Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway has achieved a historic milestone by surpassing 10 billion yen at the Japanese box office, becoming the fourth consecutive film in the franchise to reach this benchmark and marking the first time any Japanese film series has accomplished this feat four years running. The 29th installment in the long-running anime film franchise earned 932 million yen on 649,000 admissions during its fourth weekend of May 1-3, 2026, according to industry tracker Kogyo Tsushinsha.
By May 6, the final day of Japan’s Golden Week holiday period, the film had accumulated 10.88 billion yen in total gross revenue across 7.4 million admissions over 27 days in theaters. This performance positions Fallen Angel of the Highway as the fourth highest-grossing entry in the Detective Conan film series while demonstrating the franchise’s remarkable consistency in delivering blockbuster results year after year despite operating in an increasingly competitive theatrical market.
Breaking Records and Making Cinema History
The significance of Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway’s box office achievement extends beyond the franchise itself to represent a watershed moment for Japanese cinema. No film series in Japan’s theatrical history has previously crossed the 10 billion yen threshold for four consecutive annual releases, making this accomplishment unprecedented in scope and commercial consistency.
The streak began with 2023’s Black Iron Submarine, which earned 13.88 billion yen and revitalized the franchise’s commercial trajectory. The following year saw The Million-dollar Pentagram become the highest-grossing Conan film to date with 15.8 billion yen, establishing a new ceiling for what the property could achieve theatrically. Last year’s One-eyed Flashback maintained momentum with 14.74 billion yen, demonstrating that the 2024 peak was sustainable rather than anomalous. Now Fallen Angel of the Highway has proven the pattern represents genuine franchise growth rather than a temporary surge.
The film’s 27-day gross of 10.88 billion yen represents 96.28 percent of One-eyed Flashback’s four-week total of 11.3 billion yen, suggesting comparable final gross potential despite slightly slower pacing. This consistency across multiple entries indicates the franchise has established a reliable audience base that returns annually regardless of specific story details or creative teams.
Fallen Angel of the Highway has now overtaken 2022’s The Bride of Halloween, which earned 9.78 billion yen, to become the fourth highest-grossing Detective Conan film overall. The achievement also pushed the film to 25th place in Kogyo Tsushinsha’s all-time Japanese box office rankings, surpassing recent anime hit Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, which earned 10.81 billion yen in 2025.
Sakamoto Days Makes Strong Live-Action Debut and Notable Box Office Performances
The live-action adaptation of Yuto Suzuki’s Sakamoto Days manga delivered impressive opening weekend numbers that exceeded industry expectations and demonstrated the property’s crossover appeal beyond manga readers. Opening in 363 theaters on April 29, the film earned 478 million yen on 346,000 admissions during its debut weekend, securing fourth place in the competitive May 1-3 box office rankings.
More significantly, the opening performance represented 211.5 percent of director Yuichi Fukuda’s previous manga adaptation, UNDER NINJA, which opened to 226 million yen in January 2025. This substantial improvement suggests Sakamoto Days benefited from stronger source material recognition, more effective marketing, or both factors combined. By including the extended Golden Week holiday period, the film’s cumulative eight-day total reached 1.5 billion yen on 1.14 million admissions, positioning it for potentially strong legs as word-of-mouth builds.
The strong debut validates the growing trend of theatrical manga adaptations in Japan’s film industry, where properties with established fanbases increasingly receive big-screen treatments that perform competitively against anime films and Hollywood imports.
Several other Japanese productions demonstrated the breadth of theatrical offerings competing for audience attention during the lucrative Golden Week period. Kamen Rider Agito: Chonoryoku Senso, the 55th anniversary film for the Kamen Rider franchise and a sequel to the 2001-2002 Kamen Rider Agito television series, opened in 212 theaters and earned 110 million yen from 74,000 admissions during its debut weekend. The film’s eight-day cumulative total exceeded 300 million yen on 220,000 admissions, meeting expectations for a franchise anniversary title targeting dedicated tokusatsu fans.
Director Shingo Yamashita’s original anime film Cosmic Princess Kaguya continued its remarkable theatrical endurance, dropping just one position to sixth place in its 11th consecutive weekend in the Top 10. The film’s sustained performance since its February 20 release demonstrates the potential for original anime projects to find audiences through word-of-mouth and positive reception rather than relying solely on opening weekend hype.
Sound! Euphonium: The Final Movie Part 1, the compilation film based on the third television season, fell four positions to eighth place in its second weekend as newer releases claimed higher positions. The Kyoto Animation production remains on track for respectable results ahead of its second part’s eventual release.
Doraemon: Nobita and the New Castle of the Undersea Devil, the 45th entry in the long-running Doraemon film franchise, held onto tenth place in its tenth weekend, demonstrating the family film’s staying power during the extended holiday period when children have time off from school.
