Kyoto Animation's anime film of Yoshitoki Ōima's A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi) manga has sold about 1.6 million tickets after its eighth weekend for 2.1 billion yen (about US$20.10 million) as of Sunday.

The film has now surpassed the box office earnings of Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 3: Rebellion, which earned a total of 2.08 billion yen during its theatrical run in Japan when it opened in October 2013.

Starting on Saturday, participating theaters started giving out 35-millimeter four-frame film strips, similar to the strips given out in the film's third week. More theaters began showing the film starting on October 29, and more theaters will add the film every weekend through December 3.

The film had earlier surpassed the earnings of the K-ON! anime film, similarly animated by Kyoto Animation and directed by Naoko Yamada, which earned 1.9 billion yen (about US$23.7 million at the time) at the box office in 2011.

A Silent Voice opened on September 17 on 120 screens and ranked #2 at box offices in Japan. The film earned 283,000,000 yen (about US$2.8 million) and sold 200,000 tickets in its first two days. By comparison, Kyoto Animation's 2011 K-On! film earned 316,310,000 yen in its first two days on 137 screens.

Source: Animate Times