News
Japanese Box Office, January 19–20
posted on by Egan Loo
All anime/manga films that were playing at the Japanese box office during the January 19–20 weekend were pushed off the top ten list by four new overseas films. Takuji Kitamura's quirky Negative Happy Chain Saw Edge (pictured right) did open this past weekend, but at #14 with the equivalent of US$138,225 in earnings (Box Office Mojo). The film adapts a light novel by Tatsuhiko Takimoto (Welcome to the N.H.K.) about a boy who meets a seemingly ordinary high school girl named Eri. Eri just happens to fight a chainsaw-wielding giant every night. Kadokawa Shoten is publishing a manga adaptation in its Monthly Shōnen Ace magazine. This past weekend's four new foreign films were #1's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, #4 Mr. Bean's Holiday, #8's Silk and #9's 28 Weeks Later.
Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion - Mō Hitotsu no Hyōrinmaru, Noriyuki Abe's second film based on the Bleach television anime series and manga, fell again from the #10 spot to #12 in its fifth weekend. It added US$160,814 to its US$6,772,370 gross-to-date. Always Zoku San-chōme no Yūhi (Always: Sunset on Third Street 2) finally dropped from #8 to #13 in its 12th weekend. Takashi Yamazaki's second film based on Ryōhei Saigan's Sanchoume no Yuuhi - Yuuyake no Uta manga took in US$146,206 for a US$39,977,409 total haul. Eiga de Tōjō! Tamagotchi Doki Doki! Uchū no Maigotchi!? (Appearing on Film! Tamagotchi!: Lost in Space!?), the first feature-length film based on the toys that spawned the virtual pet fad, dropped from #9 to #18. It earned US$71,125 in its fifth weekend to add to its US$6,784,907 total so far.
follow-up of Japanese Box Office, January 12–13
