News
Japanese Box Office, May 12-13 (Updated)
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Hideki Takeuchi's live-action Thermae Romae film held the No. 1 spot during its third weekend. Based on Mari Yamazaki's manga, the story follows Roman architect Lucius Modestus (Hiroshi Abe), who designs bath-houses in ancient Rome. One day he's sucked into modern-day Japan. Able to travel back and forth in between worlds, Lucius uses Japanese ideas to improve the Roman baths he builds in the past. The film grossed US$4,541,769 on 301 screens for a total of US$36,958,077.
The live-action 3D film based on Sadako, the iconic ghost of the horror film Ring (Ringu), opened at No. 2. In the film, Sadako is the vengeful ghost of the daughter of a famous psychic. She is connected to a cursed video tape featuring a collection of disturbing images; those who watch the tape are killed one week later. Koji Suzuki, the author of the original novel series that inspired the franchise, wrote a new original story for the film. The film earned US$3,076,714 on 213 screens.
The live-action adaptation of Chūya Koyama's Space Brothers (Uchū Kyōdai) manga dropped from No. 2 to No. 3 in its second weekend. The film stars Shun Oguri and Masaki Okada as brothers Mutta and Hibito. The two make a vow to go into space but only Hibito succeeds at becoming an astronaut. However, Mutta's life changes one fateful day. The film pulled in US$2,467,773 on 322 screens for a gross-to-date of US$9,537,357.
Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker film dropped from No. 3 to the No. 4 spot in its fifth weekend. It earned US$1,225,872 more on 351 screens for a total of US$37,146,629.
Osamu Kaneda's live-action Kamen Rider X Super Sentai Super Hero Taisen film fell from No. 4 to No. 6 in its fourth weekend. The latest film in the Kamen Rider frachise features about 200 heroes — from every team in the live-action special-effects Super Sentai franchise — and about 40 Kamen Riders from the four-decade-long Kamen Rider franchise. The film grossed US$906,865 on 295 screens for a total of US$17,745,788.
The second film in Takahiro Miki's two-part live-action film adaptation of Yuuki Obata's We Were There (Bokura ga Ita) romance manga dropped from No. 5 to the No. 7 spot for its fourth weekend. Toma Ikuta (Akihabara @ DEEP) and Yuriko Yoshitaka (Gantz) lead the films' cast. The story follows a girl named Nanami Takahashi (Yoshitaka) as she struggles with her decade-long relationship with Motoharu Yano (Ikuta), her high school's most popular boy who has his own issues from his past. The film earned US$899,651 on 297 screens for a total of US$17,875,840.
Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi o Yobu! Ora to Uchū no Princess, the 20th film in the Crayon Shin-chan franchise, dropped from No. 6 to No. 9 in its fifth weekend. The film sends the title kindergartner and his family into outer space. The film ranked at No. 10 on Box Office Mojo's charts, and it grossed US$498,228 on 330 screens for a total amount of US$11,252,356.
The live-action film adaptation of Bisco Hatori's Ouran High School Host Club romantic comedy manga is not ranked on Box Office Mojo's list, but the website does list that the film earned US$1,567 on three screens during its ninth weekend for a new total of US$2,812,521.
Hiroyuki Okiura and Production I.G's A Letter to Momo film, and this years Doraemon film, Doraemon: Nobita to Kiseki no Shima ~Animal Adventure~, are both no longer listed on Box Office Mojo's chart.
Update: Added Sadako 3D information.
Sources: Kogyo Tsunshinsha, Box Office Mojo
follow-up of Japanese Box Office, May 5-6
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