The wait for Singapore fans is over: Chiikawa The Movie: The Secret of the Mermaid Island has a confirmed local opening date. Medialink Films Singapore says the film lands in Singapore cinemas on 20 August 2026 — the piece of news we were missing when we first wrote about the movie back in July.
The Chiikawa movie Singapore date is finally locked in
The confirmation came straight from the official distributor. Regional distributor Medialink Films Singapore posted the Singapore key visual on its official Instagram (@medialinkfilmssg), marking the film “in cinemas 20 August” and telling fans to get ready to “head to Mermaid Island for a raid.” That lines up with what we expected — Medialink holds the Southeast Asia rights — but until now there was no date attached to it.
Worth flagging: this is a firm cinema release date, not a one-night preview or a festival screening. Singapore gets the film as a proper theatrical run, roughly four weeks after it opens in Japan.
Image courtesy of ©2026 Chiikawa the Movie Film Partners
What “The Secret of the Mermaid Island” is about
This is Chiikawa’s first-ever feature film, and it adapts the manga’s beloved long-form “Siren Arc” — the storyline where Chiikawa, Hachiware and Usagi wash up on a strange island and slowly realise not everything about the place is as cute as it looks. Creator Nagano wrote the screenplay and supervised the whole production, so this isn’t a spin-off tangent; it’s the arc fans have wanted on the big screen since it ran in the manga.
Behind the camera, the film is directed by Kei Oikawa with animation by CygamesPictures. In Japan it opened on 24 July 2026, with a simultaneous IMAX release — a first for the franchise, and a sign of how big Chiikawa has become beyond its plush-toy-and-sticker roots.
Still from the official “Chiikawa: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” trailer
How the release rolled out across Asia
Japan got the film first on 24 July 2026. From there it fanned out across the region through the summer — Hong Kong, Macau and Malaysia all landed in early August — with Singapore now slotting in on 20 August. If you’ve been following import chatter or trying to piece together a regional release calendar, the Singapore leg was the last major gap, and it’s now filled.
For local fans, the roughly four-week gap behind Japan is about as good as it gets for a Japanese theatrical title — no long wait, no import-only limbo, just a normal cinema run you can plan a weekend outing around.
Still from the official “Chiikawa: The Secret of the Mermaid Island” trailer
What we still don’t know
The date is set, but a few details aren’t public yet. There’s no confirmed list of which Singapore cinema chains will carry it, no ticket on-sale date, and no word on whether the IMAX version from the Japanese run makes it here. Japan’s release also came with early-bird gift charms for the first wave of moviegoers — whether Singapore screenings get any equivalent freebie hasn’t been announced.
Here’s what we know so far, then: 20 August, in Singapore cinemas, distributed by Medialink. We’ll update this post as ticketing and cinema details firm up. In the meantime, you can read our original breakdown of the movie for the full backstory, or browse more anime and manga coverage on the blog.