Estimates say the movie has already surpassed JP¥ 3 billion and will make more during the weekend.
The latest animated movie phenomenon is “Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” based on Nagano’s web manga series. The movie instantly made it to the top of the weekend box office rankings after its 24 July release. Reports have confirmed that the movie surpassed JP¥ 2.24 (appx. US$ 13.7 million) billion in just three days since its premiere, and will make more in the coming weekend.
Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island
Japanese premiere date: 24 July, 2026
Animation studio: Cypic
Streaming platform: TBA
How did the new Chiikawa movie become a national phenomenon in Japan?
In a 27 July post, the official X (formerly Twitter) account of Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island confirmed that it has already surpassed JP¥ 2.24 billion in revenue in just three days since its release. The movie opened in 447 theatres across Japan and brought in 1.5 million attendees in those three days.
It was also confirmed that the movie’s opening day revenue was JP¥ 990 million (US$ 6.05 million), which surpassed the opening day revenue of Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram (2024), which made JP¥ 960 million (US$ 5.86 million) and is the highest grossing movie of the Detective Conan anime franchise.
It has also been speculated that after six days, the box office revenue of Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island has already surpassed JP¥ 3 billion, and the movie will make more money during the weekend as more attendees pour in. But why is the childish Chiikawa movie, filled with chibi animal characters so popular?
The Chiikawa franchise is based on Nagano’s web manga series that has been serialised via X (formerly Twitter) since January 2020. The cuteness of its titular character Chiikawa and his companions have made the series popular globally, making it into a mascot of sorts. Its online availability also makes it more accessible to a larger audience even if they don’t usually indulge in manga or anime regularly.
The first season of the Chiikawa anime by Doga Kobo came out in April 2022, followed by the second season in July of that year. With this, Chiikawa’s adventures reached a larger global audience. Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island adapted the manga’s Siren Arc, which is one of the most popular story arcs from the series.
But this popularity is not the only reason behind the massive number of attendees in movie theatres. The film was also able to build a sense of intrigue amongst adults by putting some horror elements in trailers. And with people praising the movie so much, the intrigue has only risen. It won’t be surprising if Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island keeps its top spot in the Japanese box-office for a few more weeks.