Most Chinese born in the early 1980s shared a similar childhood dream－to have a homestay robot as powerful as Doraemon, the Japanese animation character that was officially introduced to the country nearly 30 years ago.

Childhood nostalgia now has helped fuel a box-office miracle. The 3-D computer animated film Stand By Me Doraemon raked in more than 327 million yuan ($52.7 million) in its first five days since May 28, making it the highest-grossing Japanese movie ever in the history of mainland cinemas.

It has also hit a single-day record by taking in 88 million yuan on Sunday, beating the 2011 Hollywood animated blockbuster Kung Fu Panda 2 (67 million yuan) to dominate the box office for animated titles on the mainland.

Based on the Doraemon manga series that was first created in 1969, the tale, also the finale of the Doraemon movie franchise, combines seven short stories to chronicle a complete timeline－from the first time the gadget cat travels back in time from the 22nd century to help preteen boy, Nobita Nobi, known simply as Noby in the English version, until Doraemon bids farewell to its beloved human friend.

The original version, written and illustrated by a two-author team known by their pseudonym Fujiko F.Fujio, includes 1,345 short stories across 45 volumes.

In 1987, the Japanese manga series was first introduced as an 18-volume illustrated collection by the People's Fine Arts Publishing House. A 1991 animated TV series premiered by CCTV made the "cat-type" robot a household name among the country's children and teenagers.

The magical gadgets from Doraemon's pocket, such as Bamboo Copter, a head accessory that allows flight, and Anywhere Door, which opens to any place you wish to go, are part of the collective memory of an entire generation of Chinese.

Alongside the familiar characters and scenes, the Chinese version is dubbed by Liu Chunyan, a famous children TV host.

Some Chinese filmmakers are startled at the unpredicted popularity of the "simple-storyline" production, but on social networking app, WeChat, hundreds of thousands moviegoers, mostly in their 30s, recount their experience of "bursting-into-tears" in theaters, thrilled to see the characters from their childhood.

"It reminds me of the people who accompanied me when I was growing up. They gave me laughter and strength, but then disappeared from my life," a netizen named Lan Shanshang wrote on Douban.com, a major movie review website.

Takashi Yamazaki, one of the directors behind the movie, told media that he hopes Chinese moviegoers will "recollect" their childhood memories in the theaters", and reveals that he may shoot a sequel, if this film grosses more than 200 million yuan.

Yamazaki's hope for the film's box office takings seems destined to come true. The popularity of Stand By Me Doraemon on its first weekend saw the film go from being shown at 25 percent of the country's cinemas to around 35 percent of China's 23,600 screens on Monday.

Though nostalgia is widely accepted as a major explanation, some industry insiders regard the commercial success more relevant to the "good timing" during the fast expanding period of the world's second-largest market, which has maintained a 30-percent rising pace year-on-year since 2008.

"China's market has developed very fast in recent years. The major ticket buyers are 30-somethings who have become regular cinema-goers to take a relaxing break from the stresses of daily life," says Zheng Ye, the production department head of Shanghai-based Fundamental Films, which has a close connection with foreign markets.

"Stand By Me is not the first Doraemon movie to be introduced to China. The previous title was not so well received at the box office, as the market was not as mature as it is today," he tells China Daily.

Doraemon: Nobita No Kyoryu, about Noby's adventurous journey hunting for a dinosaur egg, only brought in 5 million yuan in the first week when it was released as the first Doraemon feature-length movie on the mainland on July 20, 2007.

Suo Yabin, a film professor and an animated title researcher at the Communication University of China, says the long-running animated series has an "oriental" flavor.

"It's about an ordinary child seeking to change his misfortunes and the bullying from schoolmates. But he never becomes a superhero or struggles for success, not like those frequently seen in Western animated productions," says Suo.

"For Chinese, it's a story close to their culture, education system and their childhood lives."

As the first Japanese movie to be shown in China in nearly three years after a Ultraman movie released in 2012, Stand By Me Doraemon is also being seen by some foreign media as a reflection of the improving relations between China and Japan.