Sword Art Online -Progressive- Scherzo of Deep Night ended its first three days at the Japanese box office with 344 million yen (~US$2.31 million), Kogyo Tsushin reported. The anime film also secured the top spot at the weekend box office chart with its weekend gross of 323 million yen (~US$2.17 million).

Scherzo of Deep Night premiered in Japan on October 22 and will receive 4DX, MX4D, and Dolby Cinema screenings beginning on November 3. It is the sequel to 2021’s Sword Art Online -Progressive- Aria of a Starless Night and is based on Reki Kawahara‘s spin-off series for his main Sword Art Online light novels.

Scherzo of Deep Night‘s box office performance signalled the first drop in placement for the hugely popular One Piece Film Red, which premiered in August and remained at the top of the weekend ranking for 11 consecutive weeks. The 15th One Piece film placed third on the October 23–24 weekend ranking with 141 million yen (~US$947 thousand). In terms of the all-time ranking, it took the ninth spot with a total gross of 17.26 billion yen (~US$116 million), putting it directly below Howl’s Moving Castle and its gross of 19.6 billion yen (~US$132 million).

Meanwhile, the live-action Whisper of the Heart movie, which features Shizuku and Seiji as adults, placed sixth on the weekend ranking, while the Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love Starish Tours movie placed 10th. The former debuted on October 14, while the latter began its run on September 2.

Source: Kogyo Tsushin