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Japanese Box Office, October 17-18

Tōya Satō's live-action film version of Nobuyuki Fukumoto's Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji manga stayed at #1 on Kogyo Tsushinsha's Japanese box office chart during the October 17-18 weekend. According to Variety and Rentrak Theatrical, it earned the equivalent of US$2,607,146 on 306 screens in its second weekend to add to its total of US$11,046,324. 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.

The animated film adaptation of The Rebirth of Buddha (Buddha Saitan) book by controversial religious figure Ryuho Okawa debuted at #2. It garnered US$1,809,491 on 192 screens. Okawa founded the Happy Science (Kōfuku no Kagaku) organization, and the film illustrates Happy Science's belief that the religious figure Buddha will return "when the world sinks into darkness."

The third film in Yukihiko Tsutsumi's three-part live-action adaptation of Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys manga dropped from #6 to #9 in its eighth weekend. (On Rentrak Theatrical's chart, it ranked at #10.) It added US$311,443 on 322 screens to its gross-to-date of US$47,418,408.

Yōichi Sai's (Choi Yang-il's) live-action film adaptation of Sanpei Shirato's Kamui Gaiden ninja manga also fell from #7 to #10 in its fifth weekend. (On Rentrak Theatrical's chart, it fell off the top-10 chart.) 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.

Takashi Yamazaki's live-action Ballad: Namonaki Koi no Uta period drama film slipped from #8 off the chart in its sixth weekend. David Bowers and IMAGI's computer-animated adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy manga also dropped from #10 off the chart in its second weekend.

Source: Kogyo Tsushinsha