The Jujutsu Kaisen movie release date in Japanese theaters has been confirmed for winter on December 24, 2021.
The film’s runtime length is 105 minutes.
The Jujutsu Kaisen 0 USA release date was confirmed by Crunchyroll for March 18, 2022. Please see the newer article for details about other territories like Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland Netherlands, French-speaking Africa, and Latin America.
The film will be called the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie since it will adapt a prequel story arc called the Cursed Child.
The timing of the premiere date isn’t coincidental since most of the story events in the manga take place on December 24th.
On December 23, 2021, the official Twitter account told everyone in theaters to keep watching until after the credits rolled. Without getting into spoilers, there is an after-credits scene but it doesn’t directly confirm the Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 anime TV series is in production.
On July 29, 2021, the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie trailer confirmed that Megumi Ogata is voicing the main character Yuta Okkotsu. Ogata is the Japanese voice actor for Shinji of the Evangelion series.
On October 20, 2021, the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie’s official website announced that voice actress Kana Hanazawa will play the role of Rika Orimoto.
Anime fans knew it was coming since the official website for the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie was registered just days before the Jujutsu Kaisen Episode 24 release date on March 26, 2021. No new information was released at Anime Japan 2021 during the Jujutsu Kaisen special stage event, which took place on March 28, 2021.
The main Japanese voice actor cast will be in attendance, which includes Enoki Junya (Yuji), Uchida Yuma (Megumi), Asami Seto (Nobara), and Nakamura Yuichi (Gojo).
The Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie is being distributed by TOHO and produced by animation studio MAPPA, which is on the anime production committee. The studio has given us anime such as Garo, Punch Line, Yuri On Ice, Kakegurui, Inuyashiki, Banana Fish, Zombie Land Saga, Dororo, and Dorohedoro.
In 2021, MAPPA was also working on Zombieland Saga Season 2, a Chainsaw Man anime, and the Attack On Titan Season 4 Part 2 anime.
The returning staff for the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie hasn’t been confirmed yet.
For the first season, the Jujutsu Kaisen anime TV project was helmed by South Korean director Seong Ho Park, who made his mark with Garo: Vanishing Line and The God of High School anime. Notably, Park hasn’t been announced to be attached to any other upcoming anime projects in 2021.
Series composition writer Hiroshi Seko is responsible for adapting modern anime classics like Attack on Titan, Mob Psycho 100, and Vinland Saga. He’s also known for his solid work on Ajin, Banana Fish, Dorohedoro, Inuyashiki, Kakegurui, and Levius. His original works include writing for Studio NuT’s Deca-Dence anime, Wit Studio’s Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, and Studio Trigger’s Kill la Kill. Hiroshi is already known to be working with David Production on the 2021 Spriggan reboot.
- Updated January 25, 2022: Added Jujutsu Kaisen 0 USA release date.
- Updated December 13, 2021: Added runtime.
- Updated November 5, 2021: Added new Jujutsu Kaisen 0 trailer.
- Updated October 27, 2021: Added Jujutsu Kaisen 0 key visual.
- Updated July 29, 2021: Added Jujutsu Kaisen 0 trailer.
- Updated June 13, 2021: Jujutsu Kaisen 0 release date confirmed. Added movie poster.
This article provides everything that is known about the Jujutsu Kaisen movie (Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie) and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie release date: December 2021 confirmed for Japan
As predicted, the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 release date is confirmed for December 24, 2021.
From a financial perspective, the Jujutsu Kaisen movie was a no-brainer. The first season won Crunchyroll’s Anime of the Year award in 2021 and Blu-Ray/DVD disc sales are extremely high, beating even all the combined first-week sales of all the recent seasons of Attack On Titan and My Hero Academia.
The initial announcement was a bit vague since it mentioned Winter only and not a specific year. Typically, the anime industry considers Fall to be the months of October, November, and December, whereas the Winter is January, February, and March.
So why announce Winter and then pick a premiere date in December 2021? The anime production committee is likely hoping to replicate the crazy box office success of the Demon Slayer: Mugen Train movie. November-December and May-July is typically considered the best timing for a tentpole film to have a chance at being a blockbuster premiere whereas January and February are considered the “dump months” for bad movies.
Thus, the announcement was referencing “Winter” in a general sense, which meant the Jujutsu Kaisen movie release date in Japan will be scheduled for December 2021.
Jujutsu Kaisen movie USA release date in March 2022
The international release with a Jujutsu Kaisen movie English dub is being planned out to optimize its chances in U.S. theaters and other countries like the UK, Canada, and more.
This time the calculations are a bit more difficult since the anime production committee and the company which buys the international rights will want to avoid competing with a big-name American movie that’ll overshadow the Jujutsu Kaisen movie in 2022.
For example, the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie premiered in Japan in mid-December 2018, whereas the U.S. release date by FUNimation was mid-January 2019. Despite being considered a dump month, Broly set box office records for an anime movie.
Similarly, the Demon Slayer movie USA release date was positioned in April 2021. Setting it slightly ahead of the May blockbusters is probably the wisest move, although the timing was largely forced by COVID-19 restrictions and the re-opening of American theaters.
Based on the same logic, the Jujutsu Kaisen movie USA release date is being timed for optimal exposure against the competition. Therefore, the Jujutsu Kaisen movie U.S. release date is on March 18, 2022.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie story based on Jujutsu Kaisen Volume 0: Cursed Child Arc
The film’s story will be adapting Jujutsu Kaisen 0: the Tokyo Metropolitan Curse Technical School manga. Creator Gege Akutami originally created this story as a one-shot manga, but then it was retroactively relabeled as a prequel to the main manga series by calling it the Cursed Child Arc.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 tells the story of Yuta Okkotsu, a victim of a Special Grade Curse. This character is mentioned by Gojo in the anime and since Yuta plays a role in the Shibuya Incident arc it’d make sense for the anime to adapt the story.
Without getting into spoilers, Jujutsu Kaisen’s Cursed Child arc largely revolves around Yuta feeling responsible for his actions and trying to regain confidence since he feels that he doesn’t deserve to be alive.
Here is the official story summary from VIZ Media:
Yuta Okkotsu is a nervous high school student who is suffering from a serious problem—his childhood friend Rika has turned into a Curse and won’t leave him alone. Since Rika is no ordinary Curse, his plight is noticed by Satoru Gojo, a teacher at Jujutsu High, a school where fledgling exorcists learn how to combat Curses. Gojo convinces Yuta to enroll, but can he learn enough in time to confront the Curse that haunts him?
The Jujutsu Kaisen 0 movie will be adapting only four chapters. While that doesn’t sound like much, Volume 0 is 200 pages long, which is 8 pages longer than Volume 1. Therefore, the movie runtime should be longer than an OVA episode.
Jujutsu Kaisen 2 anime TV series could adapt Satoru Gojo’s Past arc
Anime fans are hoping that a Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 anime TV series will be announced. While a second season is very likely over the long term due to the overwhelming popularity of the anime, based on the story arcs of the Jujutsu Kaisen manga series it made more sense to create a film first.
The first season adapted 64 manga chapters with 24 episodes, meaning that the anime TV series’ adaptation pacing averaged about 2.66 chapters per episode.
It just so happens that the next story arc in the manga is about Satoru Gojo’s past. At 15 chapters, it also would have been a good fit for a Jujutsu Kaisen movie since the runtime would be roughly two hours or less assuming the adaptation pacing remained the same.
Instead, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 will open with the Gojo’s Past arc and then launch into the Shibuya Incident story arc, which numbers 58 chapters so it’s far too long for a film adaptation. It’s very likely that the second season will be at least two cours again.