Madoka Magica -Walpurgisnacht: Rising- opens at No. 1 as Chiikawa slips to second
Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht: Rising opens at No. 1 in Japan, while Chiikawa the Movie drops to second after six weekends.
The latest Puella Magi Madoka Magica film has opened at No. 1 in Japan, while Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island has dropped to second place during its sixth weekend in cinemas.
Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht: Rising sold 535,000 tickets and earned ¥939,647,100 (about US$5.95 million / €5.05 million / £4.35 million) during its first three days, according to Anime News Network’s report on the Japanese weekend rankings.
A strong opening for Madoka’s next chapter
The film is the official sequel to Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part 3: Rebellion. Yukihiro Miyamoto directed the production, with returning creative staff including chief director Akiyuki Simbo, writer Gen Urobuchi, character designer Ume Aoki, composer Yuki Kajiura and animation studio SHAFT.
The new film adds Shichōka, voiced by Shion Wakayama, and Selma Therese, voiced by Tomoyo Kurosawa. FictionJunction performs the theme song “Kanata.” The film also received IMAX screenings in Japan from its opening day.
Chiikawa remains a box-office heavyweight
The Chiikawa film fell from first to second in its sixth weekend, selling 369,000 tickets and earning ¥547,161,400 (about US$3.46 million / €2.94 million / £2.53 million) from Friday to Sunday. Its cumulative total has reached ¥12,228,816,100 (about US$77.51 million / €65.88 million / £56.94 million) from 8.49 million tickets.
The Chiikawa film will add 4DX screenings from 5 September, followed by cheering screenings on 11 September and penlight screenings on 23 September. The figures and exchange-rate conversions are approximate; the source reports Japanese box-office totals, not confirmed foreign pricing.
Our opinion
A No. 1 opening is exactly what Walpurgisnacht: Rising needed after the long shadow cast by Rebellion. Nearly a billion yen in three days is a serious launch, and the returning staff makes this feel like a proper continuation rather than a franchise logo slapped on a new ticket machine. Meanwhile, Chiikawa is hardly suffering: dropping to second after six weekends while sitting above ¥12 billion is less a collapse than a polite handover of the crown.
- Walpurgisnacht: Rising opened at No. 1 in Japan
- The film sold 535,000 tickets in its first three days
- Japanese box office was ¥939,647,100 in the first three days
- Chiikawa dropped to No. 2 in its sixth weekend
- All reported figures concern Japanese cinema performance