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Case Closed: The Scarlet Bullet

Case Closed: The Scarlet Bullet, known as Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet (Japanese: 名探偵コナン緋色の弾丸, Hepburn: Meitantei Konan Hiiro no Dangan) in Japan, is a 2021 Japanese animated mystery film directed by Chika Nagaoka. It is the twenty-fourth installment of the Case Closed film series based on the manga series of the same name by Gosho Aoyama, following the 2019 film Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire. This is the first Reiwa-era Case Closed movie.

Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet was released in Japan on April 16, 2021. Its release was delayed from an original April 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A global release was announced on February 9, 2021, featuring a multi-language trailer in Japanese, English, Korean, German, and Chinese. The Scarlet Bullet is listed as 2021's second highest-grossing Japanese film worldwide, below Jujutsu Kaisen 0.

Plot

Japan is preparing to commemorate the World Sports Games (WSG), the world's biggest sports games, hosting them in Tokyo. The Hyperlinear bullet train, the pinnacle of Japan's advanced technology, will begin operation to coincide with the WSG's opening ceremony, running at speeds of up to 1,000 km/h between Shin-Nagoya Station and Tokyo's newly built Shibahama Station. As the world watches, disaster suddenly strikes the host venue, where the sponsors of the Games are gathered. A crisis unfolds as several industry leaders are kidnapped in quick succession. In the shadows, Shuichi Akai waits, watching the crisis unfold, as FBI agents await his orders. Conan deduces the connection between the terrible WSG-related kidnappings that occurred in Boston, 15 years earlier, and it is revealed the investigation was handled by the FBI back then.

Cast

Release

Case Closed: The Scarlet Bullet was released in several territories on opening day, including Hong Kong SAR, Korea, Singapore, Philippines, Brunei, Thailand, Vietnam, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Macao.

The film was later released in other territories such as Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, France, Mainland China, New Zealand and Luxembourg.

Due to the poor performance of previous movies outside the Catalan region of Spain, this movie was not dubbed in Spanish at release, instead being played in Spanish theaters with only the subtitled Japanese dub and the Catalan dub.

The English-dubbed version of the film produced by Bang Zoom! Entertainment was scheduled to debut in the United States at Anime NYC on November 21, 2021, but was canceled. It was later rescheduled for November 18, 2023 at Anime NYC.

Reception

Box office

Case Closed: The Scarlet Bullet has earned a total of $102.5 million globally. It is 2021's second highest-grossing Japanese film worldwide, below Jujutsu Kaisen 0.

Domestic

In Japan, the film sold 1,533,054 tickets in its first 3 days and earned ¥2,218,130,800 ($20.5 million), eclipsing the revenue of the previous film by 144% on first day sales alone. It ranked number 1 at the Japanese box office, beating out Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time and by the 15th weekend, the film earned an overall gross of 7,479,317,860 yen (about US$67.86 million). The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan released 2021 box office rankings (for releases up until November 2021) where The Scarlet Bullet is the second highest-grossing film in Japan with a gross collection of ¥7.65 billion at the Japanese box office. The film opened with the third highest IMAX opening ever in Japan, grossing $1.2 million.

Foreign

In China, the film earned RMB 109.6 million ($16.8 million) in its first 3 days and ranked No. 1 at the Chinese box office, with a final gross of $33.6 million in China.

Reviews

The variety content website Excite, highlighted the film as positive, marking the development of the character of Shuichi Akai and his relationship with Conan, calling the relationship between the two as "trustful". The review also labelled the movie as "flashy" and highlighted the importance of minor characters, expecting that they be expanded in future films about Detective Conan.

The Yahoo! Japan review gave a mixed 3.67 out of 5 stars based on opinions from critics.