Usually, if there's a huge blockbuster (anywhere in the world), more people see previews of the upcoming movies, leading to better openings of those previewed movies...

I imagine it will, but don't consider the August release (delayed from its traditional March date) a disappointment. It dropped versus the last several years, but it outgrossed 8 of the films released since 2000 since its legs were very good (7.91 multiplier, up 1.5+ from its normal multiplier) from the 50% capacity limit during most of its run. Plus it opened when cases reached new peaks in early/mid-August, too (similar to what Stand By Me, Doraemon 2 looks to do...), which could have deterred some families.

When showings are 50% capacity, it doesn't just mean only 50% of the seats are allowed to be sold. Japanese theaters use the checkerboard pattern to limit their auditoriums to 50% capacity, meaning no one is allowed to sit side-by-side or front-to-back during them. This can be difficult for families, especially those with very young children.

Doraemon Box-Office History (1980-):

Recent Opening Weekends (2000-):
¥843.1 million ($7.9 million) / 716,629 - Doraemon: Nobita's Treasure Island (2018)
¥767.2 million ($7.6 million) / 554,991 - Stand By Me, Doraemon (2014)
¥696.0 million ($6.2 million) / 586,000 - Doraemon: Nobita's Chronicle of Moon Exploration (2019)
¥691.8 million ($6.1 million) / 592,036 - Doraemon: Great Adventure in the Antarctic (2017)
¥667.3 million ($7.2 million) / 597,899 - Doraemon: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum (2013)
¥644.7 million ($5.4 million) / 557,310 - Doraemon: Nobita's Space Hero Record of Space Heroes (2015)
¥637.0 million ($5.6 million) / 544,816 - Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan (2016)
¥600.4 million ($5.9 million) / 530,554 - Doraemon: Nobita's Demon - Peko and the Exploration Party (2014)
¥559.4 million ($4.8 million) / 501,500 - Doraemon: Nobita's New Adventure into the Underworld (2007)
¥553.5 million ($6.2 million) / 498,198 - Doraemon: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010)
¥552.6 million ($6.9 million) / 485,465 - Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles (2012)
¥516.1 million ($5.1 million) / 462,283 - Doraemon: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008)
¥446.3 million ($5.4 million) / 399,139 - Doraemon: Nobita and the New Steel Troops (2011)
¥433.3 million ($3.7 million) / 381,700 - Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur (2006)
¥425.0 million ($3.7 million) / 373,790 - Doraemon: Nobita in the Wan-Nyan Spacetime Odyssey (2004)
¥413.2 million ($3.9 million) / 334,000 - Doraemon: Nobita's New Dinosaur (2020)
¥372.9 million ($3.8 million) / 335,738 - Doraemon: The Record of Nobita's Starblazer (2009)
¥332.2 million ($2.8 million) / 293,000 - Doraemon: Nobita and the Wind Wizard (2003)
¥175.0 million ($1.3 million) / 155,000 - Doraemon: Nobita and the Robot Kingdom (2002)

Recent Totals (2000-):
¥8.38 billion ($80.2 million) / 6.32 million - Stand By Me, Doraemon (2014)
¥5.37 billion ($50.0 million) / 4.68 million - Doraemon: Nobita's Treasure Island (2018)
¥5.02 billion ($45.6 million) / 4.37 million - Doraemon: Nobita's Chronicle of Moon Exploration (2019)
¥4.43 billion ($39.6 million) / 3.89 million - Doraemon: Great Adventure in the Antarctic (2017)
¥4.12 billion ($36.7 million) / 3.63 million - Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan (2016)
¥3.98 billion ($43.2 million) / 3.66 million - Doraemon: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum (2013)
¥3.93 billion ($33.1 million) / 3.48 million - Doraemon: Nobita's Space Hero Record of Space Heroes (2015)
¥3.62 billion ($46.0 million) / 3.35 million - Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles (2012)
¥3.58 billion ($35.1 million) / 3.28 million - Doraemon: Nobita's Demon - Peko and the Exploration Party (2014)
¥3.54 billion ($30.1 million) / 3.20 million - Doraemon: Nobita's New Adventure into the Underworld (2007)
¥3.37 billion ($32.1 million) / 3.05 million - Doraemon: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend (2008)
¥3.28 billion ($27.6 million) / 3.00 million - Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur (2006)
¥3.27 billion ($30.8 million) / 2.71 million - Doraemon: Nobita's New Dinosaur (2020) *Final Estimate*
¥3.16 billion ($33.6 million) / 2.85 million - Doraemon: Nobita's Great Battle of the Mermaid King (2010)
¥3.05 billion ($28.7 million) / 2.55 million - Doraemon: Nobita in the Wan-Nyan Spacetime Odyssey (2004)
¥3.05 billion ($29.0 million) / 2.75 million - Doraemon: Nobita and the Legend of the Sun King (2000)
¥3.00 billion ($26.7 million) / 2.70 million - Doraemon: Nobita and the Winged Braves (2001)
¥2.54 billion ($22.6 million) / 2.31 million - Doraemon: Nobita and the Wind Wizard (2003)
¥2.46 billion ($31.2 million) / 2.18 million - Doraemon: Nobita and the New Steel Troops (2011)
¥2.45 billion ($25.2 million) / 2.24 million - Doraemon: The Record of Nobita's Starblazer (2009)
¥2.31 billion ($17.6 million) / 2.05 million - Doraemon: Nobita and the Robot Kingdom (2002)

Past Doraemon Film Totals (1980-1999) [Dis. Income]:
¥1.55 billion ($11.9 million) - Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur (1980)
¥1.75 billion ($14.4 million) - Doraemon: The Record of Nobita: Starblazer (1981)
¥1.22 billion ($9.8 million) - Doraemon: Nobita and the Haunts of Evil (1982)
¥1.00 billion ($8.1 million) - Doraemon: Nobita's Monstrous Underwater Castle (1983)
¥1.65 billion ($13.5 million) - Doraemon: Nobita's Adventure into Underworld (1984)
¥1.20 billion ($9.6 million) - Doraemon: Nobita's Little Star Universe (1985)
¥1.30 billion ($11.1 million) - Doraemon: Nobita and the Steel Troops (1986)
¥1.50 billion ($13.1 million) - Doraemon: Nobita and the Dinosaur Knights (1987)
¥1.36 billion ($12.1 million) - Doraemon: Nobita's Parallel Journey to the West (1988)
¥2.02 billion ($17.8 million) - Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan (1989)
¥1.91 billion ($16.5 million) - Doraemon: Nobita and the Animal Planet (1990)
¥1.80 billion ($15.8 million) - Doraemon: Nobita and the Dorabian Nights (1991)
¥1.68 billion ($14.8 million) - Doraemon: Nobita and the Kingdom of Clouds (1992)
¥1.65 billion ($14.8 million) - Doraemon: Nobita and the Tin-Plate Labyrinth (1993)
¥1.35 billion ($13.1 million) - Doraemon: Nobita and the Fantastical Three Musketeers (1994)
¥1.30 billion ($15.6 million) - Doraemon: Nobita's Genesis Diary (1995)
¥1.60 billion ($14.9 million) - Doraemon: Nobita and the Galactic Express (1996)
¥2.00 billion ($17.9 million) - Doraemon: Nobita's Adventure in the Clockwork City (1997)
¥2.10 billion ($18.5 million) - Doraemon: Nobita's South Sea Adventure (1998)
¥2.00 billion ($17.9 million) - Doraemon: Nobita's Adventure: Drifts in the Universe (1999)

Does this weekend still look so good considering the reservations? Can we really expect a drop around 20% like you announced a few days ago @Corpse?

Yes, most likely. Wednesday was only down 19%, Thursday down just 21%, and Friday is on course for a 20% drop (or better) today as well based on the early morning sales. It's likely begun to stabilize now with these consistent drops.

And Saturday reservations are very likely ahead of last Saturday looking at many theaters due to the giveaway. And Sunday, while reservations just went up yesterday, has some half-full showings scattered about already, too, and will certainly benefit from the giveaway and spillover from Saturday. It's likely to be a very strong fifth weekend, potentially dropping less than 15/20%.

I think a sub-10% drop is in the cards.

For those still curious why this movie (and series) has taken off like it has, unlike anything ever before, read these two informing articles with psychologist Mariko Ukiyo:

Article regarding adults: https://www.oricon.co.jp/special/55418/
Article regarding children: https://www.oricon.co.jp/special/55400/

They're in Japanese, but you should be able to understand them for the most part if you use Google and translate.

Basically, for adults, she explains that it's connecting across generations by making them think about their life, and how they can be living it. Simply "living" isn't enough, and life is more about the effort one puts into it. She also mentions that "heroes" (the pillars in the series) alone don't make an organization, and how lower-rank individuals also play their part, and equates this to the workplace in Japanese society between executives and office workers.

Suicide is a big problem in Japan. A lot of Japanese are full of anxiety and fear of never being good enough at their career, never good enough to be a parent or to live up to a parent's expectations, and much more. There are themes in this series that hit close to home for a lot of people suffering from this. It's a sadness for people to die, but you still must continue living yourself. There's a scene in this film depicting this exact topic.

And for children, the way the series depicts family bonds, and the theme of never giving up is good for a child's development. When asked if it's too scary, violent, or serious (it's rated PG12) for children, she explains that parents can use the popularity of the series as an opportunity help explain death, and to explain how cherished life is, which is a primary theme in the series. This isn't a topic that can be easily brought up with children in a casual setting, so doing so with something they enjoy that can be used as a visual aid is proving important.

The series handles all of this very well, and I can certainly understand it being very important for a lot of people right now with the additional stress that has come with COVID this year.

Thank you for your remarkable work @corpse

I had a question about Japan, there is a lot of suicide in Japan related to stress and work like you said, I had watched a documentary once that said that the Japanese could work up to 15/16 hours a day and even students, hasn't the state tried to do something about seeing all these suicides? (For example reduce the number of hours for students and employees or try to lighten their schedule by any means)

And has Japan always been a country where work and study are top priorities?

I don't know how it goes in Japan but for example in France the maximum number of hours for an employee is 35 hours / week and students never have more than 7/8 hours of lessons per day,

hmmmm......... it seems this Friday has stronger morning sale than last Friday? weird??!!

Additionally I feel that the series explores how difficult it is for Tanjiro who is left "alone" with the demise of his family trying to hold on to something dear to him to make himself "feel" normal and how difficult it is for someone who has lost their family (not exactly suicide but still its the same feeling IMO).

I've answered this a couple if times in the past, and interestingly, the last was in part in response to.. YOU! LOL. I'll just copy and paste what I said then as it still answered the question well:



Funnily enough, I mentioned how many Japanese wore face masks back in this reply before COVID hit. It's helped them then, and it's been helping them ever since.

I believe MOVIX Cinemas were offline last Friday and weren't included until later in the day. That's why it's up. Once the time of day reaches the time last week when MOVIX was added in, it'll look normal. However, even when MOVIX is added in, today is looking very strong. About to head into the afternoon, and I'd say today is on track for a 15-20% drop.

To be honest, I know I had asked the question a few months before but I couldn't remember the answer and looked at least 50 pages of the thread to find it but I couldn't find it, it's why I asked the question again, sorry for the inconvenience

That is true as well.

Demon Slayer isn't the first manga/anime series to have these types of themes, but it handles them very well, and it's pretty rare for a Shounen title to make it the central theme that drives the story. Most Shounen do have these sorts of themes, but they usually occur over the course of a story with a different aim or main story.

I like to compare Demon Slayer to Fullmetal Alchemist. Fullmetal Alchemist never reached this level of success, nothing has, but it was quite popular (especially towards the end of its run, just like Demon Slayer) and made the sibling relationship between Edward and Al (and their family relationship) the central theme that drove the story. Fullmetal Alchemist is regarded as one of the best series' ever made.

Everything has come together perfectly for this series.

It's no inconvenience.

Always ask a question that comes to mind.

At that point let’s just beat Yo-Kai again

actually movix was never added last friday, if -10000 isn't considered as "added" IMAO

Good point. That might be the reason for Friday sales increase thus far

Love Love Love FMA (specially Brotherhood, but both versions are equally great). Agreed Demon Slayer handles family themes a little better and even though I like DS I do not think its better than One Piece, Code Geass, FMA and my guilty pleasure Naruto Shippuden (the action in this is just something that clicks with me ) but maybe with time it will enter my favorite list as well.

So... today's really up almost 30% versus last Friday as of 2PM?! I understand why the Violet Evergarden movie is up (a to), due to its Dolby Cinema screenings that began today, but nothing should be causing Demon Slayer to see this increase....

I was expecting the increase to happen tomorrow when the first giveaway distribution begins.

I could have sworn Movix wasn't being calculated until after 7pm last Friday, but I'm losing track of which weekdays get corrected at this point. I can only imagine how the programmers probably feel.

EDIT: Or am I just super tired right now (been up 17 hours), and are you saying last Friday was adjusted DOWN after 7pm which is why today is up currently?

no, movix was calculated as negative number all the day through last friday (blog fixed united and 109 cinema at night, I think)

2PM < 7PM < Final Admissions (Usual Locations):

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (FOURTH Week):
Mon. - 71,455 < 126,132 < 148,335
Tues. - 30,751 < 60,299 < 100,663
Wed. - 58,220 < 118,548 < 141,701
Thur. - 36,615 <74,357 < 92,612
Fri. - 39,612 < 90,475

Frozen II (First Week):
Mon. - 54,447 < 92,121 < 104,052
Tues. - 27,455 < 54,818 < 65,760
Wed. - 46,552 < 95,692 < 110,823
Thur. - 25,992 < 51,478 < 61,081
Fri. - 23,952 < 57,013 < 77,296

Weathering With You (First Week):
Mon. - 59,941 < 107,816 < 125,510
Tues. - 44,884 < 82,161 < 97,566
Wed. - 65,636 < 119,995 < 139,965
Thur. - 47,737 < 85,766 < 100,547
Fri. - 48,453 < 93,050 < 122,720

Aladdin (First Week):
Mon. - 44,268 < 90,472 < 109,847
Tues. - 24,934 < 58,999 < 76,025
Wed. - 44,968 < 99,900 < 124,887
Thur. - 22,834 < 54,159 < 70,555
Fri. - 27,992 < 68,615 < 103,910

Beauty and the Beast (First Week):
Mon. - 45,260 < 88,422 < 108,101
Tues. - 30,251 < 64,185 < 81,400
Wed. - 58,924 < 124,700 < 152,195
Thur. - 28,549 < 61,268 < 77,112
Fri. - 24,959 < 57,366 < 100,795

Unless we see a correction friday is looking at a sub-10% drop.

Where do you see that ?

Mimorin. Although still waiting to see if a correction comes out, but if nothing comes out it's basically flat from last friday (130k as of now, 135k last friday).