Suzume Becomes Highest-Selling Anime Film of All Time in China, Korea

 

Suzume Becomes Highest-Selling Anime Film of All Time in China, Korea

According to a report from the Mainichi news website on Saturday, Makoto Shinkai's latest film, Suzume (Suzume no Tojimari), has broken records in China and South Korea. The Chinese movie data app Maoyan Professional revealed that Suzume has earned over 720 million yuan (US$105 million) in just three weeks since its opening in China, making it the highest-selling Japanese anime of all time in the country. The film has also sold 21.64 million tickets in mainland China as of Friday.

In South Korea, Suzume has sold more tickets than any other Japanese film, with a total of 4,482,051 tickets sold, and it is currently the highest-earning film that opened in 2023, grossing US$35,783,322, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Suzume and your name. now hold the top two spots for the highest-grossing Japanese films of all time in South Korea, with the third spot occupied by The First Slam Dunk, which has earned US$35,761,923. Notably, Suzume surpassed The First Slam Dunk as the highest-earning anime film in South Korea.

In Japan, Suzume opened at #1 on November 11 and has earned a cumulative total of 14,310,602,380 yen (about US$109 million) as of March 26, surpassing the lifetime box office earnings of Shinkai's previous film, Weathering With You (Tenki no Ko), which earned 14.23 billion yen (about US$108 million in current conversion).

Suzume features actress Nanoka Hara as the voice of the heroine Suzume Iwato, and also marks the voice acting debut of Hokuto Matsumura, a member of the SixTONES idol group, as Sōta Munakata, a young man who accompanies Suzume as the "Door-Closing Master."

Directed and written by Shinkai, with credits for the original story, Suzume also boasts character designs by Masayoshi Tanaka, animation direction by Kenichi Tsuchiya, and art direction by Takumi Tanji. The film was produced by CoMix Wave Films and Story Inc., with TOHO handling distribution. The score for Suzume was composed by Kazuma Jinnouchi, a Hollywood film composer based in Seattle known for works such as Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 and RWBY: Ice Queendom, alongside RADWIMPS. Additionally, one of the film's theme songs, titled "Suzume," was performed by TikTok performer Toaka.

Sources: The Mainichi, Suzume film's Twitter account, KOFIC