Fifteen weekends in, Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island refuses to leave Japan's box office top five. The film ranked 5th in its 15th weekend of release, per Crunchyroll News — a staying power that puts it in rare company among anime theatrical runs.

Holding a top-five slot nearly four months after opening is the kind of long-tail performance usually reserved for generational hits. Nagomu Ito's beloved little creatures have translated their merchandising and manga ubiquity into sustained theatrical pull, with repeat viewers and late-arriving families keeping screens booked deep into the run.

Further down the chart, Space Battleship Yamato 3199 Chapter 7 opened in 10th. The modest debut position is typical for the Yamato remake series' theatrical chapters, which are event-style limited releases aimed at the franchise's dedicated fanbase and tied to home-video and streaming rollouts rather than broad box-office campaigns.

The contrast makes for a neat snapshot of Japan's theatrical anime market: a character-brand juggernaut grinding out week after week at the top of the chart, while a legacy sci-fi serial services its faithful in the lower reaches.