The official X (formerly Twitter) for The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe (known as Kitaro Tanjou: GeGeGe no Nazo in Japan) anime film has announced that the film’s cumulative total box office gross in Japan had surpassed three billion yen (20 million USD). This figure is the sum of the box office gross of the original version and the R15+ version, which has been in theaters in Japan since October 4. With the two versions combined, the film has earned 3,013,879,430 yen on 2,089,532 admissions by 11:00 AM on October 12 according to Animate Times.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the original GeGeGe no Kitaro manga author Shigeru Mizuki’s birth, the original version of The Birth of Kitaro released in Japan on November 17, 2023, under the rating of “PG12” (Viewing by children under 12 years of age requires the advice and guidance of a parent or guardian). The 104-minute movie earned 2.79 billion yen (18.69 million USD) on 1.95 million admissions from its initial domestic run.The R15+ (No one under 15 years of age allowed to see) version, subtitled Shinsei-ban (“Genuine edition”), has 327 cuts retaken and the sound re-dubbed to express “the horror story as originally envisioned by the production team.”The R15+version opened in 331 theaters across Japan on October 4, and earned 156 million yen (1.05 million USD) on 97,700 admissions in its first three-day weekend, making its third place debut in the weekend box office ranking.
Toei Animation Europe’s official website describes the film’s synopsis as such:
In Showa 31 (1956), Nagura Village was secretly controlled by the Ryuga family, who dominated Japan’s political and financial circles. Mizuki, who worked at the Imperial Blood Bank, entered the village under the pretense of mourning the death of the head of the family, carrying ambitions and a secret mission. At the same time, Kitaro’s father entered the village searching for his wife. Within the Ryuga family, a vicious struggle over succession had begun.
During this time, one of the family members was mysteriously murdered at the village shrine. This marked the beginning of a terrifying chain of supernatural events.
R15+ Version Trailer
R15+ version poster visual
Sources: “The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe” official X (formerly Twitter), Animate Times©”The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe” Production Committee
