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Shunji Iwai's 'Fireworks' Film Ranks #2, Earns 70 Million Yuan in China Opening

Uchiage Hanabi, Shita kara Miru ka? Yoko kara Miru ka? (Fireworks, Should We See it from the Side or the Bottom?), the anime film adaptation of director Shunji Iwai's 1993 live-action drama of the same name, opened in China last Friday, and earned 70 million yuan (about 1.2 billion yen or about US$10.5 million) and ranked #2 in its first three days. The film now ranks after Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Nankyoku Kachi Kochi Daibōken in box office earnings of Japanese films that opened in China this year, surpassing the earnings of Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale and A Silent Voice.

The live-action Gintama film opened with 61.39 million yuan (about US$9.37 million or about 1.03 billion yen) in its first three days, and eventually earned 80 million yuan (about US$12 million).

Fireworks, Should We See it from the Side or the Bottom? opened on August 18 in Japan, earning 170 million yen (about US$1.56 million) on its opening day. The film debuted at #3 in the Japanese box office. The film has earned a cumulative total of 1.6 billion yen (US$14,192,000) at the Japanese box office.

Hitoshi Ōne (live-action Bakuman., Moteki) wrote the film's script and Nobuyuki Takeuchi (key animator on Spirited Away, Penguindrum, Bakemonogatari) directed the film at studio SHAFT.

Source: Animation Business Journal (Tadashi Sudo)