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2018 Doraemon Film Sets Earnings Record Among New Doraemon Films

TOHO announced on Wednesday that Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Takarajima (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Treasure Island), the Doraemon franchise's 38th film, has earned more than 4.44 billion yen (about US$41.5 million) in 32 days. The film is now the highest-grossing anime in the current 13-installment Doraemon film series that began with the 2006 film Doraemon: Nobita no Kyōryū. The new series of Doraemon films features a main voice cast that changed with the 2005 premiere of the ongoing television series.

Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Nankyoku Kachi Kochi Daibōken (Doraemon the Movie 2017: Great Adventure in the Antarctic Kachi Kochi), the 37th anime film in the franchise, earned more than 4.14 billion yen (about US$38.2 million at the time) in 44 days at the box office in Japan, eventually earning 4.43 billion yen (about US$39.3 million at the time) in total.

Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Takarajima opened in Japan on March 3, and it topped the Japanese box office in its opening weekend. The film earned 22% more than the first weekend of Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Nankyoku Kachi Kochi Daibōken. Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Nankyoku Kachi Kochi Daibōken was the second highest-grossing domestic film in Japan last year.

The latest Doraemon film is inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island novel. In the film's story, Doraemon, Nobita, Shizuka, Gian, and Suneo set out on an adventure in the Caribbean Sea. Nobita is the captain of a ship and fights his enemies on board. Shizuka gets kidnapped, and a storm impedes their journey. Mini-Dora robots help Nobita and friends on their journey. When the adventurers finally find the mysterious Treasure Island, they discover it is more than just an ordinary island.

Kazuaki Imai, an episode director on the Doraemon television anime, directed the project as his first Doraemon franchise film. Novelist Genki Kawamura (your name., The Boy and The Beast producer) penned the script.

Source: Cinema Today (吉田唯) via Otakomu