The movie “The First Slam Dunk” ranked No.1 on the weekend rankings for the fourth consecutive week. The film drew 3.4 million viewers in its first 23 days of release, with its box-office revenue surpassing 5 billion yen.
“The First Slam Dunk” is an anime movie based on the boys’ comic “SLAM DUNK” by Inoue Takehiko and serialized in “Weekly Shonen Jump” from issue 42 in 1990 to issue 27 in 1996. The original comic depicts the personal growth of high school basketball players and is known for being a blockbuster hit in Japan, with a total sales of over 120 million copies.
The movie adaptation is directed and written by the author Inoue himself, with Ebara Yasuyuki in charge of the character design and animation direction. Ebara was the character designer for “Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress” and the animation director and action animation director for “Attack on Titan.” Also, the voice actors include Nakamura Shugo as Miyagi Ryouta, Kasama Jun as Mitsui Hisashi, Kamio Shinichirou as Rukawa Kaede, Kimura Subaru as Sakuragi Hanamichi, and Miyake Kenta as Akagi Takenori.
The film was released on December 3, 2022, and entered its fourth week on December 24. On the same day, theaters started distributing a mini-poster (size A5, limited to 1 million copies nationwide) newly illustrated by Inoue as a new gift for viewers. The film continued to rank first at the box office that weekend on Saturday and Sunday, making it the top-grossing film for four consecutive weeks.
Moreover, it drew 3.4 million viewers, and its box office reached 5 billion yen.
Expectations are high for further growth in numbers as we head toward the year-end box office.
（C）I.T.PLANNING,INC.（C）2022 THE FIRST SLAM DUNK Film Partners
