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Japanese Box Office, August 25-26

posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Rurouni Kenshin debuts at #1, Ushijima the Loan Shark debuts at #10

Keishi Ōtomo's live-action film adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin manga debuted at No. 1. Takeru Satoh (Kamen Rider Den-O, Rookies, Beck) stars in the film's titular role, and Emi Takei (Kyō, Koi o Hajimemasu, For Love's Sake/Ai to Makoto) plays the heroine Kaoru Kamiya. Yū Aoi (Hana and Alice, Honey and Clover) plays Megumi Takani, Munetaka Aoki (The Last Message Umizaru, live-action The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) plays Sanosuke Sagara, and Taketo Tanaka plays Yahiko Myōjin. Yōsuke Eguchi (Shōnan Bakusōzoku and Tokyo Love Story) as Hajime Saitō, Kouji Kikkawa (Let's Dance With Papa) as Jine Udō, and Teruyuki Kagawa (From Up On Poppy Hill, 20th Century Boys) as Kanryū Takeda round out the cast. The film earned US$5,093,453 on 327 screens. As some theaters screened the film early, the weekend's earnings brought the film's gross total to US$7,081,552.

Mamoru Hosoda's Ōkami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (Wolf Children) film fell from No. 3 to No. 5 during its sixth weekend. This is the latest film by the director of Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. The film's story covers 13 years and begins with a 19-year-old college student named Hana who encounters and falls in "fairy tale-like" love with a "wolf man." After marrying the wolf man, Hana gives birth and raises two wolf children — an older sister named Yuki ("snow") who was born on a snowy day, and a younger brother named Ame ("rain") who was born on a rainy day. When the wolf man suddenly dies, Hana decides to move to a rural town far removed from the city. The film earned US$1,735,922 on 381 screens for a new total of US$43,597,393.

The fourth live-action film based on Shuho Sato's (Say Hello to Black Jack, The Isle of TOKKOU) Umizaru coast guard manga, Brave Hearts Umizaru, fell from No. 2 to No. 6 during its seventh weekend. The film adapts the "largest sea disaster" from the original manga: the water landing of a jumbo jet. The film ranked at No. 4 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned US$1,775,456 on 450 screens for a gross-to-date of US$84,021,856.

Gekijōban Pocket Monster Best Wishes! Kyurem Vs Seikenshi Keldeo fell from No. 5 to No. 8 in its seventh weekend. The film features the new legendary Pokémon, Keldeo. Kunihiko Yuyama returned to direct the film after directing most of the previous films and The Slayers films. The film earned US$949,358 on 357 screens for a new total of US$41,576,694.

The Kamen Rider Fourze the Movie: Minna de Uchū Kitā! (Kamen Rider Fourze the Movie: Everyone, Space Is Here!) and Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters the Movie: Tokyo Enetower o Mamore! (Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters the Movie: Protect the Tokyo Enetower!) films fell from No. 6 to No. 9 during their fourth weekend. The live-action special-effects films earned US$807,564 on 304 screens for a gross-to-date of US$14,267,423.

The live-action film adaption of Shohei Manabe's Ushijima the Loan Shark (Yamikin Ushijima-kun) manga debuted at No. 10. Takayuki Yamada (Train Man, Crying Out Love in the Center of the World, Crows Zero, Gantz, 13 Assassins) reprises his lead role from the 2010 live-action television series version of the manga. In the film, Ushijima participates in a celebrity event to collect on a debt and meets an event leader named Jun. AKB48 member Yuko Oshima and Arakawa Under the Bridge's Kento Hayashi also star in the film. The film ranked at No. 7 on Box Office Mojo's chart earned US$956,916 on 132 screens.

The Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie film fell from No. 11 to No. 12 on Box Office Mojo's chart in its fifth weekend. The sixth Naruto Shippūden film and ninth Naruto film overall features a story and character designs personally created by manga creator Masashi Kishimoto. The film earned US$431,759 on 262 screens for a new total of US$17,278,965.

The first film in the Fairy Tail franchise, Fairy Tail: Hōō no Miko (Fairy Tail: Priestess of the Phoenix), fell from Box Office Mojo's chart in its second weekend. Mika Ninagawa's Helter Skelter live-action film also fell from Box Office Mojo's chart in its seventh weekend. The live-action adaptation of Yukito Ayatsuji's horror novel Another also fell from Box Office Mojo's chart in its fourth weekend. Finally, Shinji Aramaki's Starship Troopers: Invasion CG film also fell from Box Office Mojo's chart in its sixth weekend.

Sources: Kogyo Tsunshinsha, Box Office Mojo


This article has a follow-up: Japanese Box Office, September 1-2 (2012-09-09 23:00)
follow-up of Japanese Box Office, August 18-19
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