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Japanese Box Office, December 26-27

Nodame Cantabile Saishū Gakushō Zen-Pen (Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score Part I), the first film in a two-part theatrical finale inspired by Tomoko Ninomiya's Nodame Cantabile musical romance manga, stayed at #2 during the December 26-27 weekend after debuting the previous weekend. According to Variety and Rentrak Theatrical, it earned US$3,011,040 on 409 screens for a total-to-date of US$14,092,110. The two movies continue the story of the 2006 live-action television drama series and this year's two-part Nodame Cantabile Shinshun Special in Europe television special. Ninomiya's original manga ended in October, and a spinoff manga launched in December.

One Piece Film Strong World, the 10th anime film based on Eiichiro Oda's One Piece pirate manga, fell to #3 on Kogyo Tsushinsha's Japanese box office chart (#4 on the Variety and Rentrak Theatrical chart), after being at #1 for its first two weeks in theaters. It added US$2,576,258 on 193 screens to its total of US$32,238,129.

Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Double & Decade: Movie War 2010 fell from #4 to #5 after debuting at #2 on Kogyo Tsushinsha's chart two weeks earlier. It earned US$983,905 on 293 screens to add to its US$10,844,013 total.

Tsuri Baka Nisshi 20: Final (Free and Easy 20: Final), the film based on Juzo Yamasaki and Kenichi Kitami's Tsuri Baka Nisshi (Diary of a Fishing Fool) comedy manga, debuted at #6 on the Kogyo Tsushinsha chart (#7 on Rentrak Theatrical's chart) and earned US$740,858 on 176 screens. The movie was announced last April as the last in the venerable movie franchise. Rentarō Mikuni has been playing a salaryman (company employee) who escapes everyday tedium by fishing, while Toshiyuki Nishida plays his boss. The two have starred in these films almost every year since 1988. Each of the previous movies has been seen in theaters between 500,000 and 700,000 times, for a franchise total of 20 million times. The original manga has been running in Shogakukan's Big Comic Original magazine since 1979, and there was a 2002-2003 anime series.

Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva (Layton Kyōju to Eien no Utahime), an animated movie based on Nintendo and Level5's hit puzzle adventure game series, fell to #8 after debuting at #6. It earned US$528,039 on 311 screens for a two-week total of $2,553,849. Castmembers Yō Ōizumi (Brave Story, Howl's Moving Castle) and Maki Horikita (Densha Otoko series, Always: Sunset on Third Street) reprised their respective roles of Layton and Luke in the movie.

The live-action special-effects film Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legend The Movie fell from #7 to #9 on Kogyo Tsushinsha's chart. (It fell from #8 off Rentrak Theatrical's chart.)

James Cameron's Avatar science-fiction action movie landed at #1 with a weekend box office take of US$6,611,848 and a cumulative total of US$14,553,033.

Source: Kogyo Tsushinsha

Images © 2009 Fuji TV, Kodansha, Amuse, TOHO, FNS27
© Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Fuji TV, Toei Animation
© 2009 One Piece Production Committee

Update: Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Double & Decade: Movie War 2010's box office total corrected. Thanks, Araki.