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Weathering With You, Akira 4K Chart Again as More New Films Open in Japan

With the release of many new films postponed, the top 10 rankings at the Japanese box office for this weekend include four previously released films. Japanese theater chains began to shut down in March due to the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Box office performance fell 90% by the first week of April compared to the same period last year, and all theaters closed by mid-April after Japan declared a nationwide state of emergency.

100 theaters reopened in Japan five weeks ago. Tokyo entered the second phase of its multi-phase recovery road map two weeks ago, which includes the reopening of theaters (among other establishments). Little Women, Haunt, Good Boys, and Shinigami Tsukai no Jikenjō: Kairai Yakyoku join The Dead Don't Die, Anna, Bloodshot and Shinrei Kissa Extra no Himitsu: The Real Exorcist as the only major new films playing. (Shinrei Kissa Extra no Himitsu: The Real Exorcist has been playing for five weeks since opening on May 15.) Both Bloodshot and Shinigami Tsukai no Jikenjō: Kairai Yakyoku did not place in the top 10. Shinrei Kissa Extra no Himitsu: The Real Exorcist ranked #1 for the past five weekends, while Little Women, Haunt, and Good Boys opened at #2, #8, and #10, respectively. The rest of the box office's top 10 are all older films.

The 4K remaster of Katsuhiro Ōtomo's Akira anime film dropped from #4 to #7. The film ranked at #9 when theaters began to reopen five weeks ago. The film opened in 36 Japanese IMAX theaters on April 3. The anime was originally scheduled to debut at Tokyo Anime Award Festival (TAAF) 2020 event on March 14, but organizers cancelled the event due to COVID-19. The 4K remaster will also receive a release in the United States.

Makoto Shinkai's Weathering With You film rose from #7 to #5. The film opened in 359 theaters and 448 screens in Japan last July. It became the #7 highest-earning domestic film of all time in Japan and was the highest-grossing film in Japan in 2019.

The film centers on a runaway high school boy named Hodoka. He ends up working at an occult magazine in Tokyo to support himself. One day, Hodoka meets a girl who can control the weather, and they start a new business together.

The film debuted in North America on January 15 and ranked at #2 at the box office in North America in its first two days. The film had earned an estimated total of US$6,552,876 in North America as of January 26.

Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin, Eiga.com