Suzume Opening Weekend Crosses $5 Million at U.S.Box Office

Here we go again, anime lovers! The medium is back in theaters with an epic film, and we have film director Makoto Shinkai to thank for the gift. This weekend, Suzume made its debut in stateside theaters following its release in Japan months ago. And as a new report says, Suzume managed to nab $5 million at the stateside box office amid competition from the Mario Brothers and Dracula himself!

The weekend box office totals for April 14-16th are here, and they prove plenty of people went to theaters this weekend. The Super Mario Bros Movie dominated as expected with a pull of $87 million. Other films like The Pope’s Exorcist earned over $9 million while Renfield earned $7.77 million. Suzume came in this week at $5 million, and that is no number to sneeze at.

After all, the Shinkai film faced tons of top-tier competition this weekend. The movie still took home a good chunk of change, and its premiere is already tracking in the right direction. After all, Suzume earned $5 million in its first weekend while the lifetime domestic gross for Shinkai’s Your Name was $5 million. It seems this new anime film will outperform Shinkai at the U.S. box office, and Suzume is already making waves overseas.

After all, Suzume has become the highest-grossing anime movie in China and South Korea following its release. The markets were quick to eat up Shinkai’s film with pre-sales, and Japan is still showing the movie love. To date, the Japanese market has given over $100 million to Suzume. To compare, Shinkai’s last film, Weathering With You, earned over $131 million during its lifetime gross in Japan while Your Name earned well over $200 million.

Obviously, Suzume is doing well for itself upon opening, and there are more showings to check out if you’ve not binged the movie yet. Here at ComicBook, we gave the gorgeous film four out of five stars in our review. You can read the whole review here, but as a little sneak peek at our take, you can read an excerpt below:

“Despite its bloated plot, Suzume manages to instill the kind of wonder that Shinkai made famous in Your Name. Its animation is second to none as expected, and Suzume’s thoughtful handling of grief will no doubt leave many fans in tears. This gorgeous film is another worthy addition to Shinkai’s portfolio. Suzume’s heart is hard to miss even through its busy storylines.”

Will you be checking out Suzume in theaters now that it has launched stateside? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.