‘Detective Conan’ #2 All-Time Opening In Japan, ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ Huge In Korea, ‘Shrek 2’ In U.S. Top 10 [Video]

Animation is heating up the box office all over the globe.

Let’s start with Japan, which has a very different animation ecosystem than the United States. In the U.S., when a franchise reaches its third or fourth entry, critics often begin questioning whether a concept has run out of steam or whether further films are necessary. Not so in Japan where film franchises have rich mythologies that spread across different forms of media, and audiences happily turn out annually for beloved characters.

Case in point: Detective Conan (or Case Closed as it has been renamed in the States). The mystery series, about a teenage detective who has been transformed into an elementary school-age child, released the 27th feature in the franchise last weekend.

Directed by Chika Nagaoka, Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagramlaunched with a stunning $21.7m in Japan, the second-best theatrical opening of all-time in the country. The only film to have ever opened stronger …