News

Japanese Box Office, July 12-13

The live-action film adaptation of Kanae Hazuki's Suki-tte Ii na yo. (Say I Love You.) manga premiered this week at #2. The story of first love centers around Mei Tachibana (Haruna Kawaguchi), a girl who has never made friends, and Yamato Kurosawa (Sōta Fukushi), the school's most popular boy. British boy band One Direction performed the film's theme song. The film did not rank on Box Office Mojo's chart.

The American live-action film All You Need Is Kill (Edge of Tomorrow), based on the novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, fell from #2 to #3 in its second week. Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star in the film about a man who relives the same war against aliens over again each time he dies. The novel also spawned a manga by artist Takeshi Obata (Hikaru no Go, Death Note, Bakuman.) and writer Ryōsuke Takeuchi (ST&RS). The film ranked #2 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned 186,416,926 yen (US$1,839,475) on 632 screens over the weekend for a total of 867,608,338 yen (US$8,560,605).

Ju-On: Owari no Hajimari (Curse Grudge: Beginning of the End) stayed at #6 in its third weekend. The newest film in the Grudge/Ju-On series stars Nozomi Sasaki as a schoolteacher named Yui who goes to investigate her student's home after he is absent. The student (Kai Kobayashi) lives in a house hiding a horrific secret. Yui must relive the horrors that took place there 10 years ago and find the truth hiding in the home. The film ranked #5 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned 55,420,003 yen (US$546,818) on 122 screens for a new total of 324,191,485 yen (US$3,198,733).

Soreike! Anpanman: Ringo Bōya to Minna no Negai (Let's Go! Anpanman: The Apple Boy and Everyone's Wishes), the latest film starring the kids' character Anpanman, fell from #5 to #7 in its second weekend. In the film, which is the first film in the series since creator Takashi Yanase's passing last year, Anpanman teams up with his rival Baikinman to help a guest character named Ringo Bōya (Apple Boy) find the magic seed and save the world's apples from poison. Mao Inoue and Keisuke Okada guest star as Ringo Bōya and the black witch Majoora, respectively. The film will air along with the short film Tanoshikute Asobi: Mama ni Natta Kokin-Chan. The film ranked #7 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned 48,858,963 yen (US$482,110) on 152 screens for a new total of 156,132,085 yen (US$1,540,540).

K: Missing Kings, the film sequel to the K television series, opened this week at #10. The film premiered in North America in the same week, though Los Angeles' Anime Expo and Paris' Japan Expo previously held the world premiere. The film did not rank on Box Office Mojo's chart.

The documentary film Documentary of AKB48 The Time has come Shōjo-tachi wa, Ima, Sono Senaka ni Nani wo Omou? fell from #10 to #12 on Box Office Mojo's chart in its second weekend and earned 15,988,954 yen (US$157,791) on 126 screens for a new total of 99,716,494 yen (US$984,052). The film, which is the fourth documentary about the idol group, will cover the group's activities from January 2013 to June 2014, with particular focus on the recent attack on two of the group's members at a handshake event and reactions from the other members in the second half.

Sources: Kogyo Tsushinsha, Box Office Mojo