It seems even Japanese audiences are beginning to reject what Western media is selling, as the recently released Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie, the popular manga series’ cinematic debut, has made more at the country’s local box office in just eleven days than any live-action film did throughout the entirety of 2021.
According to Box Office Mojo, the animated adaptation of Jujutsu Kaisen’s eponymous prequel series took in a total of roughly $50 Million USD (¥5.7 Billion JPY) between the film’s December 24th, 2021 release date, and the weekend of January 1st-2nd.
Box Office Mojo reports that Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie took home at least $2 Million USD (¥230,468,890 JPY) in its debut weekend, with a confirmed $47,508,798 USD (¥5,474,940,800 JPY) from the first week of 2022.
With this return, after only roughly two weeks in theaters, Jujutsu Kaisen has managed to outperform every live-action film released in the region in 2021, including the live-action adaptation of Tokyo Revengers ($39 Million USD), F9: The Fast Saga ($33 Million USD), No Time To Die ($22 Million USD), Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($15 Million USD), Marvel’s Eternals ($10 Million USD), and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings ($9 Million USD).
(For those curious about its absence, as it obviously would have given Jujutsu Kaisen 0 a run for its literal and figurative money, Spider-Man: No Way Home did not release in Japan until this past weekend, Jan, 9th, 2022.)
In fact only four films, tellingly all anime, managed to best Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie’s two-week take across their entire cinematic runs.
These were the record breaking Demon Slayer: Mugen Train ($365 Billion USD), Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 Thrice Upon a Time ($92 Million USD), Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet ($67 Million USD), and Mamoru Hosoda’s latest work Belle ($57 Million USD).
A four-chapter prequel to the main Jujutsu Kaisen series, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 tells the story of Yuta Okkotsu, a young spirit sorcerer who joins Jujutsu High – and eventually is tasked with watching over Yuji Itadori – after being cursed by the spirit of his childhood friend, Rika, who now haunts him as a terrifying entity hellbent on his protection.
As of writing, Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie has no official Western release date.
What do you make of the film’s impressive box office return thus far? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!