Mar 27, 2023

Suzume Tops Chinese Box Office with $50.7 Million Opening

Makoto Shinkai's latest animated feature "Suzume" opened in theaters in China over the weekend, grossing $50.7 million in three days.

The Chinese debut of "Suzume" was the largest non-Chinese film of the year and the largest non-Holiday release. According to ticketing service Maoyan, "Suzume" is expected to gross approximately $90 million by the end of its Chinese run, making it the highest-grossing Japanese anime film ever in China.

Suzume's $50.7 million China debut propelled the film to the number two spot at the worldwide box office for the weekend, bringing its total to $57.7 million. Although the film has only been released in seven territories, its worldwide box office has already reached $182.4 million.

Even before "Suzumezume," Shinkai was already one of the top-grossing directors in Japan, and his latest film solidifies his position. The film premiered in Japan last year and had the strongest opening of Shinkai's career, surpassing his debut films "Weather With You" and "Your Name. Suzume," which is still in theaters, has grossed $105 million in its home country.

"Suzume" currently boasts the largest Chinese debut for a Shinkai film; in 2016, "Your Name" debuted with $41.3 million, bringing its total box office to $83.7 million; in 2019, "Weathered Kimi" debuted with $22 million, eventually grossing $40.8 million in It grossed $40.8 million.

Prior to Suzume's major debut in the West, the film was selected for the main competition section of the Berlin Film Festival in February. The English dubbed and subtitled version will be released in the US, Canada, UK, and Ireland on April 14. Crunchyroll is exclusively handling U.S. distribution.