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Mamoru Hosoda's Belle Film at #1 Again as Demon Slayer Returns to Top 10

Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu's new Belle (Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime, literally "The Dragon and the Freckled Princess") anime film stayed at #1 in its second weekend. The film earned 523,357,700 yen (about US$4.74 million) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 2,437,411,900 yen (about US$22.11 million). The film has sold a total of 1.69 million tickets.

The film opened at #1 at the Japanese box office. The film sold more than 600,000 tickets for more than 891,663,200 yen (about US$8.14 million) in its first three days. Its opening was bigger than that of Hosoda's highest-earning film, The Boy and the Beast which eventually ended its run with 5.85 billion yen (about US$53 million).

Belle opened in Japan on July 16. The film has IMAX screenings in 38 theaters throughout Japan. This makes Belle the first of Hosoda's films to have IMAX screenings. France's Cannes Film Festival first screened the film in the festival's Cannes Premiere section on July 15. It marked the first Official Selection at the festival for Hosoda. (The director's previous Mirai film screened at the Directors' Fortnight, an independent section held in parallel to the festival, in 2018.)

GKIDS licensed the film for North America, and will release the film in English and in Japanese with English subtitles this winter.

Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars,The Boy and the Beast, Mirai) directed and scripted the film, and is also credited for the original work. The film marks Studio Chizu's 10th anniversary. Taisei Iwasaki (Blood Blockade Battlefront, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan, The Naked Director) is the film's music director and composer.

The live-action film of Ken Wakui's Tokyo Revengers manga stayed at #2 in its third weekend. The film earned 262,068,890 yen (about US$2.37 million) from Friday to Sunday. It has sold a cumulative total of 1.66 million tickets for 2,259,861,460 yen (about US$20.50 million).

The film earned 696,434,440 yen (about US$6.31 million) in its first three days to top the Japanese box office in its opening weekend.

The film was slated to open in Japan last October, but was delayed to 2021 due to the effects of the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Japan. The production halted filming in April 2020 due to COVID-19. The film opened on July 9. Tsutomu Hanabusa (live-action Kakegurui, Miseinen Dakedo Kodomo ja Nai) directed the film. Rock band Super Beaver performed the film's theme song "Namae o Yobu yo" (I'll Call Your Name).

Wakui launched the manga in Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine in March 2017, and Kodansha published the manga's 22nd compiled book volume on April 16. Kodansha Comics is publishing the manga digitally in English, and it published the 20th volume digitally in English on April 13. The manga is also inspiring a television anime that premiered on April 10.

The Kamen Rider Saber ＋ Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger: Superhero Senki crossover film ranked at #3 in its opening weekend.

The live-action film of Mayu Murata's Honey Lemon Soda manga stayed at #4 (in tickets sold) in its third weekend. The film earned 64,573,960 yen (about US$585,700) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 642,229,320 yen (about US$5.82 million).

The film ranked at #4 in its opening weekend. The film earned 236,237,400 yen (about US$2.14 million) in its first three days. The film opened on July 9.

Kōji Shintoku (live-action Peach Girl, Honey So Sweet films) directed the film, with a script by Nami Kikkawa. Male idol group Snow Man performed the film's theme song "HELLO HELLO."

Murata launched the manga in Shueisha's Ribon magazine in December 2015.

The manga centers on Uka Ishimori, who did not have any good memories of her middle school years. Now 15 years old and in high school, Uka is trying to "graduate" from her past self, but it isn't going well. That's when she meets her classmate Kai, who has lemon-colored hair.

Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's Godzilla vs. Kong film dropped from #3 to #5 in its fourth weekend. It earned 73,979,700 yen (about US$671,100) from Friday to Sunday, and has a cumulative total of 1.07 million tickets for 1,638,719,050 yen (about US$14.86 million).

The film earned 464 million yen (about US$4.18 million) and topped the Japanese box office in its opening weekend. The film sold 293,000 tickets over the weekend, and 390,000 tickets over its first three days (including Friday). The film earned more than 600 million (about US$5.4 million) in its first three days. The film opened in Japan on July 2, delayed from its original May 14 opening.

The film has earned over US$100 million in the United States, where it opened on March 31. The film opened internationally on March 26 in territories where the HBO Max streaming service is not available.

Actor Shun Oguri (live-action Gintama, Gokusen, Hana Yori Dango) made his Hollywood acting debut as an "important role" in the film. The cast also includes Julian Dennison (Deapool 2), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Demian Bichir (The Nun), Eiza González (Baby Driver), Alexander Skarsgård (Big Little Lies), Rebecca Hall (The Prestige, Iron Man 3), Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist), Kyle Chandler (The Wolf of Wall Street, Manchester by the Sea), Lance Reddick (Bosch, John Wick), Van Marten (Avengers: Infinity War), and Ziyi Zhang (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).

Adam Wingard (Death Note, The Guest, You're Next) directed the film.

Demon Slayer - Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train rose back to #7 in its 41st weekend, ranking in the top 10 again for the first time since it dropped off two months ago. The film is screening again at over 380 theaters in Japan from July 22-29 as a limited-time "final screening" run.

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 began screening the film in theaters in North America on April 23, and will release the film digitally on June 22.

Rurouni Kenshin Saishūshō The Beginning, the second of two "final chapter" films in the live-action film series based on Nobuhiro Watsuki's Rurouni Kenshin manga, stayed at #8 in its eighth weekend. The film earned 41,973,430 yen (about US$316,000) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 2,356,766,860 yen (about US$21.38 million).

The film topped the Japanese box office in its opening weekend. The film sold 350,000 tickets for over 508 million yen (about US$4.7 million) in its opening weekend. The film opened on June 4. Netflix will begin streaming the film outside Japan on July 30.

The films were originally slated to open on July 3 and August 7 last year, but were delayed to this year due the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Rurouni Kenshin Saishūshō The Final has an original story that differs from the story in the manga. The film centers on the story from the manga's "Jinchū" arc, which features Kenshin's conflict with the mysterious weapons dealer Enishi. Rurouni Kenshin Saishūshō The Beginning tells the story of how Kenshin got his cross-shaped scar. Kasumi Arimura plays the character Tomoe Yukishiro in the films. Tomoe was Kenshin's wife during his days as the assassin Battōsai, and her story ties into Kenshin's iconic X-shaped scar. Kenshin and Tomoe's relationship was previously portrayed in the Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal original video anime (OVA) project.

Keishi Ōtomo returned to direct the films. The rock band ONE OK ROCK returned to perform the theme song "Renegade" for the films.

Tobidase! Narase! Pui Pui Molcar, the Pui Pui Molcar stop-motion series' compilation film, ranked at #9 in its opening weekend.

The film opened in Japan on July 22, and will run for a two-week limited engagement. The film takes all 12 episodes and compiles them into an MX4D theatrical film. The film will also screen in 3D.

The stop-motion series premiered on January 5 within TV Tokyo's Kinder TV children's variety program. The series centers on guinea pigs who have become cars (the title word "Molcar" combines "car" with "morumotto," the Japanese word for "guinea pig" and a variant of the English word "marmot"). Netflix began streaming the series worldwide outside of some Asian territories in March.

The series utilizes stop-motion animated puppets made of wool felt.

This series marked Tomoki Misato's directorial debut on an animated television series. Misato also wrote the script, and he worked on the storyboards along with Hana Ono and Katsura Satō. The series' animators included Misato, Ikuko Iwatsuki, Katsura Satō, and Makoto Takano. The artists included Misato, Ikuko Iwatsuki, Katsura Satō, Harune Satō, and Michiko Kaihatsu. Shota Kowatsu composed the music.

The Mobile Suit Gundam: Hathaway (Kidō Senshi Gundam: Senkō no Hathaway) anime film is still out of the top 10 in its seventh weekend, but earned 35,128,200 yen (about US$318,700) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 1,954,119,500 yen (about US$17.73 million). The film earned more this past weekend than Rurouni Kenshin Saishūshō The Beginning to rank #6 strictly in terms of earnings (Japanese box office rankings are based on the number of ticket sold, not how much yen was earned).

The Fable: Korosanai Koroshiya, the second live-action film adaptation of Katsuhisa Minami's The Fable manga, dropped off the top 10 in its sixth weekend, but still earned 31,438,670 yen (about US$285,200 from Friday to Sunday), and has earned a cumulative total of 1,338,822,030 yen (about US$12.14 million).

The Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet (Meitantei Conan: Hiiro no Dangan) is still out of the top 10 in its 15th weekend, but still earned 27,188,000 yen (about US$246,600) from Friday to Sunday, and has earned a cumulative total of 7,479,317,860 yen (about US$67.86 million).

Kakushigoto: Himegoto wa Nan Desu ka (What is a Secret?), the theatrical compilation film for the the television anime of Kōji Kumeta's Kakushigoto manga, dropped from #1 to #5 on the mini-theater ranking in its third weekend. The film opened in Japan on July 9.

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