News

Japanese Box Office, September 22-23

Keishi Ōtomo's live-action film adaptation of Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin manga fell from No. 3 to No. 4 during its fifth 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$1,329,203 on 313 screens for a gross total of US$33,706,514.

Gekijō-ban Tiger & Bunny -The Beginning-, the first of two anime films based on Sunrise's Tiger & Bunny television anime series, debuted at No. 5. The film focuses on the story from the first television episodes, with new anime shots added. The film ranked at No. 3 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned US$1,503,385 on 70 screens for a per-screen average of US$21,477, the highest average of the weekend.

The live-action film adaptation of Fujio Akatsuka's shōjo comedy manga Himitsu no Akko-chan fell from No. 10 to No. 11 on Box Office Mojo's chart during its fourth 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$460,330 on 217 screens for a new total of US$6,605,176.

Mamoru Hosoda's Ōkami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (Wolf Children) film rose from No. 14 to No. 12 during its 10th 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$422,904 on 381 screens for a new total of US$52,050,011.

The fourth live-action film based on Shuho Sato's (Say Hello to Black Jack, The Isle of TOKKOU) Umizaru coast guard manga fell from Box Office Mojo's chart during its 11th weekend. Shinji Aramaki's Starship Troopers: Invasion CG film also fell from Box Office Mojo's chart in its 10th weekend.

Box Office Mojo lists Resident Evil: Retribution as the top-grossing film for the second consecutive weekend, earning US$6,326,277, but Kogyo Tsushinsha lists the film at No 2.

Sources: Kogyo Tsunshinsha, Box Office Mojo