Opening day earnings surpass last year's film

Meitantei Conan: Konjō no Fist ( Detective Conan: Fist of Blue Sapphire ), the 23rd Detective Conan anime film, sold 313,724 tickets to earn 422,465,000 yen (about US$3.77 million) on its opening day on Friday. The opening day earnings surpassed last year's film.

Tomoka Nagaoka (assistant director on Detective Conan: The Crimson Love Letter ) directed the film. Takahiro Okura ( Detective Conan: The Crimson Love Letter ) penned the script. Katsuo Ono returned to compose the music. Hiroomi Tosaka, the vocalist for Sandaime J Soul Brothers from Exile Tribe, performed the film's theme song "Blue Sapphire."

The film is set in Singapore, and is the first Detective Conan film set outside of Japan. Singapore's famous Marina Bay Sands, is the site of a murder case in the film. The plot involves a large gem known as the "Blue Sapphire," which sank to the bottom of the ocean at the end of the 19th century.

The film centers on Kaitō Kid, Makoto Kyōgoku, and Conan Edogawa. The movie marks a return of the Kaitō Kid character to the Detective Conan films since his last appearance in Detective Conan: Sunflowers of Inferno , the franchise's 19th film, in 2015. The film also features the first appearance of the character Makoto Kyōgoku in the franchise films. In the film, Makoto, an undefeated karate master with 400 wins, confronts Kid as Kid tries to steal the Blue Sapphire. Meanwhile, Kaitō Kid brings Conan to Singapore against his will.

Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer , the franchise's 22nd film, opened on April 13, 2018 in Japan. The film earned 1.296 billion yen (about US$12.1 million) at the box office in its first two days, and sold 1,289,000 tickets in its first three days to earn 1.67 billion yen (about US$15.6 million). The movie is the highest-earning film in the franchise. In Japan, the film has earned more than 9.1 billion yen (about US$80.3 million), and is the eighth highest-grossing anime film in Japan of all time, and the 47th highest-grossing film in Japan in general. As of November 16, the film had earned 11 billion yen worldwide.

Source: Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web