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Last year, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle dominated Japanese theaters, claiming a maximum of 40 theatrical screening slots within a 24-hour period. One year later, Ufotable's cinematic titan has since been defeated by Japan's latest kawaii icon.
Per Oricon, Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island is scheduled to begin its domestic theatrical run on July 24, 2026. Remarkably, the film has already secured 41 opening day screening times at Toho Cinemas' Ikebukuro location. This unusually high number has already become a hot topic on Japanese social media, with users leaving comments such as "The Chiikawa movie is practically a timetable now," and "It looks like it's going to reach 10 billion yen in box office revenue!"
Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island Secures Major Opening-Day Screening Record
Chiikawa, literally translating to "small and cute," originated as a popular web manga series by Nagano. The titular character is a cute, rodent-like creature who inhabits a society filled with similar beings. A blend of slice-of-life and dark fantasy, the story follows Chiikawa and his friends as they fulfill various tasks forced upon them by a race of creatures called Yoroi-san.
Studio Doga Kobo of Oshi no Ko fame produces the Chiikawa anime adaptation, which was initially released in April 2022. As of July 2026, over 360 episodes have been released. Chiikawa's debut anime film, The Secret of Mermaid Island, animated by CygamesPictures, features a never-before-seen narrative written by Nagano. As detailed on Oricon, the film's plot has Chiikawa and company traveling to the eponymous isle, where a special training camp awaits them.
While Chiikawa is gearing up for a massive cinematic takeover this summer, it still hasn't grazed the record set by Japan's ultimate one-day screening champion. Earlier this year, TMS Entertainment's Detective Conan: Fallen Angel on the Highway was screened a staggering 59 times at T-Joy Yokohama. In addition to Conan's massive popularity, another deciding factor for the venue was Fallen Angel's narrative, which happens to be set in Yokohama.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle is currently the highest-grossing anime film in Japanese history. Released as Part 1 of Demon Slayer's planned three-part finale, Infinity Castle has earned over US$795M in global box office revenue. However, DemonSlayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train still holds that franchise's record for the highest number of screenings in a single day.
On Oct. 16, 2020, Toho Cinemas Shinjuku screened Mugen Train a total of 42 times within 24 hours. Comparatively, Infinity Castle was screened up to 40 times within a single day. Nonetheless, it surpassed Mugen Train's opening weekend revenue, earning roughly US$44M during its first three days in theaters.
An international theatrical release date for Chiikawa: The Secret of Mermaid Island has not yet been announced. However, the Chiikawa anime series is available on Netflix in select countries, including Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Portugal and Spain, among others. Ufotable's Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime series is currently streaming on Netflix and Crunchyroll. Koyoharu Gotouge's Demon Slayer manga is available in English from VIZ Media.
