News
Japanese Box Office, April 13-14
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods stayed at #1 during its third weekend. The film is set between the 517th and 518th installments of Akira Toriyama's original manga. Specifically, it is set during the "lost decade" of story time after the end of the battle with Majin Buu. It features new characters Birusu — the God of Destruction played by Kouichi Yamadera — and his attendant Wisu (Masakazu Morita). The film earned 241,181,071 yen (US$2,422,712) on 312 screens for a new total of 2,322,390,094 yen (US$23,328,872).
The 2013 Doraemon film, Doraemon: Nobita no Himitsu Dōgu Museum (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum), fell from #3 to #4 during its sixth weekend. The movie begins when the signature bell of the titular robot cat Doraemon has been stolen. To get it back, Nobita and his friends have to go to the museum where all of Doraemon's gadgets originate. The film ranked at #6 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned 91,754,083 yen (US$921,688) on 353 screens for a new total of 3,924,524,639 yen (US$39,422,634).
The Precure All Stars New Stage 2: Kokoro no Tomodachi film fell #6 to #8 in its fifth weekend. The film is the fifth to unite all the main characters from the Precure magical girl franchise. The story begins when all the magical girls receive an invitation to the fairies' school for a Precure party. The film ranked at #9 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned 38,057,840 yen (US$382,298) on 174 screens for a new total of 1,007,955,264 yen (US$10,125,112).
The Eiga Hana Kappa Hana-sake! Pakkaan Chō no Kuni no Daibōken film debuted at #10. The anime adapts Tadashi Akiyama's Hana Kappa-kun picture books and newspaper manga about a kappa (mystical Japanese river creature) who happens to have a flower (hana) growing out of his head. Hana Kappa lives with his father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother in a verdant village known as Yamabiko. In the film, butterfly warriors suddenly appear in Yamabiko and snatch away Hana Kappa's mother and others. Hana Kappa and his friends head out towards the mystery-filled land of butterflies. They overcome obstacles such as mountains and deserts and along the way, encounter a mysterious boy named Poru. The film ranked at #11 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned 22,725,440 yen (US$228,281) on 146 screens.
The live-action HK/Hentai Kamen film adaptation of Keishuu Andou's Ultimate!! Hentai Kamen manga ranked at #12 on Box Office Mojo's chart during its second weekend. Box Office Mojo did not list the film last weekend. Ryōhei Suzuki (live-action Gatchaman, Mei-chan no Shitsuji, Hana-Kimi, Yankee-kun to Megane-chan) stars as Kyōsuke Shikijō, a high school boy who transforms into a hero by wearing a panties mask — and little else. The film earned 17,173,040 yen (US$172,506) on 12 screens for a gross total of 23,333,119 yen (US$234,385).
The Toaru Majutsu no Index: Endymion no Kiseki (A Certain Magical Index: The Miracle of Endymion) film fell again from Box Office Mojo's chart in its eighth weekend.
Sources: Kogyo Tsushinsha, Box Office Mojo
follow-up of Japanese Box Office, April 6-7
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