Ranking Lab ― The Measured Editorial Desk
Editorial Research Ranking

Which Detective Conan Film Sits at the Top?
― All 28 Films Scored on Six Yardsticks

DCByline: The Film Structure Reader (spans the design of the mystery, spectacle, and the use of the cast ― rankings are disclosed via six-axis scores)

This article reveals no culprit, no trick, and no ending. The reasons behind the order are written purely in terms of how each film is designed. And box office is not one of our scoring axes either. From the 2,500 million yen of the fourth film to the 15,800 million yen of the twenty-seventh, that figure grew roughly 6.3 times (both from the statistics of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan — the same measure). But what that curve measures is the audience and the release scale a series piled up over a quarter of a century, not how good any one film is. So we scored every film from the first to the twenty-eighth on six yardsticks: the design of the mystery, the urgency of the crime, spectacle on the big screen, use of the cast, invention for the series, and openness to the first-time viewer. The overall No. 1 is The Phantom of Baker Street, which sits 14th among the 25 films whose box office has been published. Change the yardstick to "the design of the mystery" and Strategy Above the Depths, the lowest earner of those published, takes the crown. Change the yardstick and the king changes (try the lenses below). This is not a declaration of "the greatest film" but an ordering under the six axes we disclose.

How This Ranking Is Built (Methodology)

To avoid settling "which Conan film is the best" with a single word, we broke it into six independent, weighted axes and combined them (total = Σ(axis score × weight)/100). Box office, admissions, name recognition, and theme-song sales are not among the axes. They measure how much a film was watched, which is a different thing from how it was made. The argument of this article sits exactly here. We put the design of the mystery heaviest (20) and invention for the series next (18) as an editorial judgement: this is a series of detective films adapted from a detective manga. And the 0 to 10 on each axis, even resting on confirmed facts such as release year, director, writer, and first appearances within the series, is our own assessment, not a fact. Where the numbers come from is disclosed in the sources column, and the limits at the end.

AxisWhat It MeasuresWeight
Design of the MysteryAre the clues disclosed to the audience and does the logic close? Does it hold up as deduction?20%
Urgency of the CrimeThe culprit's motive and the weight of the case ― is the reason one person corners another actually drawn?16%
Spectacle on the Big ScreenImages and sound designed to be worth seeing in a cinema ― action, art direction, music16%
Use of the CastHow the regular cast is arranged ― who is given a share of the lead's seat16%
Invention for the SeriesDid this film build a form that the later series uses again and again?18%
Openness to the First-Time ViewerCan a viewer who does not know the manga or the television series get in on this one film alone?14%
Normalization Rule
Box office, admissions, name recognition, and theme-song sales are not scoring axes (that exclusion is itself the era correction, so that a difference in release scale is not read as a difference in how well a film is made). "Invention for the series" is measured by the effect on later films, which needs a range of several years, so for the most recent films we hold back invention and openness to the first-time viewer and attach an era-adjustment flag. The twenty-ninth film, Fallen Angel of the Highway (released 10 April 2026), is out of scope: too little time has passed for an evaluation to settle.
Scope / Unit
All 28 films of the main Detective Conan movie series, from the first (1997) to the twenty-eighth (2025). The series is released in English under both Detective Conan and Case Closed; this article uses Detective Conan throughout. Unit = film. One film = one entry. Television specials, OVAs, the compilation film The Scarlet Alibi, and the crossover Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie are out of scope because they are not part of the numbered run of the main series. Nothing was cut off at the bottom, so the population is the whole set.
Data Sources
Release dates, directors, writers, and running times were confirmed on the article for each film; for box office we used the annual statistics of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren) as the primary material (PDF for 2000 to 2024, and the "2025 Film Industry in Japan" release for 2025). The first film (1997) is not among that year's listed titles (the top seven), so its box office cannot be confirmed from those statistics. What the association publishes for the second and third films is "distribution revenue," a different measure from box office, so this article does not use box-office figures for those two in the text. Attributions of first appearances within the series follow the descriptions in the articles for each film and each character.
Compiled / Subjectivity
2026-08-02. Weighting the design of the mystery and invention heavily is the editorial judgement that this is a series of detective films adapted from a detective manga. There are no exact ties; 1st The Phantom of Baker Street (8.46) and 2nd The Time Bombed Skyscraper (8.16) are 0.30 apart.
Switch the scoring lens ― changing the weights moves the ranking (recalculated on the same evidence, same scores)

Overall Ranking

★ First Edition

Findings Against Conventional Wisdom

① The overall No. 1 is not the No. 1 on box office. The Phantom of Baker Street (8.46) — its box office of 3,400 million yen ranks 14th among the 25 films whose figures are published, which is mid-table. Taking the summit on urgency of the crime 10 and invention for the series 10, the two axes that carry no lens, is why it is No. 1 overall; this film is No. 1 under none of the four lenses. It stands on the absence of weak spots, not on a peak.
② The Million-dollar Pentagram (15,800 million yen; the No. 1 Japanese film of 2024), which sits at the summit of these 28 films on box office, is 24th in the six-axis total. Under the spectacle lens it climbs to 9th, but the design of the mystery is 7 and invention for the series is 5. Where this one film sits is the starting point of this article: it is the working example of the fact that box office measures how much a film was watched, not whether it was well designed.
③ The No. 1 under the mystery lens is Strategy Above the Depths (2,150 million yen), the lowest earner among the published figures. In it Conan is led astray, and for the first time in the films Kogoro Mori corners the culprit almost single-handed. The experiment of taking the detective's seat away from the protagonist gives it the design of the mystery 10, standing alone at the top. The same film is 28th under the spectacle lens — swinging between 1st and last, the widest range in this article.
④ But this is not a story of "the old ones were better" either. The No. 1 under the spectacle lens is Black Iron Submarine of 2023 (8.72; box office 13,880 million yen). Splitting an offshore facility into layers below and above the waterline and using both to the end is a 10, standing alone at the top of the spectacle axis. Recent films really are strong on spectacle, and the numbers say so.
⑤ The No. 1 under the openness lens is the opening film, The Time Bombed Skyscraper (9.12). The 1997 statistics of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan carry no entry for it (that year's table lists only the top seven). A series that began at a scale too small to appear in the statistics would put the No. 1 Japanese film on the board 27 years later — and its opening film takes the summit on the yardstick of "can a viewer who knows nothing get in?" That is the quietest finding in this article.

How the Landscape Changes When You Change the Weights (Sub-Views)

LensNo. 1Biggest MoversWhat It Measures
Balance of all six axes (default)The Phantom of Baker Street 8.460.30 clear of The Time Bombed Skyscraper (2nd, 8.16); The Last Wizard of the Century (3rd, 8.04), Captured in Her Eyes (4th, 8.02) and Countdown to Heaven (5th, 7.86) followMeasures the design of a film across six axes
Design of the mystery weightedStrategy Above the Depths 8.88The Fourteenth Target (2nd, 8.36) and The Time Bombed Skyscraper (3rd, 8.08) follow; One-eyed Flashback climbs 21st→12th; the recent high earners fall across the boardDoes it hold up as a detective story
Spectacle weightedBlack Iron Submarine 8.72Countdown to Heaven (2nd, 8.44) and The Raven Chaser (3rd, 8.28) follow; The Fist of Blue Sapphire climbs 20th→7th; Strategy Above the Depths falls to 28thAre the images and sound worth seeing in a cinema
Use of the cast weightedThe Darkest Nightmare 8.80The Last Wizard of the Century (2nd, 8.52) and Countdown to Heaven (3rd, 8.44) follow; The Scarlet Bullet climbs 28th→15thHow the regular cast is arranged
Openness to newcomers weightedThe Time Bombed Skyscraper 9.12The Phantom of Baker Street (2nd, 8.76) and Strategy Above the Depths (3rd, 7.84) follow; Full Score of Fear climbs 16th→5th; Zero the Enforcer falls to 25th and The Scarlet Bullet to 28thCan you get in on this one film alone

Debate and Limitations

Every axis score from 0 to 10 is our own assessment, not a fact. What we could confirm reaches as far as release years, directors, writers, running times, box office, and the attribution of first appearances within the series; beyond that, "is the mystery well designed" and "does the spectacle land" are editorial judgements. The sources column lists only where the facts were checked, and there is no source for the scores (because none exists).

On the handling of box office: box office is not one of our scoring axes, but we refer to it in the text for comparison. The figures come from the annual statistics of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. The opening film (1997) is not in that year's table, which lists only the top seven, so we could not confirm a figure for it. And what the association publishes for the second and third films is "distribution revenue," a different measure from box office. Laying numbers of different measures side by side breaks the comparison, so we carry no figures for those two films in the text. The comparison of "roughly 6.3 times" is likewise taken between the fourth film (2,500 million yen) and the twenty-seventh (15,800 million yen), which can be confirmed on the same measure.

What we left out: the twenty-ninth film, Fallen Angel of the Highway (released 10 April 2026), is not scored, its release being too recent for an evaluation to have settled. Television specials, the compilation film The Scarlet Alibi, and the crossover Lupin the 3rd vs. Detective Conan: The Movie are out of scope because they do not belong to the numbered run of the main series (all of them appear in the association's statistics as separate films, which makes them easy to confuse).

On spoilers: this article touches no culprit, no trick, and no ending. The evaluation of "the design of the mystery" is therefore stated at the level of structure — how clues are placed, how the detective's seat is assigned, whether the logic closes — and not at the level of any specific solution. For a reader who wants to test the solutions of individual films, this article is not enough.

On awards: several films in this series have won the Excellence Award for animation at the Japan Academy Film Prize, but as far as we could confirm there is no record of one taking the top award. Award history is not one of our scoring axes.

The strongest objection: "the films are not detective films but a festival you attend to meet the regulars, so weighting the design of the mystery at 20% is the wrong choice of yardstick." That is a coherent objection. The makers have in fact steered the series in that direction, and box office supports them. This article answers it by not fixing on a single yardstick. Switch to the cast lens and The Darkest Nightmare takes No. 1, and the recent films rise sharply. Our position is not which of the two is right, but to state which yardstick we are looking through.

Related

🎬 More film reading ― TokyoEiga.com 🎞 The All-Time Film Influence Ranking 📈 Character IP Longevity, Ranked 📊 More rankings ― 10i.jp hub

Sources

  1. The first film, The Time Bombed Skyscraper (released 19 April 1997; director Kenji Kodama; script Kazunari Kouchi; 95 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E6%99%82%E8%A8%88%E3%81%98%E3%81%8B%E3%81%91%E3%81%AE%E6%91%A9%E5%A4%A9%E6%A5%BC . Its box office is not listed in the 1997 statistics of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (source 29)
  2. The second film, The Fourteenth Target (released 18 April 1998; director Kenji Kodama; script Kazunari Kouchi; 99 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_14%E7%95%AA%E7%9B%AE%E3%81%AE%E6%A8%99%E7%9A%84 . What the association lists for 1998 is distribution revenue, not box office (source 30)
  3. The third film, The Last Wizard of the Century (released 17 April 1999; director Kenji Kodama; script Kazunari Kouchi; 100 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E4%B8%96%E7%B4%80%E6%9C%AB%E3%81%AE%E9%AD%94%E8%A1%93%E5%B8%AB . What the association lists for 1999 is distribution revenue, not box office (source 30)
  4. The fourth film, Captured in Her Eyes (released 22 April 2000; director Kenji Kodama; script Kazunari Kouchi; 100 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E7%9E%B3%E3%81%AE%E4%B8%AD%E3%81%AE%E6%9A%97%E6%AE%BA%E8%80%85 / box office 2,500 million yen, 4th among Japanese films in 2000 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, "Film Industry in Japan 2000" https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2000.pdf
  5. The fifth film, Countdown to Heaven (released 21 April 2001; director Kenji Kodama; script Kazunari Kouchi; 100 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E5%A4%A9%E5%9B%BD%E3%81%B8%E3%81%AE%E3%82%AB%E3%82%A6%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E3%83%80%E3%82%A6%E3%83%B3 / box office 2,900 million yen, 7th among Japanese films in 2001 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2001.pdf
  6. The sixth film, The Phantom of Baker Street (released 20 April 2002; director Kenji Kodama; script Hisashi Nozawa; 107 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E3%83%99%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E8%A1%97%E3%81%AE%E4%BA%A1%E9%9C%8A / box office 3,400 million yen, 2nd among Japanese films in 2002 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2002.pdf
  7. The seventh film, Crossroad in the Ancient Capital (released 19 April 2003; director Kenji Kodama, assistant director Akira Nishimori; script Kazunari Kouchi; 107 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E8%BF%B7%E5%AE%AE%E3%81%AE%E5%8D%81%E5%AD%97%E8%B7%AF / box office 3,200 million yen, 3rd among Japanese films in 2003 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2003.pdf
  8. The eighth film, Magician of the Silver Sky (released 17 April 2004; director Yasuichiro Yamamoto; script Kazunari Kouchi; 107 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E9%8A%80%E7%BF%BC%E3%81%AE%E5%A5%87%E8%A1%93%E5%B8%AB / box office 2,800 million yen, 5th among Japanese films in 2004 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2004.pdf
  9. The ninth film, Strategy Above the Depths (released 9 April 2005; director Yasuichiro Yamamoto; script Kazunari Kouchi; 107 minutes; includes the statement that this is the first film in which Kogoro Mori corners the culprit almost single-handed) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E6%B0%B4%E5%B9%B3%E7%B7%9A%E4%B8%8A%E3%81%AE%E9%99%B0%E8%AC%80 / box office 2,150 million yen, 11th among Japanese films in 2005 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2005.pdf
  10. The tenth film, The Private Eyes' Requiem (released 15 April 2006; director Yasuichiro Yamamoto; script Hiroshi Kashiwabara; 111 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%81%9F%E3%81%A1%E3%81%AE%E9%8E%AE%E9%AD%82%E6%AD%8C / box office 3,030 million yen, 10th among Japanese films in 2006 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2006.pdf
  11. The eleventh film, Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure (released 21 April 2007; director Yasuichiro Yamamoto; script Hiroshi Kashiwabara; 107 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E7%B4%BA%E7%A2%A7%E3%81%AE%E6%A3%BA / box office 2,530 million yen, 10th among Japanese films in 2007 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2007.pdf
  12. The twelfth film, Full Score of Fear (released 19 April 2008; director Yasuichiro Yamamoto; script Kazunari Kouchi; 115 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E6%88%A6%E6%85%84%E3%81%AE%E6%A5%BD%E8%AD%9C / box office 2,420 million yen, 12th among Japanese films in 2008 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2008.pdf
  13. The thirteenth film, The Raven Chaser (released 18 April 2009; director Yasuichiro Yamamoto; script Kazunari Kouchi; 110 minutes; includes the statement that this is only the second film to put a confrontation with the Black Organization at its centre, eight years after the fifth) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E6%BC%86%E9%BB%92%E3%81%AE%E8%BF%BD%E8%B7%A1%E8%80%85 / box office 3,500 million yen, 6th among Japanese films in 2009 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2009.pdf
  14. The fourteenth film, The Lost Ship in the Sky (released 17 April 2010; director Yasuichiro Yamamoto; script Kazunari Kouchi; 102 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E5%A4%A9%E7%A9%BA%E3%81%AE%E9%9B%A3%E7%A0%B4%E8%88%B9 / box office 3,200 million yen, 10th among Japanese films in 2010 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2010.pdf
  15. The fifteenth film, Quarter of Silence (released 16 April 2011; director Kobun Shizuno, chief director Yasuichiro Yamamoto; script Kazunari Kouchi; 109 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E6%B2%88%E9%BB%99%E3%81%AE15%E5%88%86 / box office 3,150 million yen, 8th among Japanese films in 2011 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2011.pdf
  16. The sixteenth film, The Eleventh Striker (released 14 April 2012; director Kobun Shizuno, chief director Yasuichiro Yamamoto; script Kazunari Kouchi; 110 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_11%E4%BA%BA%E7%9B%AE%E3%81%AE%E3%82%B9%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC / box office 3,290 million yen, 9th among Japanese films in 2012 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2012.pdf
  17. The seventeenth film, Private Eye in the Distant Sea (released 20 April 2013; director Kobun Shizuno; script Takeharu Sakurai; 110 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E7%B5%B6%E6%B5%B7%E3%81%AE%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5 / box office 3,630 million yen, 4th among Japanese films in 2013 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2013.pdf
  18. The eighteenth film, Dimensional Sniper (released 19 April 2014; director Kobun Shizuno; script Kazunari Kouchi; 110 minutes; includes the statement that the FBI, Masumi Sera, Shuichi Akai and Subaru Okiya make their movie-series debut, and that Akai and Okiya being the same person is revealed for the first time in the closing scene of this film) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E7%95%B0%E6%AC%A1%E5%85%83%E3%81%AE%E7%8B%99%E6%92%83%E6%89%8B / box office 4,110 million yen, 7th among Japanese films in 2014 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2014.pdf
  19. The nineteenth film, Sunflowers of Inferno (released 18 April 2015; director Kobun Shizuno; script Takeharu Sakurai; 112 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E6%A5%AD%E7%81%AB%E3%81%AE%E5%90%91%E6%97%A5%E8%91%B5 / box office 4,480 million yen, 4th among Japanese films in 2015 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2015.pdf
  20. The twentieth film, The Darkest Nightmare (released 16 April 2016; director Kobun Shizuno; script Takeharu Sakurai; 112 minutes; includes the statement that Tooru Amuro (Rei Furuya) and Rena Mizunashi make their movie-series debut) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E7%B4%94%E9%BB%92%E3%81%AE%E6%82%AA%E5%A4%A2 / box office 6,330 million yen excluding the 4D version, 3rd among Japanese films in 2016 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2016.pdf
  21. The twenty-first film, The Crimson Love Letter (released 15 April 2017; director Kobun Shizuno; script Takahiro Okura; 112 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89%E7%B4%85%E3%81%AE%E6%81%8B%E6%AD%8C / box office 6,890 million yen, 1st among Japanese films in 2017 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2017.pdf
  22. The twenty-second film, Zero the Enforcer (released 13 April 2018; director Yuzuru Tachikawa; script Takeharu Sakurai; 110 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E3%82%BC%E3%83%AD%E3%81%AE%E5%9F%B7%E8%A1%8C%E4%BA%BA / box office 9,180 million yen, 2nd among Japanese films in 2018 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2018.pdf
  23. The twenty-third film, The Fist of Blue Sapphire (released 12 April 2019; director Chika Nagaoka; script Takahiro Okura; 109 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E7%B4%BA%E9%9D%92%E3%81%AE%E6%8B%B3 / box office 9,370 million yen, 2nd among Japanese films in 2019 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2019.pdf
  24. The twenty-fourth film, The Scarlet Bullet (released 16 April 2021; director Chika Nagaoka; script Takeharu Sakurai; 110 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E7%B7%8B%E8%89%B2%E3%81%AE%E5%BC%BE%E4%B8%B8 / box office 7,650 million yen, 2nd among Japanese films in 2021 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2021.pdf
  25. The twenty-fifth film, The Bride of Halloween (released 15 April 2022; director Susumu Mitsunaka; script Takahiro Okura; 111 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E3%83%8F%E3%83%AD%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%81%AE%E8%8A%B1%E5%AB%81 / box office 9,780 million yen including revival screenings, 4th among Japanese films in 2022 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2022.pdf
  26. The twenty-sixth film, Black Iron Submarine (released 14 April 2023; director Yuzuru Tachikawa; script Takeharu Sakurai; 109 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E9%BB%92%E9%89%84%E3%81%AE%E9%AD%9A%E5%BD%B1 / box office 13,880 million yen, 2nd among Japanese films in 2023 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2023.pdf
  27. The twenty-seventh film, The Million-dollar Pentagram (released 12 April 2024; director Chika Nagaoka; script Takahiro Okura; 111 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_100%E4%B8%87%E3%83%89%E3%83%AB%E3%81%AE%E4%BA%94%E7%A8%9C%E6%98%9F / box office 15,800 million yen, 1st among Japanese films in 2024 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2024.pdf
  28. The twenty-eighth film, One-eyed Flashback (released 18 April 2025; director Katsuya Shigehara; script Takeharu Sakurai; 110 minutes) — Wikipedia https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E9%9A%BB%E7%9C%BC%E3%81%AE%E6%AE%8B%E5%83%8F / box office 14,740 million yen, 3rd among Japanese films in 2025 — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, "Film Industry in Japan 2025" https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_current_2025.pdf
  29. That the box office of the first film cannot be confirmed from the statistics of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (the 1997 listing of Japanese films runs only to the top seven, from Princess Mononoke to Gakko no Kaidan 3, and carries no entry for this series) — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, "Film Industry in Japan 1997" https://www.eiren.org/toukei/1997.html
  30. That what the association publishes for the second and third films is "distribution revenue," a different measure from box office (The Fourteenth Target, 1,050 million yen in 1998; The Last Wizard of the Century, 1,450 million yen in 1999) — Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan https://www.eiren.org/toukei/1998.html / https://www.eiren.org/toukei/1999.html
  31. That Kaito Kid made his movie-series debut in the third film, The Last Wizard of the Century (which is also the movie debut of Ai Haibara, Heiji Hattori and Wataru Takagi) — Wikipedia, "Detective Conan: The Last Wizard of the Century" https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E4%B8%96%E7%B4%80%E6%9C%AB%E3%81%AE%E9%AD%94%E8%A1%93%E5%B8%AB / Wikipedia, "Kaito Kuroba" https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%BB%92%E7%BE%BD%E5%BF%AB%E6%96%97
  32. That the Black Organization touches the main line of a film for the first time in the fifth film, Countdown to Heaven, and that a confrontation is drawn as the main line for only the second time, eight years later, in the thirteenth film, The Raven Chaser — Wikipedia, "Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser" https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E6%BC%86%E9%BB%92%E3%81%AE%E8%BF%BD%E8%B7%A1%E8%80%85
  33. That Shuichi Akai, Subaru Okiya, Masumi Sera and the FBI make their movie-series debut in the eighteenth film, Dimensional Sniper, and that Akai and Okiya being the same person is revealed for the first time in the closing scene of that film, ahead of the manga and the television series — Wikipedia, "Detective Conan: Dimensional Sniper" https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E7%95%B0%E6%AC%A1%E5%85%83%E3%81%AE%E7%8B%99%E6%92%83%E6%89%8B
  34. That Tooru Amuro (Rei Furuya) and Rena Mizunashi make their movie-series debut in the twentieth film, The Darkest Nightmare — Wikipedia, "Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare" https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E7%B4%94%E9%BB%92%E3%81%AE%E6%82%AA%E5%A4%A2
  35. That Hisashi Nozawa, who wrote the sixth film, The Phantom of Baker Street, was a novelist who won the Edogawa Rampo Prize (the 43rd, for the novel Hasen no Malice), that he was born in 1960 and died in 2004, and that the film held the series' highest box office of its time and was not beaten until The Raven Chaser seven years later — Wikipedia, "Hisashi Nozawa" https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%87%8E%E6%B2%A2%E5%B0%9A / Wikipedia, "Detective Conan: The Phantom of Baker Street" https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%90%8D%E6%8E%A2%E5%81%B5%E3%82%B3%E3%83%8A%E3%83%B3_%E3%83%99%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC%E8%A1%97%E3%81%AE%E4%BA%A1%E9%9C%8A
  36. That this series has won the Excellence Award for animation at the Japan Academy Film Prize with several films, while no record of it taking the top award could be confirmed — Wikipedia, "Japan Academy Film Prize for Animation of the Year" https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E3%82%A2%E3%82%AB%E3%83%87%E3%83%9F%E3%83%BC%E8%B3%9E%E3%82%A2%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3%E4%BD%9C%E5%93%81%E8%B3%9E
  37. That the twenty-fourth film, The Scarlet Bullet, was pushed back a year from its planned 2020 release because of COVID-19 (the association's 2020 statistics likewise carry no entry for this series) — Sports Hochi, 8 June 2020 https://hochi.news/articles/20200608-OHT1T50106.html / Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, 2020 statistics https://www.eiren.org/toukei/img/eiren_kosyu/data_2020.pdf
  38. That the twenty-ninth film, Fallen Angel of the Highway, was released on 10 April 2026 (the ground for leaving it out of the scoring) — official site of the Detective Conan films https://www.conan-movie.jp/