The last weekend saw Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume open in China, the second biggest country in box office gross for both Your Name. and Weathering With You, and blew past their opening weekends, marking the best opening weekend for a Shinkai film ever in not only China but anywhere in the world. Because of this spectacular opening weekend, Suzume is now the 9th highest-grossing anime film worldwide.
According to Makoto Shinkai, in China’s first three-day weekend release of Suzume, the film grossed 340 million yuan (US$49.42 million) with over 10 million tickets sold. This far outgrossed Suzume’s Japanese opening weekend of 1.88 billion yen (US$13.51 million), which was already the best opening weekend for a Shinkai film in his home country, and is the best opening in China for a Shinkai film.
中国での『すずめの戸締まり/铃芽之旅』は、公開からわずか3日間で動員1000万人以上、興収は3.4億元（約65億円）となりました。その勢いと、他国の作品への愛情に驚くばかりです。劇場に足を運んでくださった皆さまに、心より感謝です！ pic.twitter.com/zkVHtVxTZM
— 新海誠 (@shinkaimakoto) March 27, 2023
Suzume already had the biggest pre-sales for any animated film ever in China, with 100 million yuan (US$14.66 million) on March 23.
Looking to other Asian territories where Suzume has opened, South Korea has brought in US$23.92 million, Taiwan $5.91 million, Hong Kong US$2.49 million, and of course Japan’s US$106.38 million as of last week. This brings Suzume up to US$188.12 million worldwide as of March 27, making it the 9th highest-grossing anime film of all time worldwide and finally bumping Pokémon: The First Movie out of the top ten where it has been since 1999.
RELATED: Suzume Anime Film Makes More in Box Office Pre-Sales in China Than Japan’s 1st Weekend
Suzume is directed by Makoto Shinkai, who also penned the screenplay for the film alongside Masayoshi Tanaka as the character designer, Kenichi Tsuchiya as the animation director and Takumi Tanji as the art director with animation production at CoMix Wave Films.
Suzume was released in Japan on November 11 with Crunchyroll teaming up with Sony Pictures and Wild Bunch International to bring the feature to global audiences outside of Asia starting April 12, 2023.
Synopsis:
On the other side of the door, was time in its entirety—
“Suzume no Tojimari” is a coming-of-age story for the 17-year-old protagonist, Suzume, set in various disaster-stricken locations across Japan, where she must close the doors causing devastation.
Suzume’s journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu (located in southwestern Japan) when she encounters a young man who tells her, “I’m looking for a door.” What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins as though it was shielded from whatever catastrophe struck. Seemingly drawn by its power, Suzume reaches for the knob… Doors begin to open one after another all across Japan, unleashing destruction upon any who are near. Suzume must close these portals to prevent further disaster.
—The stars, then sunset, and the morning sky.
Within that realm, it was as though all time had melted together in the sky…
Never-before-seen scenery, encounters and farewells… A myriad of challenges await her on her journey. Despite all the obstacles in her way, Suzume’s adventure shines a ray of hope upon our own struggles against the toughest roads of anxiety and constraints that make up everyday life. This story of closing doors that connect our past to the present and future will leave a lasting impression upon all of our hearts.
Drawn in by these mysterious doors, Suzume’s journey is about to begin.
Sources: Makoto Shinkai on Twitter, KoreanFilm, TaipeiBo on Facebook, FILMART
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Daryl Harding is a Senior Japan Correspondent for Crunchyroll News. He also runs a YouTube channel about Japan stuff called TheDoctorDazza, tweets at @DoctorDazza, and posts photos of his travels on Instagram.
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