Photo/Illutration “Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine” ((c) 2023 Gosho Aoyama/ Detective Conan Committee All Rights Reserved)

“Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine” has topped 10 billion yen ($72 million) at the box office, a first for the long-running franchise about the boy detective.

The 26th installment in the animated film series raked in 11.1 billion yen in the month after it opened nationwide on April 14. “Black Iron Submarine” is now the highest-earning Japanese film released in 2023.

It is based on Gosho Aoyama’s popular manga series that runs in the Weekly Shonen Sunday manga anthology. The comic book series currently spans 103 volumes.

An animated TV series adaptation has also been airing since 1996.

A new “Detective Conan” movie has been released every spring since 1997, and the latest ones have scored big at the box office.

“Black Iron Submarine” closes in on the Black Organization, the main antagonist of the original manga series.

In addition to highlighting long-standing characters from the early days of the franchise, the movie brings together many characters that helped expand the popularity of the film series in recent years.

The 20th film released in 2016 was the first “Detective Conan” title to earn more than 5 billion yen at the box office. Subsequent films have each brought in at least 9 billion yen.

Early fans of “Detective Conan” are now adults and spreading the popularity of the franchise to their children.

The fanbase also expanded in recent years after newly introduced good-looking characters became hugely popular among women.