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The First Slam Dunk Anime Film Overtakes Suzume, Becomes 14th Highest-Earning Film in Japan (Updated)

The First Slam Dunk, the new anime film of Takehiko Inoue's Slam Dunk basketball manga, has earned 14.84 billion yen (around US$106.4 million) as of July 17, 227 days after the film opened in Japan. The film is now the 14th highest-earning film of all time in Japan, surpassing Makoto Shinkai's Suzume and Weathering With You films, which now rank 15th and 16th respectively. The film has surpassed Suzume's 14.79 billion yen (about US$106 million) domestic earnings, and Weathering With You's 14.23 billion yen (about US$102 million) earnings. The film is also now the eighth highest-earning anime film in Japan.

By June, the film had sold over 10 million tickets to earn 14.43 billion yen (about US$103.5 million) in Japan, after about a half a year in theaters.

The film opened in Japan on December 3, ranked at #1 in its opening weekend. The film sold 847,000 tickets and earned 1,295,808,780 yen (about US$9.50 million) over its opening weekend. The film won Animation of the Year at the 46th annual Japan Academy Film Prizes. Toshiyuki Matsui, the film's producer, received this year's general award for Eiga Engeki Bunka Kyōkai's (Film Theater Culture Association) 42nd annual Fujimoto Awards.

GKIDS will release the film in the United States and Canada with both an English dub and with Japanese audio and English subtitles on July 28. GKIDS describes the film:

Shohoku's “speedster” and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. Born and raised in Okinawa, Ryota had a brother who was three years older. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, who was a famous local player from a young age, Ryota also became addicted to basketball.

In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku High School basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, and Mitsui as they take the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship. And now, they are on the brink of challenging the reigning champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School.

Inoue personally directed the film at Toei Animation and wrote the script. Among the listed staff members are character designer/animation director Yasuyuki Ebara (Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress) and technical directors Katsuhiko Kitada (Attack on Titan episodes, Major: Yūjō no Winning Shot), Naoki Miyahara (Digimon Adventure, Popin Q), Toshio Ōhashi (LayereD Stories 0), and Yū Kamatani (Looking for Magical DoReMi, Precure Super Stars!). Daiki Nakazawa directed the CG, and Yūta Ogura produced the CG. Kazuo Ogura directed the art. Yōta Tsuruoka directed the sound with Koji Kasamatsu.

Update: The film will end its run in Japanese theaters on August 31. Source: Comic Natalie

Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin, Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web