Jujutsu Kaisen 0 claimed the title of the second-biggest opening for any movie in Japan ever.
As reported by Kyodo, the new prequel movie made 2.69 billion yen (approximately $23.5 million USD) in its opening weekend. That makes it the second-best opening in Japanese box office history, just behind 2020's record-breaking Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train, which is still highest grossing anime film ever produced, the highest grossing movie in the country's history. Japanese distributor Toho Co., Ltd. previously announced very high expectations for the film, saying that it planned for the movie to make 10 billion yen (about $85 million USD,) a goal which it seems almost guaranteed to reach at this point.
The movie tells the story of Yuta Okkotsu, a young man who once promised to marry his childhood sweet heart, Rika Orimoto. Yuta's idealistic life takes a turn, however, when Rika tragically passes away, and her soul is transformed into a Curse, a monstrous spirit that now attacks anyone who gets too close to him. Yuta lives a life of isolation until he meets the sorcerer Satoru Gojo, who gives the tortured young man a chance to turn his curse into a force for good.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 began with a manga that was originally titled Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School, which was created by Gege Akutami in 2017. This earlier work was the first story set in the world of Jujutsu Kaisen, and introduced many of the characters and concepts that would be further expanded upon in Akutami's smash-hit shonen series, which began publication about a year after Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School was completed. Once Jujutsu Kaisen became a hit, the original manga was renamed Jujutsu Kaisen 0 to reflect its connection to Akutami's more popular later work.
The various companies involved in Jujutsu Kaisen's release have spent the last few months promoting the movie, which appears to have paid off. A new trailer was released in early December at this year's Jump Festa, which showcased more of the series' trademark intricate fight choreography and lavish animation. A special edition booklet, which contained an all-new manga chapter focused on Yuta, was also given out as a freebie to anyone who saw the movie in its opening weekend.
Gege Akutami's dark fantasy epic has had a very good year: the first season of MAPPA's anime adaptation of the series wrapped up in March to a generally positive reception, and despite taking a two month hiatus in the summer, the manga was still the best selling manga series in Japan for 2021, with about 30 million copies sold.
An international release for Jujutsu Kaisen 0 has yet to be announced. The first season of the anime can be streamed from Crunchyroll, while the manga is available in English from VIZ Media.
Source: Kyodo