Revised Content:
The live-action film adaptation of Yumi Tamura’s manga series “Don’t Call It Mystery” (also known as “Mystery to Iu Nakare” or “Do Not Say Mystery”) maintained its #1 spot in its second week. The film sold 372,000 tickets and earned 521,053,770 yen (approximately US$3.49 million) from Friday to Sunday. In total, it has sold 1.49 million tickets, accumulating a total of 2,042,091,740 yen (about US$13.71 million). The movie focuses on the “Hiroshima Arc” from the manga, which spans volumes two to four. This arc follows Kunō as he travels to Hiroshima and becomes entangled in a battle for the Kariatsumari family’s inheritance. The film premiered on September 15 and sold 609,600 tickets, earning 850,483,760 yen (about US$5.71 million) in its first three days. Masaki Suda reprises his role as protagonist Totonō Kunō from the live-action series, alongside director Hiroaki Matsuyama, scriptwriter Tomoko Aizawa, and music composer Ken Arai.
The 20th anniversary film in the “Precure All Stars” crossover anime film franchise, “Eiga Precure All Stars F,” dropped from #2 to #3 in its second week. The film sold 159,000 tickets and earned 198,720,170 yen (about US$1.33 million) from Friday to Sunday, bringing its total ticket sales to 693,000 and cumulative earnings to 846,807,950 yen (about US$5.68 million). “Eiga Precure All Stars F,” which opened on September 15, features all 77 Precure magical girls from the franchise’s first installment to the most recent ongoing installment, “Soaring Sky! Precure.”
The theatrical anime concert for the IDOLiSH7 multimedia franchise, “Gekijо̄ban IDOLiSH7 LIVE 4bit BEYOND THE PERiOD,” climbed back to #5 in its 19th weekend. The film earned 104,618,490 yen (about US$702,500) from Friday to Sunday, reaching a cumulative total of 2,726,622,131 yen (about US$18.31 million). The concert premiered in Japan on May 20, raking in 220 million yen (about US$1.58 million) on its opening weekend. The film features the 16 cast members of the IDOLiSH7, TRIGGER, Re: vale, and ŹOOĻ units, reprising their roles from the anime series and games. Hiroshi Nishikiori and Kensuke Yamamoto directed the anime at Orange, with Bunta Tsushimi as the screenplay writer and Arina Tanemura as the original character designer.
The live-action film adaptation of the PlayStation video game series “Gran Turismo” dropped from #4 to #6 in its second weekend, earning 95,308,180 yen (about US$640,000) from Friday to Sunday. The film’s cumulative total stands at 405,202,800 yen (about US$2.72 million). In its first three days, it earned 174,899,710 yen (about US$1.17 million). The film was developed by Columbia Pictures, with Jason Hall as the scriptwriter. The producers include Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan from PlayStation Productions, alongside Doug Belgrad and Dana Brunetti. The cast includes David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou.
The new anime film in the City Hunter franchise, “City Hunter The Movie: Angel Dust,” dropped from #5 to #7 in its third weekend. The film earned 77,505,170 yen (about US$520,500) from Friday to Sunday, totaling 790,952,656 yen (about US$5.31 million) in cumulative earnings. The film premiered at #1 and sold 210,000 tickets for 324,949,388 yen (about US$2.21 million) in its first three days. The film, which opened in Japan on September 8, sees the return of voice actors Akira Kamiya, Kazue Ikura, Harumi Ichiryūsai, Tesshō Genda, and Mami Koyama from the original City Hunter series. It also features the three Kisugi thief sisters from the Cat’s Eye anime, voiced by Keiko Toda, Chika Sakamoto, and Rica Fukami.
Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature film, “The Boy and the Heron” (also known as “Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka” or “How Do You Live?”), held onto the #9 spot in the Japanese box office in its 11th weekend. The film earned 57,300,300 yen (about US$384,800) from Friday to Sunday, selling a total of 5.53 million tickets and accumulating 8,253,644,200 yen (about US$55.42 million) in earnings. It now ranks as the 75th highest-grossing film in Japan and the 20th highest-grossing anime film. It has surpassed the earnings of films such as “Tales from Earthsea,” “Yo-kai Watch: The Movie,” and “Hana Yori Dango Final.” In its first three days in Japan, it sold 1.003 million tickets, earning approximately $13.2 million. During the Friday-Monday long weekend (which included the Marine Day holiday in Japan on July 17), it sold 1.353 million tickets, earning 2.149 billion yen (about US$15.53 million). The film opened simultaneously on IMAX along with its general release in Japan on July 14. Notably, it earned more than Miyazaki’s Academy Award-winning film “Spirited Away” in its initial four days. GKIDS has licensed the film for a North American theatrical release later this year.
The third live-action film adaptation based on the “Kingdom” manga by Yasuhisa Hara, titled “Kingdom: Unmei no Honō” (Flames of Destiny), maintained the #10 position in its ninth weekend. The film earned 52,306,960 yen (about US$351,200) from Friday to Sunday, accumulating a total of 5,379,915,980 yen (about US$36.13 million). Since its premiere on July 28, the film sold 703,530 tickets and earned 1,050,708,610 yen (about US$7.39 million) in its first three days. “Kingdom: Unmei no Honō” now holds the record for the best opening weekend among all three “Kingdom” films and the highest ticket sales for a live-action film in Japan in 2023. The film covers the manga’s “Shi Ka” (Zi Xia) arc and the Battle of Bayou, showcasing the first joint battle of Shin (Xin) and Ō Ki (Wang Qi) as they defend against the formidable Chō (Zhao) invasion from the north. The cast includes Anne Watanabe as the important character Shi Ka (Zi Xia), along with Kataoka Ainosuke VI, Kōji Yamamoto, Yuki Yamada, and many others.
