Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Film Earns Japan's #2 All-Time 3-Day Opening Weekend Box Office

The Jujutsu Kaisen 0 anime film sold 1,908,053 tickets for 2,694,128,150 yen (about US$23.5 million) in 418 theaters during its first three days after opening on Friday. Distributor TOHO said it was the #1 start for a film in Japan this fiscal year, which started in April. Kyodo reports that it is the second highest three-day opening weekend box office ever, below last year's Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train.

TOHO reported the following numbers for the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 film's first three days:

• December 24: 772,224 tickets for 1,072,252,950 yen (about US$9.37 million)
• December 25: 626,110 tickets for 892,008,700 yen (about US$7.79 million)
• December 26: 509,719 tickets for 729,866,500 yen (about US$6.38 million)

TOHO also reported that 79.9% of respondents in audience satisfaction surveys said the film was "very good," and another 18.1% said it was "good" for a combined 98% positive rating.

TOHO had projected on Friday that the Gekijō-ban Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (Jujutsu Kaisen 0 the Movie) anime film sold over 1 million tickets (as opposed to the final tally of 772,224) on its opening day, on its way to over 10 billion yen (about US$87 million) projected for its entire run.

About 15,000 people watched the film at the earliest public screenings in 58 screens at midnight on Friday. TOHO initially planned to screen the film at midnight on only 28 screens in 14 theaters at Kyoto and Miyagi (locales with links to the story), plus Tokyo, Osaka, Aichi, Fukuoka, and Hokkaido. However, tickets sold out on the first day of sales, so theaters eventually expanded the number of screens. In particular, Tokyo's TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku had planned only two screens at first, but tickets sold out in minutes. It eventually showed the film at midnight on eight screens.

The film opened in Japan on Friday. The film's audience members each receive a "Jujutsu Kaisen #0.5 Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School" booklet, while supplies last. Theaters are distributing 5 million booklets. The film also has IMAX screenings.

Megumi Ogata is voicing the main character Yuta Okkotsu:

Kana Hanazawa is voicing the character Rika Orimoto. The character is key to the film's story, and is the childhood friend of main character Yuka. The two had promised to marry each other, but Rika passes away in a car accident and becomes a special grade vengeful cursed spirit. The character is seen below in her human and cursed spirit appearances.

The 24th and final episode of the Jujutsu Kaisen television anime ended in March with an announcement that a film will open this winter. The film is based on Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Tokyo Toritsu Jujutsu Kōtō Senmon Gakkō (Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School) manga prequel story, with MAPPA animating again and TOHO distributing.

Viz Media released the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 manga in January, and it describes the story:

Yuta Okkotsu is a nervous high school student who is suffering from a serious problem—his childhood friend Rika has turned into a Curse and won't leave him alone. Since Rika is no ordinary Curse, his plight is noticed by Satoru Gojo, a teacher at Jujutsu High, a school where fledgling exorcists learn how to combat Curses. Gojo convinces Yuta to enroll, but can he learn enough in time to confront the Curse that haunts him?

The Jujutsu Kaisen television anime premiered in October 2020. Crunchyroll streamed the anime outside of Asia as the anime aired in Japan, and has also streamed dubs in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.

Akutami launched the main manga in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in March 2018. Viz Media published the manga's first three chapters in English simultaneously with Japan as part of its Jump Start initiative. When Viz then switched to its new Shonen Jump model in December 2018, the company began publishing new chapters of the manga digitally. Shueisha is also publishing the manga on its MANGA Plus website.

Sources: 47 News, Oricon