Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is now one of the ten highest grossing animated movies in Japanese film history.
Japanese entertainment site Mantan Web is reporting that the shonen blockbuster has now earned over 12.3 billion yen (about $106 million USD) during its domestic theatrical run. The movie is now the fifteenth highest grossing anime film worldwide and the eighth in Japan, replacing Studio Ghibli's The Wind Rises, which previously claimed that spot in 2013. The movie's producers are encouraging fans to give the prequel another watch with a newly revealed illustration of the film's protagonist, Yuta Okkotsu, and its villain, Suguru Geto. A print of the illustration will be given out to Japanese theater-goers who buy a ticket to the movie after March 12.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 premiered in Japan on Dec. 24 to the second-biggest opening weekend in Japanese film history. Despite opening in the last days of 2021, the film is now considered to be the highest grossing movie of 2021 in Japan, usurping Evangelion 3.0 + 1.01: Thrice Upon A Time's place atop the year's rankings. Distributor Toho Co. Ltd. originally projected the movie to pull-in about 10 billion yen (about $85 million USD) during its entire lifetime, a sum that it has now surpassed by over 2 billion yen.
The movie is set one year before the events of the first episode of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime series and consequently features a different protagonist. Instead of Yuji, the movie focuses on Yuta Okkotsu, a young man who once promised his childhood friend, Rika Orimoto, that he would marry her someday. Unfortunately, Rika passes away and her soul is transformed into a Curse, a monster born from humanity's negative energy. Rika's Curse haunts Yuta and attacks anyone who gets close to him, forcing him into a life of isolation until he meets the sorcerer Satoru Gojo, who offers to teach Yuta how to control Rika and use her powers for good.
Before Jujutsu Kaisen started setting box-office records, it began as a manga series by author and artist Gege Akutami. Since its premiere in 2017, the series has become one of Japan's premier manga and anime franchises, with Akutami's story of sorcerers and Curses topping the list of Japan's best-selling manga series of 2021, outperforming fellow Shonen Jump hits like Demon Slayer and My Hero Academia. The manga was adapted into an anime series by animation studio MAPPA (Attack on Titan: The Final Season) and director Sunghoo Park (God of High School).
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 will premiere in the United States and Canada on March 18. The manga is available in English in both print and digital formats from VIZ Media, while the anime series is available for streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
Source: Mantan Web via Crunchyroll
