, occasionally came out ahead in revenue despite trailing in attendance. The Japanese title for that film appears to stay faithful to the original title while avoiding confusion with “Odyssey,” the 2015 film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon that was also released in Japan under that name. Also notable: while “The Odyssey” topped the charts in many countries overseas, including the U.S. and U.K., “Chiikawa the Movie” was the only one to beat it in Japan — taken by some as a sign of just how strong homegrown character-content popularity is domestically. Meanwhile, the newly opened “Look Back” didn’t climb as high in the rankings as expected beforehand, sparking mixed opinions in comparisons with the original manga and its earlier anime film adaptation.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[National Box Office Rankings] ‘Chiikawa the Movie’ Holds No. 1 in Attendance, Four New Releases Including ‘The Odyssey’ and ‘Look Back’ Debut.”
Leave a Reply