Chiikawa Movie Becomes Japan’s Biggest Box Office Hit of 2026

Chiikawa keeps growing like a small wave that suddenly turns into a sea. This time, the franchise reached a new peak in Japan, because Eiga Chiikawa: Ningyo no Shima no Himitsu has officially become the top movie at the Japanese box office for 2026. At the same time, the series is also opening one more door for overseas fans with new English-language releases.

Chiikawa reaches the top in Japan

The official account for Eiga Chiikawa: Ningyo no Shima no Himitsu shared that the film has earned more than 15.84 billion yen, or around US$100 million, and has sold about 10.86 million tickets in Japan. With that number, the movie now holds the spot as the highest-grossing film in Japan this year.

The result also pushed the film past the earnings of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Weathering With You (Tenki no Ko). That is not a small step. It feels more like watching a tiny star suddenly light up the whole room.

A powerful run since opening day

The movie opened in Japan on July 24 and started strong from its first weekend, ranking at #1. On opening day alone, it earned 990 million yen, roughly US$6.05 million.

Its first three days were also intense:

• 1,508,500 tickets sold
• 2,240,333,500 yen earned
• About US$13.70 million in revenue

Later, by early September, the film had already climbed to 13.9 billion yen from 9.60 million tickets. That total was enough to move ahead of Detective Conan: Highway no Datenshi, which had earned 13.7 billion yen. From there, the road only kept opening wider.

The anime is also moving closer to English-speaking fans

There is another important update around the franchise. The official English YouTube channel for Chiikawa launched on September 19, and it announced that full English dub episodes of the anime adaptation will begin streaming on October 1.

If you have been waiting for a softer entry into this world, this is a good moment to step in. Sometimes one dubbed episode is all it takes for a story to sit close to your heart.

How the anime has grown

The Chiikawa anime first premiered in April 2022. At first, it aired every Friday as part of Fuji TV's morning program Mezamashi Terebi. Then, in April 2023, it expanded to air twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays.

The newest anime series premiered in July 2025. Before that, the broadcast had been replaying older key episodes after the previous series finished its regular run of new episodes in April 2025.

Streaming availability

For fans outside Japan, the anime has already been making quiet but steady moves:

• Sentai Filmworks licensed the anime
• HIDIVE streams it with English subtitles
• Amasian TV began streaming a selection of 20 episodes in the United States with Japanese audio and English subtitles in August

Keep an eye on October 1. That date could become the next big step for the series abroad.

From X manga posts to a box office giant

When I see stories like this, I remember how many beloved series begin in a very simple place. Nagano first started serializing the original manga in January 2020 on X, back when the platform was still called Twitter. The title was Nanka Chiisakute Kawaii Yatsu.

Now that same small and cute world has turned into the biggest movie success in Japan this year. It is a path that feels gentle, but also sharp like a clean bell sound in the morning. Quiet beginnings can still shake the whole sky.

If you have not followed Chiikawa yet, this is the moment to start. Watch the anime, mark the English dub release, and see why this tiny franchise is making such a huge mark.