映画「ちいかわ」が今年の興行収入1位に

Welcome to Japanese Daily News. I'm Maya. Today is September twenty-fifth. A movie about small, cute characters has become Japan's biggest hit of the year. Let's listen.

Now let's break it down, sentence by sentence.

An animated movie called Chiikawa is a huge hit in Japan right now.

It means a big hit — something that becomes a great success.

The movie was released on July twenty-fourth. In fifty-nine days, more than ten million people went to see it.

It means a release — when a movie opens to the public.

Ticket sales have passed fifteen point eight billion yen. That makes it number one among the movies released this year.

It means sales — the money earned from selling something.

That number is even bigger than the record set by the famous Detective Conan movies.

It means a record — the best result achieved so far.

Chiikawa is a comic by the artist Nagano. It is a story about small, cute characters.

It means a story or a tale.

The main character is a small creature called Chiikawa. Its friends — a cheerful cat and a rabbit — are just as popular.

It means the main character — the hero of a story.

You can still see the movie in theaters, and its popularity looks set to continue.

It means to continue — to go on without stopping.

Let's listen to the whole story one more time.

Time for a short quiz. Listen and try to answer.

More than ten million people — in just fifty-nine days.

Over fifteen point eight billion yen — number one among this year's movies.

It started on social media, and now it has fans of all ages.

That's all for today. If you visit Japan this fall, you will probably see those little characters everywhere. See you next time.