News

Japanese Box Office, April 27-28

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 second 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 425,559,301 yen (US$4,296,872) on 344 screens for a new total of 1,381,188,256 yen (US$13,945,857).

The live-action Kamen Rider x Super Sentai x Uchū Keiji Super Hero Taisen Z film debuted at #3. The film was not listed on Box Office Mojo's chart.

The live-action film adaptation of Hiro Arikawa Toshokan Sensō/Library Wars novels debuted at #4. 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 Sato (Gantz, Oblivion Island: Haruka and the Magic Mirror, The Princess Blade, Sand Chronicles) directed the film. The film was not listed on Box Office Mojo's chart.

This year's Crayon Shin-chan film, Eiga Crayon Shin-chan: Bakauma—! B-Kyū Gourmet Survival!!, fell from #2 to #6 in its second 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 #3 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned 156,964,694 yen (US$1,584,872) on 330 screens for a new total of 432,701,890 yen (US$4,368,990).

Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods fell from #4 to #8 during its fifth 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 #5 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned 84,257,583 yen (US$850,748) on 313 screens for a new total of 2,759,637,888 yen (US$27,864,063).

The Steins;Gate Fuka Ryōiki no Déjà vu film fell from #6 to #7 on Box Office Mojo's chart during its second 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 52,648,361 yen (US$531,590) on 18 screens for a new total of 199,445,318 yen (US$2,013,799).

The 2013 Doraemon film, Doraemon: Nobita no Himitsu Dōgu Museum (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum), fell from #10 to #11 on Box Office Mojo's chart during its eighth 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 26,919,421 yen (US$271,805) on 326 screens for a new total of 4,012,659,633 yen (US$40,515,824).

The live-action HK/Hentai Kamen film adaptation of Keishuu Andou's Ultimate!! Hentai Kamen manga fell from Box Office Mojo's chart during its fourth weekend, the Precure All Stars New Stage 2: Kokoro no Tomodachi film fell from Box Office Mojo's chart in its seventh weekend, and the Eiga Hana Kappa Hana-sake! Pakkaan Chō no Kuni no Daibōken film fell from Box Office Mojo's chart during its third weekend.

Sources: Kogyo Tsushinsha, Box Office Mojo