How long did THE FIRST SLAM DUNK play in theaters?

The film opened on December 3, 2022 and its initial Japanese run continued until August 31, 2023, about thirty nine weeks. Long runs are not unusual for hits in Japan, but the ending was: the film ranked first at the box office on its final day of screening, an almost unheard-of farewell driven by fans treating the closing date as an event.

That was not the end of its theatrical life. Special and revival screenings followed, including announced anniversary revivals, and the cumulative Japanese gross has climbed past the 15.73 billion yen of the first run as a result. The pattern mirrors the manga's own afterlife: Slam Dunk properties do not spike and vanish, they persist.

The practical collector's note is that each revival wave brought its own theater goods and print items, so the film's physical catalog is dated by screening wave as much as by release.