Blue Lock's live-action debuts with mediocre numbers in Japan

The curse of live-action has just claimed a new and predictable victim. Despite the fact that the most popular soccer franchise of recent years has many fans eating out of the palm of their hand, the new live-action adaptation of Blue Lock had a disastrous premiere in theaters in Japan. The film, released on August 7, grossed just 277.6 million yen (about 1.7 million euros) and attracted 188,212 viewers in its first three days, rather weak figures that have already set off alarms in the production committee.

What is truly worrying about these numbers is the gigantic budget and corporate backing behind it. Despite being screened in more than 400 theaters nationwide (including IMAX screens) and having the support of the prestigious CREDEUS studio —responsible for Japanese blockbusters such as Kingdom—, the film sank to an embarrassing eighth place in the box office. It is evident that the immense ego of these strikers was not enough to survive against box office heavyweights such as the unbeatable Chiikawa film, Toy Story 5 or Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which ended up completely stealing the attention of young and family audiences.

To add a little more salt to the wound, comparisons with the animated version are inevitable and quite cruel. While the recent anime film Blue Lock -EPISODE Nagi- quietly surpassed 460 million yen in its same opening weekend in 2024, this three-dimensional version fell ridiculously short. With the manga exceeding 65 million copies in print in the midst of the euphoria for the World Cup year, it is very clear that the lack of interest is not the fault of the original work, but of the historical rejection that the Japanese public usually has towards these expensive adaptations of flesh and blood.

Main cast