Japanese box office history keeps changing thanks to revival screenings, long theatrical runs, and the occasional phenomenon that refuses to slow down. The ranking below looks only at Japanese productions in the domestic market, using the all-time chart compiled by Kogyo Tsushinsha. The figures are current as of June 28, 2026, so future re-releases can still reshuffle the order.
Animation still dominates the upper half of the list, but it is no longer only a Studio Ghibli story. Demon Slayer holds the top two spots, Detective Conan has turned annual movies into major events, and Kokuho proved that a long live-action drama about kabuki can still become a genuine blockbuster in Japan.
If you want another angle on theatrical hits, our list of the best Japanese anime movies pairs well with this ranking. For the studio behind several classics here, take a look at our guide to Studio Ghibli.
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1. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train
2020 – ¥40.75 billion
Mugen Train remains the benchmark of modern Japanese box office success. Released at a moment when audiences were eager for a major theatrical event, it turned the momentum of the TV series into a historic run and became the first Japanese film to break past the ¥40 billion mark in Japan.
2. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle
2025 – ¥40.24 billion
The first Infinity Castle film came astonishingly close to overtaking Mugen Train. It shows how strong the franchise remains in theaters, with fans treating each major chapter as an event release instead of just a continuation of a popular anime.
3. Spirited Away
2001 – ¥31.68 billion
Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece is still one of the defining box office stories in Japanese cinema. Its original run was enormous, and later revival screenings helped keep it in the all-time conversation even as new anime giants arrived.
4. Your Name
2016 – ¥25.17 billion
Makoto Shinkai's body-swap romance became a cultural phenomenon thanks to its emotional pacing, memorable soundtrack, and broad appeal beyond anime regulars. It remains the film that pushed Shinkai from respected director to mainstream box office powerhouse.
5. Princess Mononoke
1997 – ¥21.46 billion
Before Spirited Away, this was the film that proved an animated fantasy epic could dominate the Japanese box office. Its scale, environmental themes, and moral ambiguity gave it lasting appeal, and later reissues pushed it even higher.
6. Kokuho
2025 – ¥20.83 billion
Kokuho is the major live-action surprise in this ranking. A sweeping drama set in the world of kabuki, it became the highest-grossing Japanese live-action film in the domestic market and showed that a prestige production can still compete with major anime franchises.
7. One Piece Film: Red
2022 – ¥20.34 billion
Rather than relying only on pirate battles, Film Red leaned into music, spectacle, and the mystery surrounding Uta. That mix broadened its audience and helped it become the biggest theatrical hit in the history of the One Piece franchise.
8. Howl's Moving Castle
2004 – ¥19.60 billion
This Studio Ghibli fantasy remains one of Miyazaki's most beloved theatrical hits. The walking fortress, the anti-war undertone, and the chemistry between Sophie and Howl gave the film a wide audience that extended far beyond Ghibli's core fans.
9. Bayside Shakedown 2
2003 – ¥17.35 billion
For years, this police-comedy sequel stood as the commercial giant of Japanese live-action cinema. Its success came from a formula Japanese audiences already loved on television, but scaled up with enough event-movie energy to fill theaters across the country.
10. The First Slam Dunk
2022 – ¥16.67 billion
Takehiko Inoue's film adaptation balanced nostalgia with a more cinematic style than many expected from a sports anime release. Strong word of mouth and emotional attachment to the original manga turned it into one of the decade's biggest theatrical stories.
11. Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram
2024 – ¥15.80 billion
The annual Detective Conan movie formula has become one of the safest bets in Japanese exhibition, and The Million-dollar Pentagram set a new franchise peak at the time. It combined mystery, familiar characters, and event-scale marketing in exactly the way the series does best.
12. Ponyo
2008 – ¥15.50 billion
Ponyo reached a massive family audience with a simpler and warmer story than some other Ghibli films. Its hand-drawn look and childlike energy made it one of the studio's most accessible theatrical successes.
13. Suzume
2022 – ¥14.94 billion
Another Makoto Shinkai hit, Suzume connected road-movie adventure with themes of loss, memory, and disaster recovery. It did not surpass Your Name, but it confirmed that Shinkai's name alone can now carry huge theatrical expectations.
14. Detective Conan: One-eyed Flashback
2025 – ¥14.74 billion
By following up one record-setting film with another, the Detective Conan series showed that its box office strength is no longer occasional. The franchise now has multiple titles among Japan's all-time top earners, which is rare for annual movie releases.
15. Weathering with You
2019 – ¥14.23 billion
Weathering with You mixed romance, fantasy, and an unmistakably modern Tokyo atmosphere. Even though it arrived under the shadow of Your Name, it still became one of the highest-grossing Japanese films ever released in Japan.
Just outside this top 15, the biggest current challengers are Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, The Wind Rises, and Haikyu!! The Movie: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump. That says a lot about the current market: anime still dominates, but the mix of fantasy, mystery, sports, and prestige live action is broader than it first appears.
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