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Live-Action Usogui Drops to #10, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Film Stays at #1

The Gekijō-ban Jujutsu Kaisen 0 anime film stayed at #1 in its ninth weekend. The film sold 213,000 tickets and earned 336 million yen (about US$2.93 million) over the weekend.

The movie has sold a total of 8.34 million tickets and earned 11.6 billion yen (about US$101 million) since it opened on December 24, and is currently the 27th highest-grossing film in Japan of all time.

The film is now the #1 highest-earning film at the Japanese box office from the 2021 calendar year, after surpassing Evangelion: 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon A Time, according to the Mainichi Shimbun paper's Mantan Web.

The film earned 2,694,128,150 yen (about US$23.5 million) in its first three days, and topped the box office chart for its opening weekend. The film also has IMAX, 4D, and Dolby Cinema screenings. The film will open with English subtitles and with an English dub in the U.S. and Canada on March 18.

The film is based on Gege Akutami's Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Tokyo Toritsu Jujutsu Kōtō Senmon Gakkō (Jujutsu Kaisen 0: Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School) manga prequel story, with MAPPA animating again and Toho distributing. Viz Media released the Jujutsu Kaisen 0 manga in January 2021, and it describes the story:

Yuta Okkotsu is a nervous high school student who is suffering from a serious problem—his childhood friend Rika has turned into a Curse and won't leave him alone. Since Rika is no ordinary Curse, his plight is noticed by Satoru Gojo, a teacher at Jujutsu High, a school where fledgling exorcists learn how to combat Curses. Gojo convinces Yuta to enroll, but can he learn enough in time to confront the Curse that haunts him?

Megumi Ogata voiced the main character Yuta Okkotsu, and Kana Hanazawa voiced the character Rika Orimoto.

The live-action film of Toshio Sako's Usogui (The Lie Eater) manga dropped from #5 to #10 in its second weekend.

The film opened on February 11. A companion live-action four-episode web series titled Usogui -Kurama Ranko-hen/Kaji Takaomi-hen- (The Lie Eater -Ranko Kurama's Story/Takaomi Kaji's Story) began streaming on the dTV streaming service on the same day.

The film stars Ryūsei Yokohama as the protagonist Baku Madarame. Hayato Sano plays Baku's partner Takaomi Kaji. Hideo Nakata (Ring, Dark Water, L change the WorLd) directed the film. B'z performed the film's theme song "Live."

The story of Usogui follows a brilliant gambler named Baku "Usogui" Madarame as he lays down his life as the wager for various games.

Sako began the Usogui manga in 2006, and ended it in December 2017. The manga has 49 volumes. Sako launched a spinoff manga titled Usogui -Rikkainin Yakō Hikoichi- (The Lie Eater: Referree Hikoichi Yakō) in Weekly Young Jump in October 2021, and ended it in November 2021. The main manga inspired an original video animation (OVA) bundled with the manga's 26th volume in 2012.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, the first live-action film reboot of CAPCOM's Resident Evil survival horror game franchise, dropped off the top 10 in its fourth weekend. Shika no Ō: Yuna to Yakusoku no Tabi (The Deer King: The Promised Journey With Yuna), the anime film of Nahoko Uehashi's Shika no Ō (The Deer King) medical fantasy novel series, also dropped off the top 10 in its third weekend.

The Fruits Basket -prelude- compilation film ranked at #1 in the mini-theater ranking in its opening weekend. The film sold 20,000 tickets and earned 33 million yen (about US$287,000) on Friday and Saturday, its first two days in theaters.

The film opened in 25 theaters on Friday.

The film includes the Kyо̄ko to Katsuya no Monogatari (Kyо̄ko and Katsuya's Story) anime that centers on the backstory of Tohru's parents Kyoko and Katsuya, which the 2019-2021 series did not adapt. The film also includes new scenes — written specifically for the film by original manga creator Natsuki Takaya — depicting events from after the television anime's story. Additionally, filmgoers from February 18 to March 4 will receive a 20-page booklet with a 16-page epilogue manga story newly created by Takaya.

The 2019-2021 television anime's main staff at TMS Entertainment and main cast returned for the film. Miyuki Sawashiro voices Kyoko Honda and Yoshimasa Hosoya voices Katsuya Honda. The Blu-ray Disc release of the film became available on the same day it opened in theaters.

Ōhashi Trio performed the film's theme song "Niji to Kaito" (Rainbow and Kite).

The second part of The Orbital Children (Chikyūgai Shōnen Shōjo or Extra-Terrestrial Boys & Girls), director and writer Mitsuo Iso's first new original anime since 2007's Dennō Coil, dropped from #1 to #3 in the mini-theater rankings in its second weekend.

The anime is screening in two parts theatrically in Japan. The first part opened on January 28, and the second part opened on February 11. Each part will screen for two weeks only in theaters. The theatrical project also has a simultaneous release on Blu-ray Disc and DVD.

Netflix also debuted the anime outside of Japan on January 28 as a six-episode series.

Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2, link 3), Eiga.com