Japan's box office dominated by local films

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Local animated features led Japanese box office in the first half of 2024 as just two Hollywood titles broke the top 10. Of the 20 highest-grossing films released so far this year, 15 were produced in Japan. Six out of the top 10 titles are anime features. Dominating the first half of 2024 was Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram, the 27th annual entry in a series of films about a high school detective who has been shrunk to child-like proportions. The film has earned $94.4m (¥15.19bn) – a record for the long-running franchise. By comparison, 2023's top-grossing film, animation The First Slam Dunk, took $98.6m (¥15.87bn) over the course of its run after opening in December 2022.

The only other film to cross the ¥10bn threshold this year to date is Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle, the latest in a long-running anime franchise about high school volleyball players based on the manga by Haruichi Furudate. The film has earned $69.3m (¥11.16bn) at the local box office.