With high ratings, excellent word-of-mouth, and a massive investment in marketing and distribution, the promotion was incredibly effective. As a result, the attendance rate for the animation "Your Name" continued to climb.
Previously, tickets were already hard to come by, though not every cinema and every screening was completely sold out; there were still empty seats in some places and for some showtimes.
Once the word-of-mouth for this animation spread, it truly became nearly sold out for every single screening.
The cinemas clearly hadn't anticipated such fervent enthusiasm from the audience. They had already given "Your Name" a high percentage of screenings, but given the overwhelming demand, they had no choice but to add even more showtimes.
However, even with these extra screenings, it still couldn't curb the audience's incredibly high enthusiasm for the film.
The movie was released on May 1st, right at the start of Golden Week. Most people didn't have to work, and students didn't have classes, which further drove the audience's desire to watch it.
Then, on May 5th at midnight, the film's first week of release concluded. In just five days, the cumulative box office exceeded 2 billion yen, with nearly 2 million viewers.
When these figures were released, major animation and film media outlets scrambled to report on them:
"'Your Name' First-Week Box Office Results: Nearly 2 Million Viewers, Cumulative Box Office Over 2 Billion!"
"Box Office Explosion! Director Lin Zhiyan's New Animation 'Your Name' May Become the First Non-Hayao Miyazaki Animated Film to Hit 10 Billion Yen!"
"The Most Powerful Animated Film of the Last Decade—'Your Name'!"
"Reaching New Heights After the Peak: New Animation 'Your Name' Once Again Proves Lin Zhiyan's Talent."
"First-Week Box Office Record Broken: 'Your Name' Takes the Top Spot."
"Number One in Satisfaction, Number One in Weekly Box Office: 'Your Name' Set to Ignite a Viewing Frenzy."
"'Your Name'—The Must-See Animation of the Year!"
By this stage, it was no longer just the promotional efforts of L.S.Produ and related distribution companies; the media and the audience were all spontaneously helping to promote it.
The popularity of the animation continued to heat up.
By the time Golden Week ended, and students and office workers returned to their daily routines, the popularity of "Your Name" not only didn't wane but continued to rise.
This was not just because word-of-mouth had spread, nor only because many people hadn't been able to buy tickets before. It was also because those who had seen "Your Name" during Golden Week would discuss it at school or in the workplace, and in the course of these discussions, those who hadn't seen the animation felt compelled to go watch it.
On one hand, everyone was raving about it, which inevitably piqued curiosity. On the other hand, in Japan, it is very common to feel a need to fit in; if everyone around you has seen it and you haven't, you might feel left out.
Even if just to keep up with the trend and avoid being left out, those who hadn't originally planned to watch "Your Name" ended up going to see it.
And once they did, they were almost inevitably converted into fans of the animation.
As the number of viewers increased, the weight of the animation grew, and it began to appear frequently on television and in various mainstream and niche newspapers, gradually elevating it from a "fresh and artistic" romance animation to a nationwide phenomenon.
Even, gradually, watching "Your Name" became a trend, and stars and variety shows from all walks of life wanted to jump on the bandwagon.
Some stars who previously might never have revealed that they watched anime in public to maintain their image now, seeing the immense popularity of "Your Name," would sneak off to watch it, and then post a tweet: "Watched the hottest movie 'Your Name' today, it's so good, it makes me want to fall in love."
While they said that, of course, they didn't actually want to fall in love; it was just to ride the wave of popularity and even to cultivate an image of being relatable to their fans.
Of course, not all stars were that opportunistic. However, Japan is, after all, a country with a very high concentration of "two-dimensional" culture. When they learned that an animated romance film had such explosive box office results, quite a few stars were genuinely curious and would sneak off to watch it.
It can be said that throughout May, the hottest anime in Japan was "Your Name," so hot that "Attack on Titan," which had frequently crossed over into mainstream popularity, became insignificant by comparison, and was even reduced to a mere foil.
By late May, the box office of "Your Name" surpassed 10 billion yen, with over 7 million admissions; there was no longer any doubt that "Your Name" had become a national-level anime.
The first national-level anime of Lin Zhiyan's career elevated his fame and status to a new level.
As a newly minted director of a ten-billion-yen box office anime—the only one besides Hayao Miyazaki—he became the subject of intense coverage by news channels on major television stations and mainstream media outlets.
By this point, it was no longer just anime-related magazines interviewing him, as they were no longer qualified to do so. Those who were now qualified to interview him had become the news channels of major television stations and various mainstream newspapers and periodicals.
Lin Zhiyan could refuse interviews from anime magazines if he didn't want to do them, but he couldn't easily turn down requests from major TV news channels, mainstream publications, or invitations to various variety shows and talk shows, not to mention those who wanted to film documentaries about him. As a result, throughout May and June, he could only "tearfully" appear on television or in mainstream publications with increasing frequency.
Previously, only people who watched anime or followed the anime industry knew who Lin Zhiyan was, but naturally, not everyone watches anime or pays attention to the industry.
With the explosion of the anime "Your Name," Lin Zhiyan frequently appeared on television and in mainstream publications, and gradually, even those who didn't watch anime or follow the industry began to learn of his existence.
As the animation "Your Name" became a huge hit, Lin Zhiyan frequently appeared on television and in mainstream publications. Consequently, people who previously didn't watch anime or follow the animation industry gradually began to learn about his existence.
However, the key factor was Lin Zhiyan's good looks, which differed significantly from the stereotypical, unkempt image of people in the arts or culture scene that audiences held.
Mainstream media interviews with Lin Zhiyan naturally touched upon his experiences. When audiences discovered that Lin Zhiyan was not only handsome but also wealthy, and that despite his humble beginnings, he was multi-talented... his fan base grew even larger in an instant.
He was thoroughly elevated from a super-popular animation director to a national-level one, becoming the first and only national-level animation director since Hayao Miyazaki.
The rise in Lin Zhiyan's personal fame naturally had a positive effect on the box office revenue of the animation "Your Name."
By June, although the peak popularity of "Your Name" had passed, the animation still dominated the weekly box office charts, with even the first two weeks of June bringing in over a billion yen each week.
The animation's cumulative box office was steadily pushing toward the 20-billion-yen mark, surpassing one Hayao Miyazaki film after another, and gradually becoming the highest-grossing domestic animation outside of "Spirited Away."
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