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Godzilla vs. Kong at #3, Honey Lemon Soda at #4
Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu‘s new Belle (Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime, literally “The Dragon and the Freckled Princess”) anime film opened at #1 at the Japanese box office. The film sold more than 600,000 tickets for more than 891,663,200 yen (about US$8.14 million) in its first three days. It sold more than 459,000 tickets for 679,995,700 yen (about US$6.20 million) on Saturday and Sunday alone. Its opening was bigger than that of Hosoda’s highest-earning film, The Boy and The Beast which eventually ended its run with 5.85 billion yen (about US$53 million).
Belle opened in Japan last Friday. The film has IMAX screenings in 38 theaters throughout Japan. This makes Belle the first of Hosoda’s films to have IMAX screenings. France’s Cannes Film Festival first screened the film in the festival’s Cannes Premiere section last Thursday. It marked the first Official Selection at the festival for Hosoda. (The director’s previous Mirai film screened at the Directors’ Fortnight, an independent section held in parallel to the festival, in 2018.)
GKIDS licensed the film for North America, and will release the film in English and in Japanese with English subtitles this winter.
Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars,The Boy and The Beast, Mirai) directed and scripted the film, and is also credited for the original work. The film marks Studio Chizu‘s 10th anniversary. Taisei Iwasaki (Blood Blockade Battlefront, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan, The Naked Director) is the film’s music director and composer.
Eric Wong, a London-based architect and designer, created the concept artwork for the film’s online world of U. Jin Kim (Frozen, Tangled, Big Hero 6, Moana) designed the titular protagonist Belle.
The live-action film of Ken Wakui‘s Tokyo Revengers manga dropped from #1 to #2 in its second weekend. The film sold 260,000 tickets on Saturday and Sunday, and earned 367,209,570 yen (about US$3.35 million) from Friday to Sunday. It has sold a cumulative total of 1.10 million tickets for 1,503,037,850 yen (about US$13.72 million).
The film earned 696,434,440 yen (about US$6.31 million) in its first three days to top the Japanese box office in its opening weekend.
The film was slated to open in Japan last October, but was delayed to 2021 due to the effects of the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Japan. The production halted filming in April 2020 due to COVID-19. The film opened on July 9. Tsutomu Hanabusa (live-action Kakegurui, Miseinen dakedo Kodomo ja Nai) directed the film. Rock band SUPER BEAVER performed the film’s theme song “Namae o Yobu yo” (I’ll Call Your Name).
Wakui launched the manga in Kodansha‘s Weekly Shōnen Magazine in March 2017, and Kodansha published the manga’s 22nd compiled book volume on April 16. Kodansha Comics is publishing the manga digitally in English, and it published the 20th volume digitally in English on April 13. The manga is also inspiring a television anime that premiered on April 10.
Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment‘s Godzilla vs. Kong film dropped from #2 to #3 in its third weekend. It earned 113,551,650 yen (about US$1.03 million) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 1,412,638,100 yen (about US$12.89 million).
The film earned 464 million yen (about US$4.18 million) and topped the Japanese box office in its opening weekend. The film sold 293,000 tickets over the weekend, and 390,000 tickets over its first three days (including Friday). The film earned more than 600 million (about US$5.4 million) in its first three days. The film opened in Japan on July 2, delayed from its original May 14 opening.
The film has earned over US$100 million in the United States, where it opened on March 31. The film opened internationally on March 26 in territories where the HBO Max streaming service is not available.
Actor Shun Oguri (live-action Gintama, Gokusen, Hana Yori Dango) made his Hollywood acting debut as an “important role” in the film. The cast also includes Julian Dennison (Deapool 2), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Demian Bichir (The Nun), Eiza González (Baby Driver), Alexander Skarsgård (Big Little Lies), Rebecca Hall (The Prestige, Iron Man 3), Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist), Kyle Chandler (The Wolf of Wall Street, Manchester by the Sea), Lance Reddick (Bosch, John Wick), Van Marten (Avengers: Infinity War), and Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
Adam Wingard (Death Note, The Guest, You’re Next) directed the film.
The live-action film of Mayu Murata‘s Honey Lemon Soda manga stayed at #4 in its second weekend. The film earned 91,824,240 yen (about US$838,500) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 441,128,720 yen (about US$4.02 million).
The film ranked at #4 in its opening weekend. The film earned 236,237,400 yen (about US$2.14 million) in its first three days. The film opened on July 9.
Kōji Shintoku (live-action Peach Girl, Honey So Sweet films) directed the film, with a script by Nami Kikkawa. Male idol group Snow Man performed the film’s theme song “HELLO HELLO.”
Murata launched the manga in Shueisha‘s Ribon magazine in December 2015.
The manga centers on Uka Ishimori, who did not have any good memories of her middle school years. Now 15 years old and in high school, Uka is trying to “graduate” from her past self, but it isn’t going well. That’s when she meets her classmate Kai, who has lemon-colored hair.
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time (Shin Evangelion Gekijō-ban :||), the “final” Evangelion film, dropped from #5 to #6 in its 19th weekend. The film earned 61,032,550 yen (about US$557,200) from Friday to Sunday, and has sold a cumulative total of 6.64 million tickets for 10,153,541,230 yen (about US$92.70 million). It is now #35 on the all-time ranking at the Japanese box office.
The film’s new Evangelion: 3.0+1.01 version began playing on June 12 for the film’s “last run.” The new version contains “minor revisions” to some animation sequences, but does not change the film’s story.
The film opened in Japan on March 8, and ranked #1 in its opening weekend.
In its third week, the film surpassed the domestic earnings of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, which earned a total of 5.3 billion yen. The new film is now the highest-earning film in the series domestically and internationally.
The staff had delayed the film from January 23 to March 8, after careful consideration due to the state of emergency declared in four prefectures in Japan on January 8, and then extended to a total of 11 prefectures. The film had an earlier delay due to concerns over COVID-19 and its spread inside and outside of Japan. The film was originally scheduled to open in Japan on June 27, 2020.
Rurouni Kenshin Saishūshō The Beginning, the second of two “final chapter” films in the live-action film series based on Nobuhiro Watsuki‘s Rurouni Kenshin manga, dropped from #7 to #9 in its seventh weekend. The film earned 41,973,430 yen (about US$383,300) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 2,252,696,830 yen (about US$20.56 million).
The film topped the Japanese box office in its opening weekend. The film sold 350,000 tickets for over 508 million yen (about US$4.7 million) in its opening weekend. The film opened on June 4.
The films were originally slated to open on July 3 and August 7 last year, but were delayed to this year due the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Rurouni Kenshin Saishūshō The Final has an original story that differs from the story in the manga. The film centers on the story from the manga’s “Jinchū” arc, which features Kenshin’s conflict with the mysterious weapons dealer Enishi. Rurouni Kenshin Saishūshō The Beginning tells the story of how Kenshin got his cross-shaped scar. Kasumi Arimura plays the character Tomoe Yukishiro in the films. Tomoe was Kenshin’s wife during his days as the assassin Battōsai, and her story ties into Kenshin’s iconic X-shaped scar. Kenshin and Tomoe’s relationship was previously portrayed in the Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal original video anime (OVA) project.
Keishi Ōtomo returned to direct the films. The rock band ONE OK ROCK returned to perform the theme song “Renegade” for the films.
The Fable: Korosanai Koroshiya, the second live-action film adaptation of Katsuhisa Minami’s The Fable manga, dropped from #6 to #9 in its fifth weekend. The film earned 41,655,760 yen (about US$380,200) from Friday to Sunday. The film has earned a cumulative total of 1,246,602,730 yen (about US$11.37 million).
The film ranked at #1 in its opening weekend.
Kan Eguchi returned to direct the new film, with Junichi Okada once again starring.
The first film ranked #2 in its opening weekend in June 2019.
In the manga, a fabled genius at killing resides somewhere hidden in Osaka. Taught since childhood to obey the orders of his boss, he is ordered to live in Osaka as a normal person for one year in order for the boss to lay low.
The Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway (Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senkō no Hathaway) anime film dropped out of the top 10 in its sixth weekend, but still earned 47,016,500 yen (about US$429,300) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 1,850,500,500 yen (about US$16.89 million). The Seven Deadly Sins: Cursed By Light (Nanatsu no Taizai: Hikari ni Norowareshi Mono-tachi) anime film also dropped off the top 10 in its third weekend.
Kakushigoto: Himegoto wa Nan Desu ka (What is a Secret?), the theatrical compilation film for the the television anime of Kōji Kumeta‘s Kakushigoto manga, stayed at #1 on the mini-theater ranking in its second weekend. The film opened in Japan on July 9.
Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), The Mainichi Shimbun’s Mantan Web, Eiga.com, comScore via KOFIC
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