The cumulative total box office gross of HYPNOSISMIC -Division Rap Battle- , the first feature film from the rap battle-themed HYPNOSISMIC project, has finally surpassed two billion yen (13.5 million USD) in Japan. The film's official website reported the news on September 3. This marks the first time a Japanese film released in fewer than 100 theaters has surpassed two billion yen in box office gross. RELATED: HYPNOSISMIC -Division Rap Battle- Anime Movie Releases New "MIC AS ONE" Trailer As Japan's first interactive film, HYPNOSISMIC -Division Rap Battle- opened in 85 theaters in Japan on February 21, 2025, ranking #8 in its opening weekend . The reason it is called an "interactive film" is that the winners of the rap battle that unfolds on screen are determined by the audience's voting via a smartphone app, which held five times during the screening. 48 different patterns and seven different endings are prepared for the film. The film steadily accumulated box office revenue while moving in and out of the top 10, reaching 1.5 billion yen (10 million USD) by mid-May. Starting September 2, the eighth anniversary of the HYPNOSISMIC franchise, the film has also begun a revival screening at 66 theaters nationwide. To commemorate reaching the 2 billion yen milestone, the specially produced video "Claim Victory (Immersive Edition)" —currently screening at the "HYPNOSISMIC -Division Rap Battle-" exhibition for the film in Nagoya—is available on the HYPNOSISMIC franchise's official YouTube channel . "Claim Victory (Immersive Edition)" Adding to the multimedia franchise developed by King Records and Idea Factory since 2017, Takanori Tsujimoto ( Resident Evil: Vendetta ) directed the HYPNOSISMIC -Divison Rap Battle- anime film at studio Polygon Pictures ( Kaina of the Great Snow Sea ), with a script by Yuichiro Momose ( The Witch and the Beast ) and character designs by Kazui. Katsumi Ono directed the first anime season, which premiered in October 2020, at studio A-1 Pictures. Crunchyroll streams the series and its 2023 sequel, describing the overall story like so: Legendary rap group The Dirty Dawg could have taken Japan by storm, but then they broke up. Now each member fights in one of the four rival groups. Battles for turf are fought with rap and the Hypnosis Mic, a microphone that can affect the human spirit. Source: "HYPNOSISMIC -Division Rap Battle-" film official website / X (formerly Twitter)
