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Mirai Climbs to #6, My Hero Academia Film Drops to #7

Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu's new Mirai no Mirai (Mirai) anime film rose from #7 to #6 in its fourth weekend. The film earned 154,220,000 yen (about US$1.39 million) from Friday to Sunday. The film has now earned a cumulative total of 2,010,528,300 yen (about US$18.15 million).

The film opened in 456 theaters on July 20 in Japan. It sold 295,000 tickets for 500 million yen (about US$4.5 million) to rank #2 in its opening weekend. The weekend earnings were about 40% less than the opening weekend gross of Hosoda's previous The Boy and the Beast film, which earned 667,035,100 yen (about US$5.4 million) in its opening weekend.

The film had its world premiere in May at this year's Directors' Fortnight, an independent section held in parallel to the Cannes Film Festival. International sales banner Charades represented the film at Cannes in 2017, and has sold distribution rights to GKIDS in the United States, MK2 Mile End in Canada, Anime Limited in the United Kingdom, and Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.

The film stars Moka Kamishiraishi and Haru Kuroki as sibling protagonists Kun-chan and Mirai, respectively. The film's story centers around a family living in a small house in an obscure corner of a certain city — in particular, the family's spoiled four-year-old boy Kun-chan. When Kun-chan gets a little sister named Mirai, he feels that his new sister stole his parents' love from him, and is overwhelmed by many experiences he undergoes for the first time in his life. In the midst of it all, he meets an older version of Mirai, who has come from the future.

The My Hero Academia: Two Heroes anime film dropped from #4 to #7 in its second weekend.

The film opened on 299 theaters in Japan on August 3. The film ranked #4 in its opening weekend. The film earned 500,320,000 yen (about US$4.49 million) from Friday to Sunday.

Funimation and TOHO hosted a world premiere of the film with English subtitles at Anime Expo on July 5. Funimation will screen the film in more than 400 theaters in the United States and Canada on September 25, 26, 27, 29 and October 2. Screenings on September 25, 27, and 29 will be English-dubbed, while screenings on September 26 and October 2 will be in Japanese with English subtitles.

Funimation describes the film:

The climactic finals are over, and U.A. is getting ready for the summer training camp. Deku and All Might receive an invitation from a certain person to go overseas to a giant artificial moving city called I-Island. This island, a kind of “science Hollywood” that gathers the knowledge of scientists from around the world, is holding an exhibition called I-Expo showcasing the results of Quirk and hero item research. In the midst of all this, Deku meets a Quirkless girl named Melissa and remembers his own Quirkless past. Out of the blue, the impregnable security system the island boasts is hacked by villains, and all the people on the island are taken as hostages! Now, a plan that could shake hero society has been put into motion! The man who holds the key to it all is the number one hero and Symbol of Peace, All Might.

The Kamen Rider Build: Be the One and Kaitō Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger en film double feature dropped from #5 to #8 in its second weekend. The double feature earned 128,886,100 yen (about US$1.16 million) from Friday to Sunday, and has now earned a cumulative total of 541,737,000 yen (about US$4.89 million).

The films opened on 323 theaters on August 4. The films sold 213,166 tickets and earned 260,359,400 yen (about US$2.33 million) to rank #5 in its opening weekend.

The Kamen Rider Build series premiered last September. In the series, protagonist Sento Kiryū (Kamen Rider Build) is a genius physicist, and he uses the "Build Driver" belt to transform by combining "Full Bottle" ingredients from animals or machines. If the ingredients turn out to be the "best match," the Sento can use his special moves. In the show's story, "Pandora's Box" was found on Mars. Since then, massive walls called "Sky Walls" appeared and divided Japan into three regions now called Tōto, Saito, and Hokuto. In Tōto, unidentified creatures known as "Smash" begin appearing, causing a crisis in the region.

The Kaitō Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger (Phantom Thief Sentai Lupinranger VS Police Sentai Patranger) television series premiered on February 11. The show is the 42nd in the live-action Super Sentai series since 1975, and it is the franchise's first television series to feature two rival sentai teams from the start.

Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us (Gekijōban Pocket Monster: Minna no Monogatari), the 21st film in the Pokémon franchise, fell from #8 to #9 in its sixth weekend. The film earned 121,928,900 yen (about US$1.10 million) from Friday to Sunday. The film has now earned a cumulative total of 2,327,479,900 yen (about US$21.02 million).

It opened on July 13 in 364 theaters in Japan, and it ranked #2 in its opening weekend. The film sold 440,000 tickets and earned 500 million yen (about US$4.42 million). The film earned 3.1% less than the opening weekend of last year's Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You! (Gekijōban Pocket Monster: Kimi ni Kimeta!) film.

The story is set during the annual Wind Festival at Frau City, which is blessed with wind from the Legendary Pokémon Lugia. Lugia and a new Mythical Pokémon named Zeraora appear in the film.

Kunihiko Yuyama, who has directed many of the earlier Pokémon films, including last year's Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, returns as animation supervisor. Eiji Umehara (Grimoire of Zero, Beelzebub scriptwriter) and Aya Takaha wrote the script.

Wit Studio (Attack on Titan, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress) handled animation production along with the franchise's mainstay studio Oriental Light and Magic. Tetsuo Yajima, the assistant director of last year's Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!, returned to direct the film, and Shizue Kaneko (If Her Flag Breaks, Pan de Peace!) designed the characters.

The live-action film adaptation of Momoko Kōda's Sensei Kunshu (Teacher Monarch) manga dropped from #9 to #10 in its second weekend. The film earned 101,249,600 yen (about US$914,400) from Friday to Sunday, and has cumulatively earned 600,264,700 yen (about US$5.42 million).

The film opened in Japan on 296 theaters on August 1, and ranked #9 in its opening weekend.

The manga is a romantic comedy about the straightforward high school girl Ayuha Samaru and her relationship with her cool-headed teacher Yoshitaka Hiromitsu. Yoshitaka also happens to be the older brother of Kōsuke Hiromitsu from Kōda's previous manga, Heroine Shikkaku (No Longer Heroine).

The film stars Ryōma Takeuchi as the teacher Yoshitaka Hiromitsu, and actress Minami Hamabe as the female lead Ayuha Samaru.

Kōda drew the Sensei Kunshu manga in Shueisha's Bessatsu Margaret magazine from 2013 to 2017. Shueisha shipped the 13th and final compiled volume in August 2017.

The live-action film of Tite Kubo's Bleach manga dropped off the top 10 in its third weekend, and still screened for a fourth weekend. The film still earned 16,663,900 yen (about US$150,500) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 493,052,600 yen (about US$4.45 million).

Soreike! Anpanman Kagayake! Kurun to Inochi no Hoshi (Let's go! Anpanman: Shine! Kurun and the Star of Life), the Anpanman franchise's 30th anime film, was also still playing its seventh weekend, but out of the top 10. The film earned 16,378,600 yen (about US$147,000) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 571,222,300 yen (about US$5.16 million).

Flavors of Youth (Shikioriori), CoMix Wave Films' collaboration anime anthology project with Haoliners, dropped from top 5 mini-theater rankings, after ranking #4 in its opening weekend last week. The film will have a three-week limited run. Netflix also debuted the film globally on August 4, on the same day as its Japanese theatrical opening.

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