News
Japanese Box Office, March 17-18
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Doraemon: Nobita to Kiseki no Shima ~Animal Adventure~, this year's Doraemon film, stayed at No. 1 during its third weekend. The story takes the robot cat Doraemon, his owner Nobita, and their friends to an island paradise full of animals that would have otherwise gone extinct. The film guest stars Nana Mizuki, Kouichi Yamadera, Masako Nozawa, and Atsuko Tanaka. The film earned US$3,660,556 on 359 screens for a gross-to-date of US$17,893,939.
The first film in Takahiro Miki's two-part live-action film adaptation of Yuuki Obata's We Were There (Bokura ga Ita) romance manga debuted at No. 2. Toma Ikuta (Akihabara @ DEEP) and Yuriko Yoshitaka (Gantz) lead the films' cast. The story follows a girl named Nanami Takahashi (Yoshitaka) as she struggles with her decade-long relationship with Motoharu Yano (Ikuta), her high school's most popular boy who has his own issues from his past. The film earned US$3,640,449 on 295 screens.
The Precure All Stars New Stage: Mirai no Tomodachi film debuted at No. 3. The film is the fourth to unite all 28 main characters from the Precure magical girl franchise. The film earned US$2,409,154 on 172 screens.
The manga-based Liar Game: Reborn (Liar Game -Saisei-) live-action film fell from No. 3 to No. 5 during its third weekend. Shota Matsuda (Hana Yori Dango [2005]) reprises his lead role as the genius Akiyama from Shinobu Kaitani's Liar Game psychological thriller manga. Mikako Tabe (Kimi ni Todoke) plays the heroine Yū in a new game, while Mana Ashida (Usagi Drop/Bunny Drop) goes against typecasting as Alice, a member of the Liar Game organization. The film ranked at No. 6 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned US$2,032,949 on 318 screens for a new total of US$15,529,045.
The Strike Witches anime film debuted at No. 11. Kazuhiro Takamura returned from the two previous Strike Witches television anime series to direct the film. The film earned US$498,345 on 18 screens, giving it an earnings average of US$27,686 per screen.
The live-action film adaptation of Bisco Hatori's Ouran High School Host Club romantic comedy manga debuted at No. 12. 17-year-old actress Haruna Kawaguchi (Yankee-kun to Megane-chan, Moshidora) reprises her lead role as Haruhi in the film. The film depicts an aspect of the story not seen in the live-action television series, although Hatori herself is collaborating on the script. The film earned US$489,938 on 145 screens.
Always: Sunset on Third Street '64, the third live-action film based on Ryohei Saigan's nostalgic San-chōme no Yūhi - Yūyake no Uta manga directed by Takashi Yamazaki (live-action Space Battleship Yamato, Returner, Ballad) fell from No. 9 to No. 15 on Box Office Mojo's chart during its ninth weekend. The original manga, a 1990-1991 television anime series adaptation, and the first two live-action films followed the lives of people in a Tokyo neighborhood as the iconic Tokyo Tower rises above them. The film earned US$190,169 on 323 screens for a gross-to-date total of US$40,757,117.
The live-action film adaptation of Hikaru Nakamura's Arakawa Under the Bridge manga did not rank on Box Office Mojo's chart but the website noted that it earned US$685 on one screen during its seventh weekend for a new total of US$3,323,524.
Takashi Miike's live-action adaptation of Capcom's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) video game franchise and the live-action film adaptation of Masaharu Noritsuke's Afro Tanaka comedy manga fell off of Box Office Mojo's chart during their sixth and fifth weekends, respectively.
Sources: Kogyo Tsushinsha, Box Office Mojo
follow-up of Japanese Box Office, March 10-11
