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Japanese Box Office, February 11-12

Always: Sunset on Third Street '64, the third live-action film based on Ryohei Saigan's nostalgic San-chōme no Yūhi - Yūyake no Uta manga directed by Takashi Yamazaki (live-action Space Battleship Yamato, Returner, Ballad) dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 during its fourth weekend. The original manga, a 1990-1991 television anime series adaptation, and the first two live-action films followed the lives of people in a Tokyo neighborhood as the iconic Tokyo Tower rises above them. The film earned US$2,882,329 on 473 screens for a new total of US$32,631,229.

Takashi Miike's live-action adaptation of CAPCOM's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) video game franchise debuted at No. 5. The film takes place in a parallel Japan, where a large increase in harsh crimes has led to a new court system. Under this new system, the defense attorney and public prosecutor have three days to battle cases out in open court to determine guilt or innocence of the accused, placing priority on speed instead of thorough investigation. The film earned US$1,547,984 on 275 screens.

Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger vs. Space Sheriff Gavan: The Movie, the newest live-action Super Sentai film, dropped from No. 6 to No. 7 during its fourth weekend. The film is related to the Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger live-action television series, which Toei began airing as Super Sentai's 35th anniversary show last February. The film differs from the previous three Super Sentai VS films because it is a crossover with the Space Sheriff Gavan live-action special effects series. The film ranked at No. 9 on Box Office Mojo's chart and earned US$572,020 on 266 screens for a gross-to-date of US$5,877,284.

The live-action film adaptation of Hikaru Nakamura's Arakawa Under the Bridge manga fell from No. 8 to No. 11 in its second weekend. In the story, an upper-class young man named Ko "Riku" Ichinomiya (Kento Hayashi) meets a beautiful homeless girl named Nino (Mirei Kiritani) from the banks of Arakawa River, where many of Tokyo's most unusual denizens live. The film earned US$488,118 on 172 screens for a new total of US$1,875,173.

The second documentary of the Akihabara based J-Pop group AKB48, titled Documentary of AKB48: Show Must Go On Shōjo-tachi wa Kizutsuki Nagara, Yume wo Miru, fell from No. 9 to No. 12 during its third weekend. The film follows the members of AKB48 through the year 2011. NEW PEOPLE Entertainment released the previous Documentary of AKB48 -- To Be Continued on DVD in December. The film earned US$370,516 on 94 screens for a new total of US$3,451,856.

Berserk Ōgon Jidai-Hen I: Haō no Tamago (Berserk Golden Age Arc I: Egg of the Supreme Ruler), the first film in the three-part retelling of the Golden Age arc of Kentarō Miura's manga fell from No. 11 to No. 13 during its second weekend. The film earned US$334,492 on 93 screens for a gross-to-date of US$1,348,352.

Kim Byung-Kon's Korean live-action film adaptation of Yayoi Ogawa's Kimi wa Pet (Tramps Like Us) romantic comedy manga dropped off of Box Office Mojo's chart during its fourth weekend, the anime adaptation of Mary Pope Osborne's American novel series Magic Tree House fell from Box Office Mojo's chart during its sixth weekend, and Naoko Yamada and Kyoto Animation's K-ON! anime film fell from Box Office Mojo's chart during its eleventh weekend.

Sources: Kogyo Tsushinsha, Box Office Mojo