The Detective Conan may have been around for forever (actually just two decades but STILL) but it is still a big phenomenon in its home country, Japan! Proof of this is the final ticket sales released for the 23rd film in the franchise entitled Fist of the Blue Sapphire (Konjo no Fist). According to official press releases the film sold a total of 7, 164, 729 tickets, earning a grand total of 9, 182, 702, 500 yen (that’s roughly USD 87 million).
These numbers then made Fist of the Blue Sapphire as the highest-grossing Detective Conan film to date, beating last year’s Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer. The latter earned 1.67 billion yen in its first three days, and eventually became the 8th highest-grossing anime film in Japan last year.
It will be remembered that the 23rd Detective Conan film also beat out Avengers: Endgame last May, driven largely by impressive Golden Week sales in favor of the forever-young detective.
Fist of the Blue Sapphire is the first movie in the franchise that was set outside of Japan. Singapore’s famous Marina Bay Sands featured prominently in the movie as the site of a murder case. Kaito Kid’s much-coveted Blue Sapphire, which was said to have sunk to the bottom of the ocean, also took centerstage in the story. This film marks the first appearance of karate master Makoto Kyogoku in the films, as he confronts Kid for trying to steal the Blue Sapphire. Kaito Kid, on the other hand, drags Conan to Singapore against his will. This movie marks Kaito Kid’s return to Detective Conan films since 2015’s Sunflowers of Inferno, the franchise’s 19th film.
Cast regulars Minami Takayama, Wakana Yamazaki, and Rikiya Koyama returned to reprise their roles as Conan, Ran, and Mouri respectively. The movie will be directed by Tomoka Nagaoka, who was assistant director to the Detective Conan: Crimson Love Letter movie.
Source: Anime News Network