News

Japanese Box Office, May 4-5

Meitantei Conan: Zekkai no Private Eye (Detective Conan: Private Eye in the Distant Sea), the 17th Detective Conan (Case Closed) film, stayed at #1 during its third weekend. The movie is set on a state-of-the art Aegis vessel with the full cooperation of Japan's real-life Ministry of Defense and Maritime Self-Defense Force. The corpse of a Self-Defense Force member has been found — minus the left arm — and a spy has infiltrated the Aegis vessel. The heroine Ran is put in jeopardy, and Conan is forced to stand up against the dangerous Spy "X." Kobun Shizuno is returning from the last few Detective Conan films to direct the latest one at TMS and V1 Studio. The television anime's cast members are reprising their respective roles. The film earned 456,086,277 yen (US$4,491,537) on 344 screens for a new total of 2,523,787,135 yen (US$24,854,255).

The live-action film adaptation of Hiro Arikawa Toshokan Sensō/Library Wars novels rose from #4 to #3 during its second weekend. The film stars V6 idol group member Junichi Okada (Tales from Earthsea, From Up On Poppy Hill) as Atsushi Dōjō, and Nana Eikura (Mei-chan no Shitsuji, Boku wa Imōto ni Koi o Suru) as Iku Kasahara. Shinsuke Satō (Gantz, Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror, The Princess Blade, Sand Chronicles) directed the film. The film earned 225,703,466 yen (US$2,222,727) on 311 screens for a new total of 848,306,662 yen (US$8,354,124).

This year's Crayon Shin-chan film, Eiga Crayon Shin-chan: Bakauma—! B-Kyū Gourmet Survival!!, rose from #6 to #4 in its third weekend. In the story, B-grade cuisine is in danger of being wiped out without a special sauce, and it is up to the mischievous kindergartener Shin-chan to ferry the sauce to safety. Masakazu Hashimoto (Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, Tari Tari) is directing his first Crayon Shin-chan movie after storyboarding 2008's Crayon Shin-chan: Chō Arashi o Yobu Kinpoko no Yūsha and 2011's Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi o Yobu Ōgon no Spy Daisakusen. Yoshio Urasawa (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, Fushigi Yugi) and Kimiko Ueno (Kuromajyo-san ga Tōru!!) wrote the screenplay. The film ranked at #5 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned 197,383,283 yen (US$1,943,830) on 330 screens for a new total of 864,462,822 yen (US$8,513,229).

The live-action Kamen Rider x Super Sentai x Uchū Keiji Super Hero Taisen Z film fell from #3 to #6 during its second weekend. The film earned 139,111,331 yen (US$1,369,968) on 289 screens for a new total of 618,762,056 yen (US$6,093,568).

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods stayed at #8 during its sixth 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 ranked at #7 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned 87,092,228 yen (US$857,684) on 313 screens for a new total of 2,887,191,894 yen (US$28,433,065).

The Steins;Gate Fuka Ryōiki no Déjà vu film fell from #7 to #12 on Box Office Mojo's chart during its third weekend. The film has an original story set after the "true end" of the earlier story. Kanji Wakabayashi is directing the film with supervisor Tarou Deji and chief directors Takuya Satō and Hiroshi Hamasaki. Tatsuya Matsubara and Naotaka Hayashi are supervising the story scenario, and Jukki Hanada is writing the screenplay. Kyuuta Sakai is once again adapting huke's original character designs for anime and overseeing the animation process at WHITE FOX. The main cast is also returning. The film earned 37,712,220 yen (US$371,389) on 18 screens for a new total of 319,125,723 yen (US$3,142,750).

The 2013 Doraemon film, Doraemon: Nobita no Himitsu Dōgu Museum (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum), fell from #11 to #13 on Box Office Mojo's chart during its ninth 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 earned 35,626,750 yen (US$350,852) on 326 screens for a new total of 3,954,539,719 yen (US$38,944,307). (Note: Box Office Mojo had listed last week that as of April 28, the film had earned 4,012,659,633 yen or US$40,515,824.)

Sources: Kogyo Tsushinsha, Box Office Mojo