Cells at Work!

Cells at Work!, directed by Hideki Takeuchi and adapted from Akane Shimizu's manga (2015-2021), is a live action film that personifies the cells inside the human body as characters; it opened in Japan on December 13, 2024. The film earned 844 million yen on its opening weekend, selling 611,000 tickets to top Japan's box office that week. Its total domestic gross passed 6 billion yen (roughly 39 million dollars), surpassing Takeuchi's previous highest grossing work, Thermae Romae (5.98 billion yen), to become the biggest commercial success of his career. Who it's for: anyone curious about a Japanese live action film adapted from a manga that turns the body's cells into characters, breaking its director's career box office record. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a realistic medical drama, since the film presents the cells as personified characters in a fantastical tone.