The flood of praise from the first wave of viewers spread rapidly across the internet. On NatsuYume, nearly every major creator in the animation sections began calling the film a masterpiece. At first, that reputation had sounded like ordinary fan exaggeration, but now it was finally beginning to draw the attention of casual moviegoers across Japan.
Was it really that incredible?
Could a film truly move people that deeply?
There was still no real-time box office data available to the public, but cinemas in major cities had already noticed the shift. On Saturday, the second day of the summer movie season, the number of people buying tickets for Five Centimeters per Second rose sharply compared to opening day.
The film industry was, after all, a massive capital-driven market. The direction of fan opinion, the smallest stir online, even a sudden change in discussion trends - all of it was tracked by specialized teams, compiled into reports, and delivered to both production companies and theater chain managers.
Soon, many theaters began adjusting their schedules.
By Sunday morning, the second-day box office results for the four major films were released, along with the updated screening ratios.
Illusory Mirror rose to 24% of screenings, earning ¥1.02 billion in a single day with a 12% occupancy rate.
Five Centimeters per Second rose to 18% of screenings. Its daily box office jumped by more than 80% compared to opening day, reaching ¥810 million, with an occupancy rate of 18%.
As for The Wind of Midsummer and Sprinter, both saw their screening ratios fall to 10%. Each earned only around ¥200 million, and both had occupancy rates below 7%.
When those numbers came out, many people in the film industry wore rather complicated expressions.
So, on only the second day of the summer season, the two films everyone had placed high hopes on before release were already starting to fall behind?
And they had been beaten back by an animated film, no less.
Looking at the data alone, the theaters' decision was perfectly reasonable. The occupancy rates for The Wind of Midsummer and Sprinter were clearly the lowest. Reducing their screenings was only natural.
One screening room given to Five Centimeters per Second earned nearly three times as much as one given to either of those two films. If you were the theater owner, who would you give the slot to?
And that film everyone had looked down on before the season began, the one many critics had mocked as a painful lesson waiting to happen for its young Kantoku, was now looking more and more like the darkest of dark horses.
Over the past few days, Sora had been splitting his time between the animation production of Steins;Gate and AD, while also cooperating with the follow-up promotion for Five Centimeters per Second.
Then, just a short while ago, the distribution lead from the animation company connected to Yumi-san had called him.
They hoped Sora would join them in making an additional investment into the film's continued promotion.
Film marketing did not end once a movie reached theaters.
For a work that exceeded expectations after release - especially something like Five Centimeters per Second, whose first two days had performed far better than projected - the distributor would naturally adjust the promotional plan and increase the budget.
"So it really came to this…"
Sora looked down at the two-day market report for Five Centimeters per Second.
The outside audience still did not know these numbers, but he did.
On its third day in theaters, Five Centimeters per Second had already climbed to 23% of screenings.
However, the investors behind Illusory Mirror had considerable influence in Japan's film industry. Even though its occupancy rate was much lower than that of Five Centimeters per Second, its screening share still rose to 29% that day.
In Sora's previous life, Five Centimeters per Second had been one of Makoto Shinkai's early works. It had lacked promotion, lacked financial backing, and had therefore suffered at the box office. But the quality of the work itself had never been in question. With enough funding and marketing behind it, there was no reason its results would be poor.
So when the proposal for additional promotional investment arrived, Sora thought for less than half an hour before agreeing.
Rowing against the current was simple: if you did not advance, you would be pushed backward. If he became stingy now and refused to spend money, then within a few days, Five Centimeters per Second might not even be able to hold on to its current screening ratio.
The problem was…
Sora glanced again at the company's financial report.
At this stage, Yume Animation had two works in production at the same time. Monthly expenses were already heavy. On top of that, he still needed to finalize the cooperation with the Southern Regional Broadcasting Alliance, which meant setting aside another ¥3 billion.
"In the end, money is never enough, no matter how much you have," Sora muttered with a sigh.
Sunday marked the third day of the summer film season.
Illusory Mirror earned ¥1.21 billion that day, with an occupancy rate of 13%.
Because Five Centimeters per Second had gained more screenings, and because its occupancy rate had risen to 20%, its single-day box office reached ¥1.03 billion.
At that point, the summer season, which had begun as a four-way battle, had turned into a duel between two giants.
After three days in theaters, Illusory Mirror, a major production packed with well-known Japanese stars, had held the daily box office crown for all three days and pushed its total box office past ¥3 billion.
Five Centimeters per Second, meanwhile, reached ¥2.3 billion in three days, placing second for the season.
The Wind of Midsummer and Sprinter ranked third and fourth, with three-day totals of ¥780 million and ¥680 million respectively.
The winner-takes-all nature of the film industry was being displayed with brutal clarity that summer.
In the new week, the investors behind the films that had already fallen out of contention made almost no major moves. Ratings, reputation, occupancy, screening share - all of them were at a disadvantage. When a work lacked inner strength, no amount of flashy external promotion could save it.
Meanwhile, Yume Animation, together with the company connected to Yumi-san, began a public-opinion war against the investors and distributors of Illusory Mirror within Japan's film industry.
Every film critic with even a little influence seemed to become busy over the next few days, publishing countless posts and discussion threads about the two films.
Fans of Five Centimeters per Second and fans of the stars in Illusory Mirror started tearing into each other online.
Supporters of Illusory Mirror said Five Centimeters per Second was pretending to be profound, wallowing in sadness for no reason. Fans of Five Centimeters per Second fired back by saying the other film had nothing except special effects, while its story was rotten beyond saving. They threw reputation, box office efficiency, and occupancy rates in their opponents' faces, declaring that even with fewer screenings than Illusory Mirror, Five Centimeters per Second would still take the daily box office crown.
The star-studded team of Illusory Mirror then appeared on Seiun TV, Japan's top national broadcaster and a station that had been in intense competition with Sora for the past two years. Their film variety special lasted an hour and a half.
For that appearance, the opposing side paid Seiun TV tens of millions of yen in promotional fees.
During the Monday night broadcast, the program's ratings remained steadily above 3.5%. That same night, phone reservations and electronic ticket purchases for Illusory Mirror rose sharply across major theaters. This directly pushed theater chains across Japan to increase its screening ratio once again, bringing it to 31%.
On Sora's side, arrangements had also been made through the company connected to Yumi-san. On Tuesday evening, he, Yumi-san, and Sumire would appear as Kantokus of Yume Animation on Aobane TV, Japan's second most influential broadcaster, for a one-hour variety program promoting Five Centimeters per Second.
On the surface, it was a film entertainment program.
In reality, it was paid advertising for the television station.
Sora, Sumire, and Yumi-san all understood that perfectly. So, early that day, they arrived at Aobane TV's headquarters in Tokushima to begin makeup and preparation.
At six in the evening, the three of them walked out of their respective dressing rooms.
Sora wore a black suit. With his hair styled by a professional, he looked mature, sharp, and effortlessly handsome.
Sumire wore a red dress. Her hair was pinned into an elegant bun, leaving her slender arms and pale, long legs partially exposed. Combined with her delicate, beautiful features, the sight of her was almost startling.
Yumi-san, meanwhile, wore a long emerald-green dress. Her hair was tied into a simple ponytail, and in her hand she held a folding fan painted in black-and-white ink. The outfit gave her the air of a classical beauty from a period drama, while still preserving her lively, playful charm.
"Sora, Five Centimeters per Second has already been in theaters for four days. Isn't it a little late for us to come to Aobane TV for promotion now?" Yumi-san asked after studying her reflection in the mirror. Her gaze shifted toward him.
"For the next month of the summer season, there won't be any truly heavyweight films released. So as long as we can beat the other side, then for this entire month, Japan's film market will be led by Five Centimeters per Second. Yesterday was Monday, a workday, and the daily box office for Five Centimeters per Second and Illusory Mirror fell to ¥350 million and ¥360 million respectively. But their screening ratio is 31%, eight points higher than ours. Our occupancy rate is higher than theirs, and our reputation is better too," Sora said.
"Spending some money now on advertising through Aobane TV is something we can earn back from the box office later."
After saying that, Sora took a deep breath.
At present, Five Centimeters per Second had a total box office of ¥2.5 billion.
Illusory Mirror had ¥3.4 billion.
That gap was not particularly large.
If the reputation of Five Centimeters per Second continued to ferment, then perhaps by Friday, when another weekend arrived, it could overtake Illusory Mirror in daily box office. From there, it might also surpass its screening ratio, and eventually take the lead in total summer box office.
There had been too many examples like that in the Chinese film market of Sora's previous life.
Wolf Warrior, Ne Zha, The Wandering Earth - films that had ranked among the top box office hits of his previous world.
How many of them had looked ordinary during their first week, only to explode once word of mouth fully spread?
Sora did not think a melancholic romance animation like Five Centimeters per Second could create that kind of box office miracle.
But taking first place in this year's summer season was still a goal worth fighting for.
"Even so, Five Centimeters per Second has only been in theaters for five days, and it's already reached ¥2.5 billion. That result has far exceeded our initial expectations. If this trend continues, its total box office has a strong chance of breaking ¥9 billion. If that really happens, then after deducting production, distribution, and marketing costs, our profit from box office revenue alone could exceed ¥1 billion. And Five Centimeters per Second can still recover another major sum through the physical media market and television broadcast licensing."
Sumire drew in a slow breath, her eyes smiling as she looked at Sora.
"Sora, your debut animated film is at least ten times more successful than your TV anime debut with Voices of a Distant Star."
Hearing that, Sora's expression turned strange.
After all, both works had belonged to Makoto Shinkai in his previous life.
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