“April Is Conan Season”
The brand in the spotlight is Detective Conan. The 29th movie, titled “Fallen Angel on the Highway,” sold 2,318,009 tickets and earned over 3.5 billion yen (around 21.9 million USD) in just the first three days of its release in Japan, setting the highest opening record in nearly 30 years of the Conan film series. This achievement not only topped the Japanese box office but also ranked third worldwide during its debut week.
The craze didn’t stop after the first week. Within 27 days, the film surpassed 10.88 billion yen with over 7.4 million tickets sold, becoming the fourth Conan movie in history to break the 10 billion yen mark. By early June, its revenue climbed to 12.76 billion yen (about 80 million USD), far ahead of all competitors to lead the list of Japan’s highest-grossing films of 2026. The only remaining goal is to surpass the 15.8 billion yen record set by “Million Dollar Five-Star” in 2024.
What’s remarkable is that these milestones happened in a landmark year: Detective Conan first aired on January 8, 1996, and has now exceeded 1,100 episodes, celebrating its 30th anniversary in January 2026. A franchise turning 30, an age when most animated series fade, is instead reaching unprecedented heights.
For Japanese audiences, watching a Conan movie in spring has become an annual ritual, much like cherry blossom viewing. Since the first movie “The Time Bombed Skyscraper” in 1997, a new Conan film has reliably hit theaters every April, consistently ranking among Japan’s top-grossing films each year.
This consistency has created what filmmakers call a generational habit. Children taken to see Conan by their parents in the late 1990s are now in their 30s and 40s, bringing their own kids to the theater. Fans don’t need convincing to buy tickets, they just need to know the release date.
Half the Secret Lies with Female Fans
But relying solely on family audiences wouldn’t break records every year. The real turning point came in 2018 when producers recognized the powerful influence of adult female fans.
That year, the 22nd movie “Zero the Enforcer” put undercover officer Amuro Toru front and center, sparking an unprecedented phenomenon in Japan. Many female fans watched the film over 100 times, rallying under the slogan “Make Amuro a 10 Billion Yen Man.” The female fan community dubbed themselves “Amuro’s Women,” and the character’s name became one of the top 100 trending keywords on Japanese internet in 2018. “Zero the Enforcer” grossed over 11 billion yen globally, and Japan became the only country where the blockbuster “Avengers: Infinity War” failed to top the box office, blocked by this animated police officer.
Riding the Amuro craze, Conan found its golden formula: each year, spotlight a beloved supporting character to transform the annual movie into a “holy year” for different fan communities. This year’s focus is Chihaya Hagiwara, the female captain of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police motorcycle unit, nicknamed the “Goddess of Wind.” She pursues a mysterious black motorcycle called the “Fallen Angel,” which wreaks havoc on the highways. The film also features Chihaya’s late brother Kenji Hagiwara and police academy friend Jinpei Matsuda, characters who sacrificed their lives but remain emotional touchstones for Conan fans, especially female ones.
The Most Emotionally Charged Film Yet
The 29th movie carries a deeper meaning longtime fans recognize. Chihaya was originally voiced by veteran actress Atsuko Tanaka, who has passed away. Miyuki Sawashiro took over the role. Sawashiro is the legendary voice behind Fujiko Mine from the Lupin the Third series, making this a symbolic passing of the torch between two iconic female anime voices. Many fans admit they went to theaters partly to hear how the “Goddess of Wind” sounds and left moved to tears.
The music is also carefully crafted, with diva Misia performing the theme song “Last Danced Anata to.” The director is Takahiro Hasui, who previously helmed “The Dark Iron Submarine,” the first movie in the franchise to surpass 10 billion yen.
After early screenings on July 18 and 19, “Detective Conan: Fallen Angel on the Highway” will officially open nationwide in Vietnam on July 24.
Interestingly, 2026 is a rare year for Vietnamese audiences to experience both ends of the franchise on the big screen: the very first movie “The Time Bombed Skyscraper” premiered in Vietnam for the first time this January, and now the franchise’s highest-grossing film ever. Nearly 30 years of Conan cinema packed into half a year is perhaps the best promotion possible.