Chiikawa's First Movie Is a Massive Box Office Success After Huge $15 Million Debut Weekend

Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island has made an incredible start at the Japanese box office, debuting at number one after drawing more than 1.5 million moviegoers and earning over ¥2.24 billion during its opening weekend.

Created by illustrator Nagano, Chiikawa began as a manga shared on X before growing into one of Japan’s biggest character franchises, following Chiikawa, Hachiware, Usagi and their friends through a charming mix of heartwarming, emotional and unexpectedly challenging adventures that have captivated audiences of all ages.

The series has continued to grow in popularity since its debut in 2020, earning a place in the Japan Character Awards Hall of Fame while the anime adaptation, which first aired in 2022, has accumulated well over 500 million views through official online catch-up releases.

Serving as the franchise’s first theatrical feature, Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island adapts the fan-favorite Siren Arc from the original manga, while introducing new characters including Shimajiro and the mysterious Siren alongside the series’ familiar cast.

The film attracted 1,508,538 admissions and generated ¥2,240,333,500 (approx. $15.2 million USD / £11.3 million GBP) between July 24 and July 26, securing the number one spot in Japan’s weekend box office rankings.

Nagano personally supervised every aspect of the movie and also wrote the screenplay, with many fans praising how faithfully it captures the unique tone and emotional storytelling that made the original manga so popular.

Audience reactions have also highlighted the film’s stunning underwater visuals, memorable soundtrack, energetic performances from the cast and the emotional depth of its story, with many viewers commenting that it remains enjoyable even if you are completely new to Chiikawa.

The movie has also inspired plenty of online discussion surrounding its deeper themes and story developments, while review platform Filmarks currently lists it with a strong average score of 4.2 out of 5.

The ending theme, Tsukue Sasuru, is performed by Haruka Aoki, with lyrics written by Nagano and music composed by Shugo Tokumaru, continuing the creative partnership established with the opening theme Kutsuzure.

Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island is now showing in 447 cinemas across Japan, including 65 IMAX locations.