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Poupelle Film Rises to #3, 2020 Pokémon Film Slips to #4

Demon Slayer - Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train stayed at #1 for a 12th consecutive weekend. It sold 425,000 tickets over the weekend and earned 677,783,450 yen (about US$6.57 million) from Friday to Sunday. The film has now sold a total of 25.48 million tickets for 34,642,116,000 yen (about US$335 million).

The film has surpassed Hayao Miyazaki's 2002 Spirited Away, its last rival for all-time highest earnings in Japanese box office history. (Spirited Away earned 30.8 billion yen in its original run, but has since earned a total of 31.68 billion yen after this summer's revival screenings.)

Demon Slayer - Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train began screening in 38 IMAX theaters in Japan on October 16. The film had the highest opening weekend globally for the October 16-18 weekend. The film sold 3,424,930 tickets and earned 4,623,117,450 yen (about US$43.85 million) in Japan in its first three days. The film sold 910,507 tickets and earned over 1,268,724,700 yen (about US$12.03 million) on its opening day alone, making it the highest weekday opening day in Japan ever. Mugen Train began holding immersive MX4D and 4DX screenings on Saturday, December 26.

The main staff members of the previous television anime returned for the sequel film. Toho and Aniplex are handling the film's distribution in Japan. Funimation and Aniplex of America will screen the film in theaters in North America in early 2021.

Studio 4°C's anime film of Akihiro Nishino's Poupelle of Chimney Town (Entotsu-chō no Poupelle) picture book rose from #4 to #3 in its second weekend. The film sold 115,400 tickets over the weekend and earned 164,744,300 yen (about US$1.59 million) from Friday to Sunday. It has earned a cumulative total of 875,795,200 yen (about US$8.49 million).

The film ranked at #4 and earned 322,998,700 (about US$3.13 million) in its opening weekend. The film opened in Japan on December 25.

Yusuke Hirota (CGI director for Berserk films, Harmony) is directed the film, with Nishino serving as production supervisor, original creator, and writer, while Atsuko Fukushima (Genius Party, Robot Carnival) designed the characters.

Pokémon the Movie: Secrets of the Jungle (Gekijōban Pocket Monster Koko), the 23rd anime film in the Pokémon franchise, dropped from #2 to #4 in its second weekend. It sold 115,000 tickets over the weekend and earned 138,645,250 yen (about US$1.34 million) from Friday to Sunday. It has earned a cumulative total of 944,766,800 yen (about US$9.16 million).

The film ranked at #2 and earned 378,195,750 yen (about US$3.66 million) in its opening weekend. The film opened on December 25 in Japan. Toho had originally planned to open the film earlier last year on July 10, but the staff delayed the film due to the spread of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The film will then open in the West in 2021.

Tetsuo Yajima returned from 2018's Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us film at OLM, and co-wrote the film's script with Pokémon series writer Atsuhiro Tomioka.

The live-action film of Kaiu Shirai and Posuka Demizu's The Promised Neverland manga earned 131,183,300 yen (about US$1.27 million) in its third weekend for a new total of 1,258,677,650 yen (about US$12.20 million). It stayed at #5 in its third weekend.

The film earned 373,372,850 yen (about US$3.6 million) in its first three days. The film opened on December 18.

Yūichirō Hirakawa (live-action ERASED film, live-action Rookies series) directed the film. Noriko Gotou penned the film's script. Hirakawa and Gotou worked together on the live-action Erased film.

Shirai and Demizu launched The Promised Neverland manga in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine in August 2016, and ended it on June 15. An anime adaptation premiered in January 2019. Aniplex of America streamed the anime on Crunchyroll, Hulu, Funimation, and HIDIVE as it aired. Toonami began airing the anime in April 2019. A second season of the anime was scheduled to premiere in October, but is delayed to January 7 due to the effect of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the production.

The Stand By Me Doraemon 2 CG anime film stayed at #6 in its seventh weekend, and it earned 85,842,350 (about US$832,400) from Friday to Sunday. The film has now earned a cumulative total of 2,433,882,750 yen (about US$23.60 million).

The film sold 305,000 tickets and earned 386 million yen (about US$3.69 million) to rank at #2 in its opening weekend. The film opened in Japan on November 20. The film was originally slated to open in Japan on August 7 until it was delayed due to the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The film's story is largely be based on the franchise's 2000 film Doraemon: Obāchan no Omoide (Doraemon: A Grandmother's Recollections), but adds original elements, including the love story of Shizuka and Nobita that was also present in the previous Stand By Me Doraemon film. The 2000 film, in turn, was based on a chapter from the fourth manga volume.

Ryūichi Yagi and Takashi Yamazaki returned from the first film as directors, and Yamazaki once again penned the script. Masaki Suda performed the film's theme song "Niji" (Rainbow). The first Stand By Me Doraemon film was the first 3D CG film in the franchise, and it eventually earned 8.38 billion yen (about US$77.16 million) in Japan and over 10 billion yen worldwide (about US$90 million).

The Gekijō Tanpen Kamen Rider Saber: Fushichō no Kenshi to Hametsu no Hon and Kamen Rider Zero-One RealXTime double feature dropped from #8 to #10 in their third weekend. It earned 22,043,970 yen (about US$213,700) from Friday to Sunday for a new total of 367,817,110 yen (about US$3.56 million).

BONES' anime film of Seiko Tanabe's short story Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi (Josee, the Tiger and the Fish) dropped out of the top 10 in its second weekend.

Gekijōban Seitokai Yakuindomo 2, the second film based on Tozen Ujiie's Seitokai Yakuindomo manga, ranked at #1 in the mini-theater ranking in its opening weekend. The film was previously slated to open in Japan on July 10 last, but it opened on January 1, its opening delayed due to the effects of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

The special screening of the first two episodes for the new anime season of Daisuke Ashihara's World Trigger manga dropped from #1 to #3 in the mini-theater ranking in its second weekend.

Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), Eiga.com, comScore via KOFIC