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Godzilla Opens at #8, Detective Conan Stays at #1

Godzilla: Kessen Kidō Zōshoku Toshi (Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle), the second film in the Godzilla anime film trilogy, opened last Friday in 158 theaters in Japan. The film ranked #8 in its opening weekend.

Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (Godzilla: Kaijū Wakusei), the first film, opened in Japan last November. Netflix began streaming the film worldwide on January 17.

Kobun Shizuno (Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare and other Detective Conan movies, Fist of the North Star: The Legend of Kenshirô, Fist of the North Star: The Legend of Toki) and Hiroyuki Seshita (Ajin, Knights of Sidonia) are directing the films at Polygon Pictures. Gen Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero, Psycho-Pass) of Nitroplus is credited with the story concept and screenplay. Urobuchi is also responsible for series composition with Yūsuke Kozaki.

Meitantei Conan: Zero no Shikkōnin (Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer), the 22nd film in the Detective Conan series, remained at #1 at the box office in Japan in its sixth consecutive weekend. The film earned 217,834,300 yen (about US$1.96 million) from Friday to Sunday. The film has now earned 7,201,763,500 yen (about US$64.6 million) and has sold 5,526,858 tickets.

Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer had sold 1,289,000 tickets in its first three days to earn 1.67 billion yen (about US$15.6 million). The film's opening Saturday and Sunday sales represented 100.7% of the total that last year's Meitantei Conan Kara Kurenai no Love Letter film earned in its first Saturday and Sunday. Last year's film became the highest-grossing domestic film in Japan in 2017, earning a total of 6.89 billion yen (about US$61.1 million), which is also a franchise record. The film is now the highest-grossing film in the franchise, with TOHO aiming for the film to earn more than 8 billion yen (about US$71.9 million).

Yuzuru Tachikawa (Mob Psycho 100, Death Parade) directed the new film. The film is a sequel of the series' 20th film, Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare, and centers on Tōru "Zero" Amuro. Police chief Hyōe Kuroda, who is rumored to be Rum in the Black Organization, appears for the first time in a film for the franchise.

Eiga Crayon Shin-chan Bakumori! Kung-Fu Boys ~Ramen Tairan~ (Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Bakumori! Kung-Fu Boys Ramen Rebellion), the 26th Crayon Shin-chan film, dropped from #7 to #10 in its sixth weekend at the box office. The film earned 53,893,100 yen (about US$485,700) from Friday to Sunday, and has now cumulatively earned a total of 1,633,170,000 yen (about US$14.71 million).

The film had sold 315,000 tickets to earn 367 million yen (about US$3.42 million) in its opening weekend. The film is expected to earn more than 1.6 billion yen (about US$14.9 million). The opening weekend sales represent 111.2% of the total that last year's Eiga Crayon Shin-chan Shūrai! Uchūjin Shiriri (Crayon Shin-chan the Movie: Invasion! Alien Shiriri) film earned in its opening Saturday-Sunday weekend. Last year's film earned a total of 1.62 billion yen (about US$15.1 million) at the box office in Japan.

The kung-fu action film is set in a Chinatown named Aiyātown in Kusakabe, Saitama (the setting of the main series). Crayon Shin-chan Bakusui! Yumemi World Dai Totsugeki director Wataru Takahashi returned to direct the film. Eiga Crayon Shin-chan: Ora no Hikkoshi Monogatari ~Saboten Daishūgeki scriptwriter Kimiko Ueno wrote the script.

The live-action My Little Monster (Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun) film and the sixth episode of the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin anime both dropped off the top 10 this week. The latest Gundam release earned 22,460,900 more yen (about US$203,000) over the three days for a new total of 227,456,900 yen (about US$2.05 million).

Digimon Adventure tri.- Chapter 6: Our Future, the sixth and final film in the Digimon Adventure tri. series, ranked #1 once again in the mini-theater rankings in Japan in its third weekend. While the film was originally slated to screen for three weeks, some theaters in Japan will screen it for a fourth week. Theatergoers at the film's fourth-week screenings will receive a postcard with illustration by character designer Kenji Watanabe.

As with previous films in the series, theaters screening the film are also selling a limited-edition Blu-ray Disc. The film also debuted online for a fee on the same day in Japan. Crunchyroll is streaming the film as five episodes.

Sources: Eiga.com, Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), Eiga Natalie, comScore via KOFIC