News
Japanese Box Office, June 9-10
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The live-action film adaptation of Satoru Hiura's women's romance manga Hotaru no Hikari - It's Only Little Light in My Life opened at No. 1 during the June 9-10 weekend. The film is the sequel to the two live-action Hotaru no Hikari television series. Haruka Ayase and Naohito Fujiki are both reprising their roles in the film. The manga follows a 27-year-old office worker Hotaru (Ayase) who is uninterested in love. Hotaru's situation gets complicated as she suddenly finds herself living with her boss, Seiichi Takano (Fujiki). In the film's story, Hotaru and Takano travel to Italy. The film ranked at No. 2 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned US$4,020,134 on 316 screens.
Hideki Takeuchi's live-action Thermae Romae film fell from No. 2 to No. 3 in its seventh 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$2,093,424 on 312 screens for a total of US$63,612,469.
The live-action 3D film based on Sadako, the iconic ghost of the horror film Ring (Ringu), fell from No. 6 to No. 8 in its fifth weekend. 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$866,742 on 226 screens for a gross-to-date of US$15,355,297.
The live-action adaptation of Chūya Koyama's Space Brothers (Uchū Kyōdai) manga dropped from No. 8 to No. 10 in its sixth 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$439,495 on 322 screens for a gross-to-date of US$18,706,339.
The Blood-C: The Last Dark anime film fell from No. 10 to No. 14 in its second weekend. Manga creator team CLAMP developed the story and original character designs for the earlier Blood-C television series and this film. Production I.G animated both projects, but Naoyoshi Shiotani (Tokyo Marble Chocolate, key animator on Blood+ and Blood-C) is directing the film instead of the television version's director Tsutomu Mizushima. Writers Jun'ichi Fujisaku and Nanase Ohkawa (CLAMP), animation character designer/chief animation director Kazuchika Kise, and voice cast members Nana Mizuki (Saya Kisaragi) and Kenji Nojima (Fumito Nanahara) all returned from the television series. The film earned US$202,875 on 24 screens for a new total of US$846,261.
Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker film dropped from No. 12 to the No. 15 spot in its ninth weekend. It earned US$196,181 more on 243 screens for a total of US$41,439,875.
The live-action film adaptation of Hikaru Nakamura's Arakawa Under the Bridge manga rose back onto Box Office Mojo's chart at No. 19 in its 19th weekend. The film earned US$112 on one screen for a new total of US$3,347,973.
The second Bokura ga Ita film and the live-action Ouran High School Host Club film both fell from Box Office Mojo's chart.
Sources: Kogyo Tsunshinsha, Box Office Mojo
follow-up of Japanese Box Office, June 2-3
