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Detective Conan Debuts at #1, Shin-chan at #2 at Japanese Box Office

Meitantei Conan Zero no Shikkōnin (Detective Conan: Zero's Executioner), the 22nd film in the Detective Conan series, opened on 384 screens on Friday and sold 1,012,000 tickets on Saturday and Sunday to rank at #1 at the Japanese box office for the weekend. The film earned 1.296 billion yen (about US$12.1 million) at the box office on Saturday and Sunday. The film sold 1,289,000 tickets in its first three days to earn 1.67 billion yen (about US$15.6 million).

The Saturday and Sunday sales represent 100.7% of the total that last year's Meitantei Conan Kara Kurenai no Love Letter film earned in its first Saturday and Sunday. Last year's film became the highest-grossing domestic film in Japan in 2017, earning a total of 6.89 billion yen (about US$61.1 million), which is also a franchise record. The new film could possibly be the series' sixth consecutive film to break the franchise's previous box-office record.

Yuzuru Tachikawa (Mob Psycho 100, Death Parade) directed the film. The film is a sequel of the series' 20th film, Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare, and centers on Tōru "Zero" Amuro. Police chief Hyōe Kuroda, who is rumored to be Rum in the Black Organization, appears for the first time in a film for the franchise.

Eiga Crayon Shin-chan Bakumori! Kung-Fu Boys ~Ramen Tairan~ (Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Bakumori! Kung-Fu Boys Ramen Rebellion), the 26th Crayon Shin-chan film, opened on 355 screens on Friday to rank at #2 at the box office for the weekend. The film sold 315,000 tickets on Saturday and Sunday to earn 367 million yen (about US$3.42 million). The film is expected to earn more than 1.6 billion yen (about US$14.9 million).

The weekend sales represent 111.2% of the total that last year's Eiga Crayon Shin-chan Shūrai! Uchūjin Shiriri (Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Invasion! Alien Shiriri) film earned in its opening Saturday-Sunday weekend. The film earned a total of 1.62 billion yen (about US$15.1 million) at the box office in Japan.

The kung-fu action film is set in a Chinatown named Aiyātown in Kusakabe, Saitama (the setting of the main series). Crayon Shin-chan Bakusui! Yumemi World Dai Totsugeki director Wataru Takahashi returned to direct the film. Eiga Crayon Shin-chan: Ora no Hikkoshi Monogatari ~Saboten Daishūgeki scriptwriter Kimiko Ueno wrote the script.

The live-action Pacific Rim: Uprising sequel opened on 605 screens in Japan on Friday. It sold 177,000 tickets for 279 million yen (about US$2.6 million) on Saturday and Sunday. That is 134.1% of the Japanese opening box office for the first film, which eventually earned a final total of 1.55 billion yen (US$15 million).

Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Takarajima (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Treasure Island), the Doraemon franchise's 38th film, fell from #4 to #7 in its seventh week at the box office. The film earned 110,017,400 yen (about US$1.02 million) from Friday to Sunday, and has now earned a cumulative total of 5,035,450,700 yen (about US$47 million).

The film had sold about 4,282,000 tickets in 37 days to earn 4.88 billion yen (about US$45.58 million) as of April 9 and become the best-selling film in the franchise's history. The film also became the highest-grossing anime in the current 13-installment Doraemon film series the previous week after grossing more than 4.44 billion yen (about US$41.5 million) in 32 days.

The latest Doraemon film is inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island novel. In the film's story, Doraemon, Nobita, Shizuka, Gian, and Suneo set out on an adventure in the Caribbean Sea. Nobita is the captain of a ship and fights his enemies on board. Shizuka gets kidnapped, and a storm impedes their journey. Mini-Dora robots help Nobita and friends on their journey. When the adventurers finally find the mysterious Treasure Island, they discover it is more than just an ordinary island.

Kazuaki Imai, an episode director on the Doraemon television anime, directed the project as his first Doraemon franchise film. Novelist Genki Kawamura (your name., The Boy and The Beast producer) penned the script.

Chihayafuru: Musubi (Chihayafuru: Conclusion), the third live-action film of Yuki Suetsugu's Chihayafuru manga, and the Precure Super Stars! anime film dropped off the top 10 chart in their fourth weekend. Chihayafuru: Musubi earned 52,236,800 yen (about US$487,900) from Friday to Sunday, and has now earned a cumulative total of 1,558,814,300 yen (about US$14.5 million). Precure Super Stars! earned 28,469,900 yen (about US$266,000) from Friday to Sunday, and has now earned a cumulative total of 793,515,400 yen (about US$7.4 million).

Gekijōban Servamp: Alice in the Garden, the anime film based on Strike Tanaka's Servamp manga, stayed at #1 on the mini-theater ranking in its second week. The film opened in Japan on April 7.

The film's story deals with Misono Alicein's past. The main cast from the television anime reprised their roles. Hideaki Nakano returned to direct the film at Platinum Vision, and Junko Yamanaka again designed the characters. Ayumu Hisao (Yowamushi Pedal: Spare Bike, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?) replaced Kenji Konuta to write the script.

The live-action film of Rensuke Oshikiri's Misumisou manga dropped from #2 to #5 in its second weekend on the mini-theater ranking.

Sources: Eiga.com, Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), comScore via KOFIC