The recently released Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya film has had a strong opening weekend, and managed to claim the #7 spot in the Japanese box office. While seventh place might not sound that impressive at first, keep in mind that anime films usually don't break into the top ten unless they have "Naruto", "Pokemon" or "Evangelion" in their title. What's even more impressive is that Disappearance was only playing in 24 theaters across all of Japan, meaning those screenings must have been packed.

So, what does this mean for Haruhi in the long run? Well, it looks like the sh*tstorm that was Endless Eight has effectively been swept under the rug. Given that the Disappearance film was playing so few screens, Kadokawa is likely very happy with these high sales figures. Should the film also perform well on DVD and bluray, we'll likely be seeing another Haruhi season in the next few years, although it will probably wind up playing second fiddle to K-On! and its merchandising machine.

[Via Canned Dogs]