News

Japanese Box Office, September 15-16

Keishi Ōtomo's live-action film adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin manga fell from No. 2 to No. 3 during its fourth weekend. Takeru Satoh (Kamen Rider Den-O, Rookies, Beck) stars in the film's titular role, and Emi Takei (Kyō, Koi o Hajimemasu, For Love's Sake/Ai to Makoto) plays the heroine Kaoru Kamiya. Yū Aoi (Hana and Alice, Honey and Clover) plays Megumi Takani, Munetaka Aoki (The Last Message Umizaru, live-action The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) plays Sanosuke Sagara, and Taketo Tanaka plays Yahiko Myōjin. Yōsuke Eguchi (Shōnan Bakusōzoku and Tokyo Love Story) as Hajime Saitō, Kouji Kikkawa (Let's Dance With Papa) as Jine Udō, and Teruyuki Kagawa (From Up On Poppy Hill, 20th Century Boys) as Kanryū Takeda round out the cast. The film earned US$2,061,833 on 313 screens for a gross total of US$30,083,065.

The live-action film adaptation of Fujio Akatsuka's shōjo comedy manga Himitsu no Akko-chan fell from No. 8 to No. 10 during its third weekend. In the manga, the title fifth-grader Akko-chan receives a magical compact from the mirror spirit. With the compact, Akko-chan can cast spells and transform herself into anything or anyone she wishes, and she uses the power to help others. In the film's updated romantic fantasy story, Akko-chan (Socrates in Love and Ichi's Haruka Ayase) begins as a 22-year-old woman whose life is transformed when she is offered a magical compact. Masaki Okada (Otomen, Mahō Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto, Space Bros./Uchū Kyōdai) will play the love interest, an "elite salaryman" at a cosmetics company. Over the course of the film, Akko-chan transforms into a figure skater, an airline cabin attendant, an office lady, a female police officer, a motorcycle racer, and more. The film earned US$663,465 on 217 screens for a new total of US$5,316,522.

Mamoru Hosoda's Ōkami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (Wolf Children) film fell from No. 10 to No. 14 during its ninth weekend. This is the latest film by the director of Summer Wars and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. The film's story covers 13 years and begins with a 19-year-old college student named Hana who encounters and falls in "fairy tale-like" love with a "wolf man." After marrying the wolf man, Hana gives birth and raises two wolf children — an older sister named Yuki ("snow") who was born on a snowy day, and a younger brother named Ame ("rain") who was born on a rainy day. When the wolf man suddenly dies, Hana decides to move to a rural town far removed from the city. The film earned US$516,881 on 381 screens for a new total of US$51,000,621.

The fourth live-action film based on Shuho Sato's (Say Hello to Black Jack, The Isle of TOKKOU) Umizaru coast guard manga, Brave Hearts Umizaru, fell from No. 11 to No. 15 during its 10th weekend. The film adapts the "largest sea disaster" from the original manga: the water landing of a jumbo jet. The film earned US$366,744 on 450 screens for a gross-to-date of US$91,331,832.

Shinji Aramaki's Starship Troopers: Invasion CG film earned $13 on one screen in its ninth weekend at No. 18 for a new total of US$192,567.

The live-action film adaption of Shohei Manabe's Ushijima the Loan Shark (Yamikin Ushijima-kun) manga fell from Box Office Mojo's chart in its fourth weekend. Gekijōban Pocket Monster Best Wishes! Kyurem Vs Seikenshi Keldeo also fell from Box Office Mojo's chart in its 10th weekend.

Box Office Mojo lists Resident Evil: Retribution as the top-grossing film of the weekend of September 15-16 earning US$8,650,515, but Kogyo Tsushinsha lists the film at No 2.

Sources: Kogyo Tsunshinsha, Box Office Mojo