The latest box office figures for the 27th installment of the "Detective Conan" movie series, "Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram," released on April 12th, have been disclosed. In just 18 days of release, the film has attracted 6.44 million viewers and grossed over 9.2 billion yen (approximately $68 million). This success has brought the total cumulative audience for the entire series, over 27 years, to a monumental 100 million viewers.

The official announcement stated, "In 1997, based on the original work by Gosho Aoyama, the Detective Conan movie series has continued to be beloved, finally reaching a cumulative total of 100 million viewers this year."

The announcement continued, "We will keep moving forward, supported by many people and walking together with everyone. Please continue to support Detective Conan!"

According to Toho, the distributor, "The number of 100 million viewers is close to the population of Japan, making it a truly national phenomenon. Furthermore, reaching 100 million viewers with the 27th film sets the record for the fastest in history, a record previously held by the 'Doraemon' and 'Godzilla' series."

"Detective Conan" is based on the mystery manga about high school detective Shinichi Kudo, who, after being poisoned and transformed into a child by mysterious men in black, operates under the alias Conan Edogawa. The series, which started serialization in "Weekly Shonen Sunday" in 1994 and launched as a TV anime in 1996 and a theatrical anime in 1997, continues to be a national favorite.

The latest movie, "Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram," broke records on its opening day with 630,000 attendees and earnings of 960 million yen (about $7.1 million). According to Toho, this opening surpassed the previous record-holder, "Detective Conan Black Iron Submarine" (opened in April 2023 with earnings of 13.88 billion yen, or approximately $102 million), achieving 112% of its predecessor’s initial performance, aiming to set a new all-time high.

This installment features a story set in Hakodate, where Heiji Hattori and the notorious thief Kaito Kid clash. The narrative follows Heiji, who has missed numerous chances to confess his love to Kazuha and faces his old rival, Kid. In a past incident involving the Konpeki Pearl, known as "Fairy's Lips," Heiji almost kissed Kazuha, who Kid had disguised himself as.

Will Heiji finally manage to confess his love to Kazuha in this latest movie? Significant characters like Momiji Ooka, Mugai Iori, and Soshi Okita also make appearances, watching over Heiji and Kazuha.