In its opening weekend, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest film, “The Boy and the Heron” (Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka), dominated the Japanese box office. The film garnered 1.003 million tickets sold and approximately $13.2 million in revenue within its first three days in Japan. Over the long weekend from Friday to Monday, the film sold 1.353 million tickets and earned 2.149 billion yen (around $15.53 million), capitalizing on the Marine Day holiday in Japan. “The Boy and the Heron” outperformed Miyazaki’s acclaimed 2001 film “Spirited Away” within its first four days and earned 50% more revenue than his 2013 film “The Wind Rises.” The film set a new three-day opening record for IMAX screenings, generating over $1.7 million from 44 screens. Notably, “The Boy and the Heron” is the first Studio Ghibli film to have a simultaneous release in IMAX theaters. Additionally, the film is being showcased in Dolby Atmos, Dolby Cinema, and DTS:X formats. GKIDS has acquired the rights to distribute the film in North American theaters later this year. Hayao Miyazaki is credited as the original creator, director, and scriptwriter for the film. Takeshi Honda serves as the animation director, while Joe Hisaishi composed the music. Toshio Suzuki, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, is the producer. Kenshi Yonezu performs the theme song, “Chikyūgi” (Globe).©春場ねぎ・講談社/「五等分の花嫁∽」製作委員会
In its opening weekend, “The Quintessential Quintuplets ∽” (Gotōbun no Hanayome∽), the latest anime special in “The Quintessential Quintuplets” franchise, ranked third at the box office. The film sold 167,000 tickets and earned 191 million yen (approximately $1.38 million) within its first three days. Over the four-day long weekend, it sold 195,000 tickets and earned 222 million yen (about $1.60 million). The anime premiered in Japanese theaters on Friday and will also be broadcast on television as a special this summer. The voice cast for the quintuplet characters – Kana Hanazawa, Ayana Taketatsu, Miku Itō, Ayane Sakura, and Inori Minase – performed the opening theme song, “Gotōbun no Mirai” (Five Equal Futures), and the ending theme song, “Takaramono” (Treasure). The anime adapts previously untold stories from the franchise.©久井健/講談社 ©2023 フジテレビジョン ワーナー・ブラザース映画 講談社
In its third weekend, the second part of the live-action film series “Tokyo Revengers 2,” based on Ken Wakui’s manga of the same name, dropped to the fourth position. In this period, the film earned 211,749,840 yen (about $1.52 million) from Friday to Sunday and accumulated a total of 1.21 million tickets sold, amounting to 1,519,263,520 yen (approximately $10.92 million). The film initially debuted at the top spot on June 30, generating 605,494,180 yen (around $4.19 million) and selling 469,600 tickets in its first three days. The first sequel film, “Chi no Halloween -Unmei-” (Bloody Halloween -Fate-), premiered on April 21. “Tokyo Revengers 2” features the return of Takumi Kitamura as Takemichi Hanagaki, along with other returning cast members such as Ryō Yoshizawa as Mikey and Yuki Yamada as Draken. The director, Tsutomu Hanabusa, and producer, Shota Okada, also returned for the project. Additionally, Kento Nagayama joined the cast as Keisuke Baji, Nijirō Murakami as Kazutora Hanemiya, and Mahiro Takasugi as Chifuyu Matsuno. Taketo Tanaka portrayed the character Chome. The theme song “Gradation” for the first film is performed by SUPER BEAVER, while the band also presents the theme song “Hakanakunai” (Not Merely Fleeting) for the second film. The initial “Tokyo Revengers” live-action film premiered in Japan in July 2021 and became the highest-grossing live-action film in the country for that year. Worldwide, the film is currently being streamed by Crunchyroll, excluding Asia, Spain, and Latin America. © 2022 Nintendo and Universal Studios
In its twelfth weekend, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” remained in the fifth position at the Japanese box office. The film accumulated 135,203,890 yen (about $972,200) during this period, resulting in a total of 9.17 million tickets sold and 13,009,862,720 yen (around $93.55 million) in revenue. Upon its release, the film sold 1.276 million tickets and earned 1.843 billion yen (about $13.54 million) in its first three days. International markets witnessed the film’s debut on April 5, reaching over 60 territories. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has achieved the status of the third highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide, considering Disney’s 2019 CG film “The Lion King” as an animated film; otherwise, it takes second place. Moreover, the film currently holds the position of the highest-grossing film of 2023 worldwide and is recognized as the most financially successful video game adaptation to date. ©BNOI/劇場版アイナナ製作委員会
In its ninth weekend, the theatrical anime concert for the IDOLiSH7 multimedia franchise, “Gekijо̄ban IDOLiSH7 LIVE 4bit BEYOND THE PERiOD,” dropped to the eighth spot at the box office. It earned 108,670,660 yen (about $781,300) from Friday to Sunday and has accumulated a total of 1,893,140,981 yen (around $13.61 million). The concert premiered in Japan on May 20 and garnered 220 million yen (approximately $1.58 million) during its opening weekend. The performing cast members from the IDOLiSH7, TRIGGER, Re: vale, and ŹOOĻ units reprised their respective roles from the anime series and games. Hiroshi Nishikiori (Argonavis from BanG Dream!) and Kensuke Yamamoto (Trigun Stampede VFX art director) directed the anime at Orange. Bunta Tsushimi, the creator of IDOLiSH7, wrote the screenplay. Arina Tanemura (IDOLiSH7, Full Moon o Sagashite) is credited as the original character designer, with Hitomi Miyazaki contributing to character design as well. Eiji Inomoto (Trigun Stampede) served as the CG chief director. ©やなせたかし/フレーベル館・TMS・NTV ©やなせたかし/アンパンマン製作委員会2023
In its third weekend, the 34th anime film in the Anpanman franchise, “Soreike! Anpanman Roboly to Pokapoka Present,” descended to the ninth position at the box office. The film earned 52,278,130 yen (about $375,800) from Friday to Sunday, accumulating a total of 283,311,120 yen (around $2.03 million). During its debut period, the movie garnered 113,432,810 yen (about $788,390) within the first three days. “Soreike! Anpanman Roboly to Pokapoka Present” celebrates the 35th anniversary of the anime series and the 50th anniversary of the Anpanman picture book series. The film follows the story of Comet Robo, a residence for robots capable of creating anything, and Roboly, a talented robot girl. While searching for something precious she cannot create alone, Roboly and her robot bird companion Koto depart from Comet Robo and encounter a music box, leading them into Anpanman’s world to find its rightful owner. During Roboly’s time spent with Anpanman, her heart begins to warm. Meanwhile, Baikinman creates the strongest mecha, Roboking, and plans to corrupt Comet Robo into Comet Baikin-Robo. Anpanman and his friends strive to protect Comet Robo while Roboly embarks on her quest for the “important thing.”Once again, “Detective Conan: Kurogane no Submarine” (Iron Submarine), the 26th film in the “Detective Conan” franchise, did not secure a position within the top 10 in its fourteenth weekend. Nevertheless, it still amassed 42,884,000 yen (about $308,200) from Friday to Sunday and has earned a total of 13,380,421,330 yen (around $96.18