News
Japanese Box Office, October 10-11
posted on by Egan Loo
Tōya Satō's live-action film version of Nobuyuki Fukumoto's Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji manga opened at #1 on Kogyo Tsushinsha's Japanese box office chart during the October 10-12 weekend. According to Variety and Rentrak Theatrical (via Japanator), it earned the equivalent of US$4,043,522 on 306 screens. Death Note star Tatsuya Fujiwara stars in the title role of a gambler trying to clear 3.49 million yen (about US$36,000) in debt.
After seven weekends, the third film in Yukihiko Tsutsumi's three-part live-action adaptation of Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys manga dropped from #1 to #6. It added US$579,926 on 314 screens to its gross-to-date of US$46,578,180.
Yōichi Sai's (Choi Yang-il's) live-action film adaptation of Sanpei Shirato's Kamui Gaiden ninja manga also fell from #2 to #7 in its fourth weekend. Ken'ichi Matsuyama (Death Note movies' L, Detroit Metal City's Sōichi/Krauser II) stars in the title role of a rogue ninja on the run from his own clan. The film garnered US$497,026 on 308 screens to add to its total of US$10,447,740.
Takashi Yamazaki's live-action Ballad: Namonaki Koi no Uta period drama film slipped from #3 to #8 in its sixth weekend. It added US$451,896 on 331 screens for a total of US$18,433,023. Tsuyoshi Kusanagi of the SMAP entertainment group stars in this historical romance based loosely on the plot of the award-winning Crayon Shin-chan: Arashi wo Yobu Appare! Sengoku Daikassen film.
David Bowers and IMAGI's computer-animated adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy manga opened at #10 with $328,457 on 206 screens. By contrast, it opened with US$7,017,000 in 3,014 American theaters and with US$169,730 in just 28 Hong Kong theaters. According to Recordchina, it earned 40 million yuan (US$5.9 million) in its opening weekend in the rest of mainland China.
TOHO's double feature of Duel Masters: Lunatic God Saga and Penguin no Mondai - Shiawase no Aoi Tori de Gopennasai dropped from #4 off the chart. The Tales of Vesperia ~The First Strike~ anime film also dropped from #7 off the chart.
Source: Kogyo Tsushinsha
follow-up of Japanese Box Office, October 3-4
