In its second weekend, Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature film “The Boy and the Heron” (Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka) dropped from the top spot to #2 at the Japanese box office. The film sold 529,000 tickets for 831 million yen (about US$5.87 million) from Friday to Sunday, bringing its total ticket sales to 2.32 million and total revenue to 3.6 billion yen (about US$25.43 million). In its first three days, the film sold 1.003 million tickets and earned about US$13.2 million, and in its first long weekend it sold 1.353 million tickets and earned 2.149 billion yen (about US$15.53 million). The film opened simultaneously on IMAX and has already surpassed the opening records of Miyazaki’s previous films. It will also be released in North American theaters later this year.
In its fourth weekend, the second part of the live-action films based on the “Tokyo Revengers” manga rose from #4 to #3 at the box office. The film earned 116,189,040 yen (about US$821,100) from Friday to Sunday, bringing its total ticket sales to 1.36 million and total revenue to 1,804,427,740 yen (about US$12.75 million). The first film in the series opened at #1 on June 30 and earned 605,494,180 yen (about US$4.19 million) in its first three days.
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” stayed at #5 in its 13th weekend, earning 91,105,440 yen (about US$644,100) and bringing its total revenue to 13,216,273,520 yen (about US$93.45 million). The film opened in the U.S. and worldwide on April 5, and has become the highest-grossing film of 2023 worldwide and the highest-earning video game adaptation in history.
The theatrical anime concert for the “IDOLiSH7” franchise, titled “Gekijо̄ban IDOLiSH7 LIVE 4bit BEYOND THE PERiOD,” stayed at #7 in its 10th weekend. The film earned 132,926,450 yen (about US$939,900) from Friday to Sunday, bringing its total ticket sales to 1.17 million and total revenue to 2,065,969,901 yen (about US$14.60 million). The concert opened on May 20 and earned 220 million yen (about US$1.58 million) in its opening weekend.
“The Quintessential Quintuplets ∽,” the new anime special in “The Quintessential Quintuplets” franchise, dropped from #3 to #8 in its second weekend. The film earned 56,186,100 yen (about US$397,300), bringing its total revenue to 311,981,160 yen (about US$2.20 million). The anime opened on July 14 and sold 167,000 tickets in its first three days.
“The First Slam Dunk,” the new anime film based on the “Slam Dunk” manga, returned to the rankings at #10 in its 34th weekend. The film earned 45,566,770 yen (US$322,100), selling a total of 10.33 million tickets and earning 14,900,403,870 yen (about US$105.3 million). It is now the 14th highest-earning film of all time in Japan.
“Soreike! Anpanman Roboly to Pokapoka Present,” the 34th anime film in the “Anpanman” franchise, dropped off the top 10 in its fourth weekend but earned 32,578,550 yen (about US$230,400) from Friday to Sunday, with a total revenue of 356,275,790 yen (about US$2.52 million).
“Hypnosis Mic -Division Rap Battle- Rule the Stage-: Fling Posse VS Mad Trigger Crew -Cinema Edit-,” a theatrical film presentation of a stage play, debuted at #2 on the Mini Theater Ranking chart.
Overall, the Japanese box office continues to showcase a variety of films from different genres, attracting audiences of all ages and interests.