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Final Evangelion Film Stays at #1 in 5th Weekend at Japanese Box Office

Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time (Shin Evangelion Gekijō-ban :||), the "final" Evangelion film, stayed at #1 in its fifth weekend. The film sold 161,000 tickets over the weekend, and earned 265,203,150 yen (about US$2.42 million) from Friday to Sunday. It has sold a total of 4.84 million tickets and has earned a cumulative 7,426,243,700 yen (about US$67.8 million).

In its third week, the film surpassed the domestic earnings of Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, which earned a total of 5.3 billion yen. The new film is now the highest-earning film in the series domestically and internationally.

The film ranked #1 in its opening weekend. The film sold 2,194,533 tickets for 3,338,422,400 yen (about US$30.6 million) in its first seven days in 466 theaters in Japan. The film sold 33.6% more tickets for 45.1% more yen than the previous Evangelion film during their respective first seven days. The film earned the equivalent of US$3.4 million in 38 IMAX theaters during its first seven days— the second-highest opening week for IMAX screenings of a domestic title in Japan, behind only last year's Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train. Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 also played in 82 theaters equipped for 4D screenings.

The staff had delayed the film from January 23 to March 8, after careful consideration due to the new state of emergency declared in four prefectures in Japan on January 8, and then extended to a total of 11 prefectures. The film had an earlier delay due to concerns over the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its spread inside and outside of Japan. The film was originally scheduled to open in Japan on June 27, 2020.

The live-action film of CAPCOM's Monster Hunter game franchise stayed at #3 in its third weekend in Japan. The film earned 91,620,550 yen (about US$836,300) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold a total of 640,000 tickets and earned a cumulative total of 972,890,700 yen (about US$8.88 million).

The film earned 256,244,150 yen (about US$2.33 million) to rank #2 in its opening weekend. The film opened in Japan on March 26.

The film opened in the United States on December 18 last year. The film earned US$2.2 million to rank at #1 in its opening three days in the United States box office.

The film stars Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil movie franchise) as film-original character Captain Natalie Artemis and martial arts actor Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak film series) as "The Hunter." Additionally, Ron Perlman (Hellboy film series, Pacific Rim, Sons of Anarchy) plays the Admiral, who is the leader of The Hunter's crew. T.I. Harris (Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp) plays a sniper named Link, Diego Boneta (Luis Miguel: La Serie, Pretty Little Liars) plays Sergeant Marshall, and Hirona Yamazaki plays the Handler. Meagan Good and Josh Helman also have roles in the film.

Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train fell from #2 to #4 in its 26th weekend. The film earned 71,882,500 yen (about US$656,200) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold a total of 28.69 million tickets for 39,620,710,050 yen (about US$361.7 million).

After 12 consecutive weeks at #1 in the box office in Japan, Demon Slayer – Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train dropped to #2 during the January 9-10 weekend, its 13th weekend. The film had ranked in the top three spots weekly in Japan since then, until its 22nd weekend.

The film has surpassed Hayao Miyazaki's 2002 Spirited Away, its last rival for all-time highest earnings in Japanese box office history. (Spirited Away earned 30.8 billion yen in its original run, but has since earned a total of 31.68 billion yen after last summer's revival screenings.) The film has also surpassed Spirited Away as the #1 highest-earning Japanese film of all time worldwide.

The main staff members of the previous television anime returned for the sequel film. TOHO and Aniplex are handling the film's distribution in Japan. Funimation and Aniplex of America will screen the film in theaters in North America starting on April 23, and will release the film digitally on June 22.

Eiga Healin' Good ♥ Precure Yume no Machi de Kyun! tto GoGo!, Toei Animation's 18th anime film in the Precure franchise, dropped from #8 to #9 (in tickets sold) in its fourth weekend. The film earned 24,789,320 yen (about US$226,200) from Friday to Sunday. It has sold a total of 340,000 tickets, and earned a cumulative total of 407,246,350 yen (about US$3.71 million).

The film opened on March 20, and debuted at #4. The film sold 96,000 tickets and earned 115 million yen (about US$1.05 million) in its opening weekend.

Tropical-Rouge! Precure, Toei Animation's 18th Precure television anime series, has a "Tropical-Rouge! Precure Petit Tobikome! Collabo▽Dance Party!" (Tropical-Rouge! Precure the Movie: Petit Dive! Collaboration▽Dance Party!) short that screens with the Healin' Good Precure film.

Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin, Eiga.com, comScore via KOFIC