Overlord continues to triumph in Japan

The "Overlord" franchise continues to prove its popularity, with the recent release of its film "Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom" conquering Japanese theaters. Following its official release on September 20, the Madhouse production racked up 318 million yen in revenue, with an impressive audience of 198,000 viewers in just three days. This success was further boosted by IMAX screenings that began on September 13, bringing the total figures to 457 million yen and an audience of 270,000 people so far.

The film adapts the popular Holy Realm Arc from Kugane Maruyama's light novels, a long-awaited part for anime fans following the end of the fourth season in 2022. In this new installment, the protagonist Ainz Ooal Gown, a powerful undead sorcerer, continues to rule his vast army of creatures and magic users while facing new challenges in his goal of conquering the world. Directed by Naoyuki Ito and produced by Madhouse, the studio behind hits such as "One Punch Man" and "Trigun," the film offers a complete cinematic experience that has left fans of the series satisfied.

The film's reception has been overwhelming, cementing "Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom" as one of anime's biggest recent theatrical successes. With earnings continuing to rise, it is expected to comfortably exceed one billion yen, which would put it in the category of a major blockbuster for the anime film genre. This triumph has also reignited speculation about the future of the franchise, both in the anime and in the adaptations of the light novels.

Although Madhouse has not yet officially announced a fifth season of the anime (but there is already a leak), the numbers at the box office are usually a good indicator for the development of new content. Since the "Overlord" light novels still feature unadapted material, fans remain hopeful that a new season or more films will soon be confirmed in the future.

For now, the success of "Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom" not only reaffirms the validity of the franchise, but also marks an important milestone within the anime industry, raising expectations for the animated films that are to come in 2024. Here are some of the most relevant comments from fans on Japanese forums after the success of the film:

"Well, it will definitely reach 10 billion yen. If it reaches 10, it will be a great success."
"It has outsold Love Live!"
"The bar for anime films is going up too high."
"This is the limit of the presumptuous undead sorcerer."
"The real attraction is in the gift novels. There are still more gifts to come, so it will surely reach 10 billion."
"One film critic said that while non-fans won't like it, if you see it as a religious movie, it's pretty good."
"Who is interested in watching a movie about pouring water into an anthill?"
"But the gifts exceed the value of the tickets!"
"Considering their audience is the old guys, they obviously have quite a bit of money to spend."
"They should finish the main story before writing any more novels as gifts."
"I'll only come back the second week to pick up the gifts and I'll leave."
"Is the length of the film well structured? Or is it just as bad as the TV series?"
"This is what a failure looks like. The first part of the Love Live! NijiGaku alone attracted 47,000 people and grossed 98 million yen in three days."
"It's impressive, if it reaches 10 billion, it will be more than enough for a success."
"I don't understand how people enjoy this undead sorcerer. What's the fun about him?"
"If the movie was about Ainz's total defeat, I'd be more interested, but for sure it's just another movie of him crushing ants."