Corpse

Usual Locations [Two-Thirds of Market] - Hourly Admission Updates (Saturday) 10AM > 11AM > 12PM > 1PM > 2PM > 3PM > 5PM > 7PM > FINAL 9,143 > 21,147 > 29,143 - The Secret Life of Pets (NEW) 5,937 > 12,504 > 20,353 - Finding Dory (WK5) 6,445 > 14,247 > 19,566 - Shin Godzilla (WK3) 5,201 > 11,069 > 17,168 - One Piece Film Gold (WK4) 5,451 > 11,019 > 16,313 - The Jungle Book (NEW) 4,224 > x8,152 > 10,861 - Kamen Rider Ghost (WK2) 2,592 > x6,246 > x9,079 - Rudolph to Ippaiattena (WK2) 2,953 > x6,101 > x8,607 - Pokemon XY&Z (WK5) 2,766 > x4,166 > x8,044 - X-Men: Apocalypse (NEW) 3,312 > x5,893 > x7,815 - Aikatsu Stars! The Movie (NEW)

Usual Locations [Two-Thirds of Market] - Hourly Admission Updates (Saturday) 10AM > 11AM > 12PM > 1PM > 2PM > 3PM > 5PM > 7PM > FINAL 9,143 - The Secret Life of Pets (NEW) 6,445 - Shin Godzilla (WK3) 5,937 - Finding Dory (WK5) 5,451 - The Jungle Book (NEW) 5,201 - One Piece Film Gold (WK4) 4,224 - Kamen Rider Ghost (WK2) 3,312 - Aikatsu Stars! The Movie (NEW) 2,953 - Pokemon XY&Z (WK5) 2,766 - X-Men: Apocalypse (NEW) 2,592 - Rudolph to Ippaiattena (WK2)

Yeah, X-Men is disappointing, but it's not unexpected. The franchise experienced a significant dropoff with the new films.

Friday Estimates (08/12) ¥220,000,000 ($2.2 million), 0, ¥525,000,000 ($5.2 million), The Secret Life of Pets (Toho-Towa) Day 2 ¥170,000,000 ($1.7 million), +38%, ¥2,870,000,000 ($27.8 million), Shin Godzilla (Toho) Day 15 ¥130,000,000 ($1.3 million), +33%, ¥4,960,000,000 ($48.0 million), Finding Dory (Disney) Day 28 ¥125,000,000 ($1.2 million), 0, ¥300,000,000 ($2.9 million), The Jungle Book (Disney) Day 2 ¥115,000,000 ($1.1 million), +73%, ¥3,545,000,000 ($33.9 million), One Piece Film Gold (Toei) Day 22 ¥70,000,000 ($690,000), 0, ¥175,000,000 ($1.7 million), X-Men: Apocalypse (Fox) Day 2 ¥60,000,000 ($590,000), 0, ¥530,000,000 ($5.1 million), Rudolph to Ippaiattena (Toho) Day 7 ¥40,000,000 ($395,000), +44%, ¥1,500,000,000 ($14.2 million), Pokemon XY&Z: Volcanion and the Mechanical Magearna (Toho) Day 28 ¥35,000,000 ($345,000), 0, ¥390,000,000 ($3.8 million), Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie (Toei) Day 7 ¥30,000,000 ($295,000), 0, ¥285,000,000 ($2.8 million), Himitsu: The Top Secret (Shochiku) Day 7

Do you mean the Weekend Forecast? Probably not. It's difficult to project holiday weeks, so posting the hourly updates throughout the day followed by daily estimates, I believe, is more appropriate for these interesting weekends. However, based on Saturday pre-sales: >Shin Godzilla might just be capable of preventing The Secret Life of Pets from debuting in first place over the weekend frame. We'll see though, a lot can happen between now and Sunday over Obon Festival. >The Jungle Book will perform better over the weekend than its weekdays have suggested, which could indicate its appealing more toward an adult audience. >Finding Dory, One Piece, and Pokemon are likely to have weekend increases.

I'm guessing around $250,000 on its first day and $200,000 yesterday; still has a weekend of previews to go. It's aiming for $1-1.5 million in overall previews, depending on how the weekend plays out. That wouldn't seem like much, but theaters are only giving it one or two showings a day in its preview week, so it seems decent to me.

Obon Festival 2016 (August 11th-16th) Thursday Estimates (08/11) ¥305,000,000 ($3.0 million), 0, ¥305,000,000 ($3.0 million), The Secret Life of Pets (Toho-Towa) NEW ¥205,000,000 ($2.0 million), +89%, ¥2,700,000,000 ($26.1 million), Shin Godzilla (Toho) Day 14 ¥175,000,000 ($1.7 million), 0, ¥175,000,000 ($1.7 million), The Jungle Book (Disney) NEW ¥165,000,000 ($1.6 million), +57%, ¥4,830,000,000 ($46.7 million), Finding Dory (Disney) Day 27 ¥125,000,000 ($1.2 million), +86%, ¥3,430,000,000 ($32.8 million), One Piece Film Gold (Toei) Day 21 ¥105,000,000 ($1.0 million), 0, ¥105,000,000 ($1.0 million), X-Men: Apocalypse (Fox) NEW ¥75,000,000 ($735,000), 0, ¥470,000,000 ($4.6 million), Rudolph to Ippaiattena (Toho) Day 6 ¥65,000,000 ($635,000), 0, ¥355,000,000 ($3.5 million), Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie (Toei) Day 6 ¥45,000,000 ($440,000), +56%, ¥1,460,000,000 ($13.8 million), Pokemon XY&Z: Volcanion and the Mechanical Magearna (Toho) Day 27 ¥35,000,000 ($345,000), 0, ¥255,000,000 ($2.5 million), Himitsu: The Top Secret (Shochiku) Day 6

I'll post some estimates from yesterday later this evening, and will do the same throughout the rest of Obon, too. I wouldn't dismiss The Jungle Book as a disappointment yet, although a breakout performance is very unlikely. I highly doubt yesterday will be its biggest day, and the same is likely true just about everything else as well. The film is probably finding it hard to appeal to a particular demographic. I imagine it comes across as too dark for young children and that demo is very well covered this summer (Dory, Pokemon, Rudolph, Pets), and teens/adults/seniors have plenty of other options in theaters right now and even if they didn't, I'm not sure if it'd appeal to them in any significant way.

Well, this time of year is way more crowded than any other time of the year, so competition for seating/showtimes is intense. Late-July through Mid-August consists of the strongest 6 weeks of the box office year, so the schedule is packed with many tentpoles during this period. It's understandable that X-Men, a superhero film - a genre that isn't particularly popular in Japan, isn't receiving a large release in terms of seating/showtimes compared to most of the other films in release right now.

Nah. I just think it's due to being the next film by Illumination following their blockbuster success of Minions. And it's an animated film being release during Summer Vacation as well, which naturally gives it an advantage. Family animated films do extraordinary business in July/August, but often suffer severe declines once September rolls around and exit theaters soon after.

Yeah, Ghostbusters isn't officially released yet. It's receiving previews (very rare in the market) over Obon Festival (Thursday-Sunday) prior to its anticipated release next week. The Secret Life of Pets is going to perform very well, and it doesn't really come as a surprise. The Despicable Me/Minions brand is quite popular in Japan, so Illumination's first film since then is going to garner some extra attention. Minions, in particular, was a major success, managing to exceed the ¥5 billion milestone to become the highest-grossing, non-Disney/Pixar, imported animated film of all-time in the market.

2016 - Top Grossing Films Gross ¥ ($) / Admissions [Days in Release] - Film (Distributor) ¥11.58 billion ($96.0 million) / 7.45 million [F] - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney) #19 All-Time ¥10 billion ↨ ¥7.61 billion ($70.5 million) / 5.90 million [F] - Zootopia (Disney) #67 All-Time ¥6.31 billion ($57.9 million) / 4.93 million [F] - Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare (Toho) #94 All-Time ¥5.53 billion ($46.5 million) / 5.01 million [F] - Yo-Kai Watch: Great King Enma and the 5 Stories, Nyan! (Toho) ¥5 billion ↨ ¥4.61 billion ($39.6 million) / 3.60 million [F] - Nobunaga Concerto (Toho) ¥4.29 billion ($41.5 million) / 3.46 million [23] - Finding Dory (Disney) ¥4.12 billion ($36.7 million) / 3.63 million [F] - Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan (Toho) ¥3.51 billion ($31.4 million) / 3.11 million [F] - Assassination Classroom: Graduation (Toho) ¥3.51 billion ($30.9 million) / 2.42 million [F] - The Martian (Fox) ¥3.22 billion ($26.8 million) / 2.72 million [E] - Orange (Toho) ¥3.09 billion ($29.5 million) / 2.27 million [16] - One Piece Film Gold (Toei) ¥3 billion ↨ ¥2.85 billion ($23.8 million) / 2.18 million [E] - Spectre (Sony) ¥2.59 billion ($23.8 million) / 1.71 million [E] - Captain America: Civil War (Disney) ¥2.56 billion ($24.7 million) / 1.74 million [37] - Alice Through the Looking Glass (Disney) ¥2.51 billion ($24.1 million) / 1.72 million [31] - Independence Day: Resurgence (Fox) ¥2.16 billion ($20.6 million) / 1.72 million [E] - Evergreen Love (Shochiku) ¥2.15 billion ($20.8 million) / 1.45 million [10] - Shin Godzilla (Toho) ¥2.13 billion ($19.7 million) / 1.82 million [F] - Crayon Shin-chan: Great Assault on the Dreaming World (Toho) ¥2.03 billion ($19.2 million) / 1.40 million [E] - Deadpool (Fox ¥2 billion ↨ ¥1.93 billion ($17.9 million) / 1.56 million [F] - 64: Part 1 (Toho) ¥1.86 billion ($16.9 million) / 1.21 million [F] - Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (Warner Bros.) ¥1.80 billion ($15.1 million) / 1.52 million [E] - Living With My Mother (Shochiku) ¥1.69 billion ($15.9 million) / 1.40 million [E] - 64: Part 2 (Toho) ¥1.69 billion ($15.0 million) / 1.35 million [E] - The Good Dinosaur (Disney) ¥1.62 billion ($14.8 million) / 1.20 million [F] - I Am a Hero (Toho) ¥1.52 billion ($12.8 million) / 1.21 million [E] - Saraba Abunai Deka: Long Goodbye (Toei) ¥1.50 billion ($13.8 million) / 1.26 million [E] - Chihayafuru - Part 1 (Toho) ¥1.48 billion ($14.1 million) / 1.13 million [23] - High & Low: The Movie (Shochiku) ¥1.45 billion ($13.6 million) / 1.10 million [44] - Too Young to Die! (Toho/Asmik Ace) ¥1.42 billion ($12.8 million) / 1.14 million [E] - The Town Where Only I Am Missing (Warner Bros.) ¥1.33 billion ($12.5 million) / 1.22 million [23] - Pokemon XY&Z: Volcanion and the Mechanical Magearna (Toho) ¥1.25 billion ($11.2 million) / 1.11 million [E] - What a Wonderful Family (Shochiku) ¥1.23 billion ($11.3 million) / 1.04 million [E] - The Magnificent Nine (Shochiku) ¥1.21 billion ($11.2 million) / 0.99 million [E] - Wolf Girl and Black Prince (Warner Bros.) ¥1.19 billion ($11.0 million) / 1.00 million [E] - Chihayafuru - Part 2 (Toho) ¥1.19 billion ($10.8 million) / 0.92 million [E] - If Cats Disappeared From the World (Toho) ¥1.18 billion ($10.4 million) / 0.98 million [E] - The Summit of the Gods (Toho) ¥1.16 billion ($10.3 million) / 0.98 million [E] - The Black Devil and the White Prince (Showgate) ¥1.15 billion ($9.7 million) / 0.97 million [E] - Persona Non Grata (Toho) ¥1 billion ↑ Legend: ¥10 billion+ (Uber-Blockbuster) / ¥5 billion+ (Blockbuster) / ¥3 billion+ (Hit) / ¥2 billion+ (Respectable) / ¥1 billion+ (Commercial Success)

2016 - Top Opening Weekends Gross ¥ ($) / Admissions [Screen Count] - Film (Distributor) ¥1.245 billion ($10.3 million) / 800,258 [958] - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney) ¥1.209 billion ($11.1 million) / 933,781 [348] - Detective Conan: The Darkest Nightmare (Toho) ¥1.155 billion ($10.9 million) / 820,830 [739] - One Piece Film Gold (Toei) ¥1.058 billion ($8.7 million) / 974,557 [434] - Yo-Kai Watch: Great King Enma and the 5 Stories, Nyan! (Toho) ¥1 billion ↨ ¥745.5 million ($7.1 million) / 553,066 [511] - Finding Dory (Disney) ¥639.1 million ($5.7 million) / 544,641 [319] - Assassination Classroom: Graduation (Toho) ¥637.0 million ($5.6 million) / 544,816 [374] - Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan (Toho) ¥624.6 million ($6.1 million) / 412,302 [441] - Shin Godzilla (Toho) ¥615.9 million ($5.2 million) / 465,956 [325] - Nobunaga Concerto (Toho) ¥570.2 million ($5.6 million) / 381,521 [963] - Independence Day: Resurgence (Fox) ¥500 million ↨ ¥496.0 million ($4.2 million) / 330,223 [841] - The Martian (Fox) ¥448.8 million ($4.2 million) / 322,943 [625] - Captain America: Civil War (Disney) ¥445.8 million ($4.0 million) / 329,513 [471] - Zootopia (Disney) ¥427.3 million ($4.1 million) / 323,030 [312] - High & Low: The Movie (Shochiku) ¥425.4 million ($4.2 million) / 273,209 [979] - Alice Through the Looking Glass (Disney) ¥400.5 million ($3.7 million) / 337,108 [334] - Crayon Shin-chan: Great Assault on the Dreaming World (Toho) ¥383.3 million ($3.6 million) / 248,473 [724] - Deadpool (Fox) ¥371.3 million ($3.3 million) / 231,377 [717] - Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (Warner Bros.) ¥362.2 million ($3.0 million) / 262,663 [591] - Spectre (Sony) ¥354.1 million ($3.3 million) / 282,693 [321] - 64: Part 2 (Toho) ¥342.0 million ($3.1 million) / 264,270 [307] - Evergreen Love (Shochiku) ¥323.9 million ($3.1 million) / 289,971 [366] - Pokemon XY&Z: Volcanion and the Mechanical Magearna (Toho) ¥311.8 million ($2.6 million) / 261,179 [303] - Orange (Toho) ¥300 million ↨ ¥291.2 million ($2.4 million) / 217,273 [252] - Saraba Abunai Deka: Long Goodbye (Toei) ¥258.1 million ($2.5 million) / 188,028 [288] - Too Young To Die! (Toho/Asmik Ace) ¥257.2 million ($2.4 million) / 203,703 [319] - 64: Part 1 (Toho) ¥244.4 million ($2.1 million) / 197,460 [336] - Living With My Mother (Shochiku) ¥237.1 million ($2.1 million) / 191,696 [380] - The Good Dinosaur (Disney) ¥233.6 million ($2.1 million) / 192,506 [285] - Wolf Girl and Black Prince (Warner Bros.) ¥225.7 million ($2.0 million) / 159,964 [284] - I Am a Hero (Toho) ¥222.8 million ($1.8 million) / 181,551 [292] - Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Ghost & Drive Movie Wars (Toei) ¥221.7 million ($2.0 million) / 169,500 [329] - The Town Where Only I Am Missing (Warner Bros.) ¥216.3 million ($2.0 million) / 193,226 [294] - Chihayafuru - Part 2 (Toho) ¥211.0 million ($2.1 million) / 174,438 [301] - Kamn Rider Ghost the Movie (Toei) ¥209.5 million ($1.8 million) / 165,220 [322] - The Summit of the Gods (Toho) ¥200 million ↨ ¥198.5 million ($1.9 million) / 140,581 [352] - Sadako vs Kayako (Kadokawa) ¥194.9 million ($1.8 million) / 159,960 [308] - The Magnificent Nine (Shochiku) ¥190.7 million ($1.7 million) / 157,680 [160] - The Black Devil and the White Prince (Showgate) ¥187.3 million ($1.8 million) / 147,179 [346] - Rudolph to Ippaiattena (Toho) ¥184.7 million ($1.7 million) / 141,691 [290] - If Cats Disappeared From the World (Toho) ¥179.5 million ($1.6 million) / 132,848 [366] - The Revenant (Fox) ¥179.0 million ($1.6 million) / 146,299 [298] - Chihayafuru - Part 1 (Toho) ¥177.1 million ($1.5 million) / 131,973 [108] - Kizumonogatari - Part 1: Blood and Iron (Toho Video Division) ¥173.0 million ($1.5 million) / 151,422 [320] - What a Wonderful Family (Shochiku) ¥160.7 million ($1.6 million) / 123,734 [496] - The Legend of Tarzan (Warner Bros.) ¥155.3 million ($1.4 million) / 123,702 [307] - Kamen Rider 1 (Toei) ¥153.9 million ($1.3 million) / 114,709 [653] - The Peanuts Movie (Fox) ¥150.6 million ($1.4 million) / 128,730 [327] - Terra Formars (Warner Bros.) ¥145.4 million ($1.2 million) / 118,453 [329] - Persona Non Grata (Toho) ¥144.1 million ($1.3 million) / 107,058 [538] - Point Break (Warner Bros.) ¥141.9 million ($1.2 million) / 112,937 [348] - Bridge of Spies (Fox) ¥133.5 million ($1.2 million) / 116,015 [213] - Precure All Stars: Sung by Everyone♪ Miracle Magic! (Toei) ¥133.0 million ($1.2 million) / 92,396 [137] - Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimenstions (Toei) ¥131.0 million ($1.3 million) / 96,000 [304] - Himitsu: The Top Secret (Shochiku) ¥129.4 million ($1.1 million) / 99,913 [315] - Paddington (Kino Films) ¥127.2 million ($1.2 million) / 96,394 [256] - Creepy (Shochiku) ¥123.2 million ($1.2 million) / 92,757 [141] - Road to High & Low (Shochiku) ¥115.8 million ($1.0 million) / 84,008 [214] - The Big Short (Toho-Towa) ¥115.6 million ($1.0 million) / 87,958 [587] - The Huntsman: Winter's War (Toho-Towa) ¥113.5 million ($1.0 million) / 86,195 [265] - Black Mass (Warner Bros.) ¥110.6 million ($0.9 million) / 82,182 [221] - The Inerasable (Shochiku) ¥108.8 million ($1.0 million) / 89,510 [244] - After the Storm (Gaga) ¥106.5 million ($0.9 million) / 105,911 [317] - Shuriken Ninninger vs. Ressha ToQger: Ninja in Wonderland (Toei) ¥105.3 million ($0.9 million) / 88,295 [309] - Kainan 1890 (Toei) ¥103.7 million ($0.9 million) / 83,695 [316] - Les Saisons (Gaga) ¥102.1 million ($0.9 million) / 77,769 [96] - Pink and Gray (Asmik Ace) ¥101.1 million ($0.9 million) / 76,114 [150] - Born in the EXILE (Toho Video Division) ¥100.5 million ($0.9 million) / 81,868 [291] - Life's Promise (Toho) ¥100.2 million ($0.9 million) / 75,976 [308] - The Kodai Family (Toho) ¥100 million ↑ Legend: ¥1 billion+ (Exemplary) / ¥500 million+ (Great) / ¥300 million+ (Good) / ¥200 million+ (Acceptable) / ¥100 million+ (Mediocre)

(C)2016 TOHO CO.,LTD. Weekend Actuals (08/06-07)/2016年08月06日-2016年08月07日 01 (01) ¥539,905,300 ($5.29 million), -14%, ¥2,150,635,500 ($20.8 million), Shin Godzilla (Toho) WK2 02 (03) ¥329,905,400 ($3.23 million), -26%, ¥4,299,870,000 ($41.5 million), Finding Dory (Disney) WK4 03 (02) ¥275,665,000 ($2.70 million), -38%, ¥3,097,206,100 ($29.5 million), One Piece Film Gold (Toei) WK3 04 (---) ¥211,044,000 ($2.07 million), 0, ¥211,044,000 ($2.07 million), Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie (Toei) NEW 05 (---) ¥187,310,500 ($1.83 million), 0, ¥187,310,500 ($1.8 million), Rudolph to Ippaiattena (Toho) NEW 06 (---) ¥131,000,000 ($1.28 million), 0, ¥131,000,000 ($1.3 million), Himitsu: The Top Secret (Shochiku) NEW 07 (05) ¥86,806,200 ($851,000), -30%, ¥1,330,954,800 ($12.5 million), Pokemon XY&Z: Volcanion and the Mechanical Magearna (Toho) WK4 08 (04) ¥79,193,600 ($776,000), -51%, ¥420,169,400 ($4.0 million), The Legend of Tarzan (Warner Bros.) WK2 09 (05) ¥55,877,300 ($547,000), -39%, ¥1,484,904,000 ($14.1 million), High & Low: The Movie (Shochiku) WK4 10 (06) ¥50,372,100 ($494,000), -50%, ¥2,501,676,310 ($24.1 million), Independence Day: Resurgence (Fox) WK5 >Shin Godzilla lands an extraordinary second weekend hold, a sub-15% drop, delivering the best second weekend for a domestic live-action film since 2012's Umizaru: Brave Hearts. Its second weekend is also 6% higher than Hollywood's 2014 Godzilla's opening weekend, and after two weeks, it outpaces that film by a significant 39%. Hideaki Anno (Evangelion) and Shinji Higuchi's revival of the iconic franchise has been met with glowing praise from critics and audiences alike, and when a well-received film is doing this well at the box office ahead of a major holiday week... you can be sure that it's going to be making a killing over the upcoming Obon Festival - the busiest week of the year. The 29th entry in the Godzilla franchise will exceed ¥4 billion ($40 million) much sooner than expected, and is becoming increasingly more likely of exceeding the ¥5 billion ($50 million) blockbuster milestone as well. And this is probably asking for too much, but if it can climb as high as ¥6 billion ($60 million), its admissions could very well be enough to make it the most-attended Godzilla film since 1966! >Finding Dory continues to perform well, though it hasn't quite managed to catch up to Monsters University yet after four weeks in release, still trailing it by 8%. Pixar's long-awaited sequel has exceeded 3.4 million admissions so far, and is on course to reach the ¥8 billion ($75 million) milestone with over 6 million admissions. >Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie delivers the best debut among this weekend's opening, and snaps a 2-year downward trend that the 45-year old franchise had found itself experiencing. The 53rd theatrical release in the 45-year old franchise sold 174,438 admissions over the weekend across 301 screens, up a very impressive 41% over last Spring's release. >Rudolph to Ippaiattena settles for fifth place selling 147,179 admissions over the weekend on 346 screens. This opening is a little underwhelming, but legs this time of year for family/children films are exceedingly great, so the film will likely achieve a respectable total near ¥2 billion ($20 million). The CGI animated film is based on the popular 1986 children's book by Hiroshi Saito. >Himitsu: The Top Secret misses the Top 5, and delivers arguably the most-disappointing opening of the summer. Based on the sci-fi manga of the same name, the heavily market live-action film only sold 96,000 admissions over the weekend on 304 screens. Shochiku is certainly upset about this performance, and the best they can hope for is a total of ¥1 billion ($10 million) if it can crawl there. The vast majority of domestic films cost less than ¥1 billion, so that figure is often regarded as the "financial success" mark.

Obon Festival is observed on the 13th-15th, but the box office begins to benefit a couple days before and a couple days after. So, look for the 11th through the 16th will be the best days. And seeing how the weekend falls on the 13th/14th this year, I expect most films to see weekend increases, or very small drops (sub-10%).

I wouldn't worry about Dory being hit too hard this weekend. It may in fact see an increase, as could a few other films in release. Obon Festival is the busiest week of the year, and very few films are affected by new releases unless they've been in theaters for many weeks. Look for Alice and Independence Day to see significant drops, but everything else should be pretty good. I'll have this Weekend's Actuals up in an hour or two.

(C)2016 TOHO CO.,LTD. Weekend Estimates (08/06-07)/2016年08月06日-2016年08月07日 01 (01) ¥517,000,000 ($5.1 million), -17%, ¥2,025,000,000 ($19.6 million), Shin Godzilla (Toho) WK2 02 (03) ¥323,000,000 ($3.1 million), -27%, ¥4,300,000,000 ($41.5 million), Finding Dory (Disney) WK4 03 (02) ¥263,000,000 ($2.5 million), -41%, ¥3,075,000,000 ($29.3 million), One Piece Film Gold (Toei) WK3 04 (---) ¥215,000,000 ($2.1 million), 0, ¥215,000,000 ($2.1 million), Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie (Toei) NEW 05 (---) ¥180,000,000 ($1.7 million), 0, ¥180,000,000 ($1.7 million), Rudolph to Ippaiattena (Toho) NEW 06 (---) ¥125,000,000 ($1.2 million), 0, ¥125,000,000 ($1.2 million), Himitsu: The Top Secret (Shochiku) NEW 07 (05) ¥85,000,000 ($835,000), -31%, ¥1,350,000,000 ($12.7 million), Pokemon XY&Z: Volcanion and the Mechanical Magearna (Toho) WK4 08 (04) ¥72,000,000 ($710,000), -55%, ¥390,000,000 ($3.7 million), The Legend of Tarzan (Warner Bros.) WK2 09 (06) ¥50,000,000 ($485,000), -50%, ¥2,490,000,000 ($24.0 million), Independence Day: Resurgence (Fox) WK5 10 (08) ¥48,000,000 ($475,000), -45%, ¥2,565,000,000 ($24.7 million), Alice Through the Looking Glass (Disney) WK6 >Shin Godzilla scores a remarkable second weekend hold, a sub-20% drop that should give it a sophomore frame above the ¥500 million mark. It seems pretty clear now that the strong critical praise and audience reception, combined with the iconic status of the title character, has made this the film to see for adult/older audiences this summer. Hideaki Anno (Evangelion) and Shinji Higuchi's reboot of the franchise is well on its way to exceeding the ¥4 billion ($40 million) mark, and could very well reach the ¥5 billion ($50 million) blockbuster milestone as well. >Finding Dory enjoys a healthy fourth weekend, even if it's unable to capitalize the excellent momentum it gained last weekend and maintained over the last set of weekdays. The sequel to Pixar's biggest film in the market is now comfortably above the ¥4 billion mark, and based on my estimates, but continues to trail Monsters University by around 8% after four weeks in release. If it continues along a similar trajectory as MU, it'll finish just above the ¥8 billion ($75 million) milestone. >Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie surprises a bit and manages the best debut among the weekend's openers. And even more impressive, considering the franchise's two year downward spiral, is that this one will open notably higher than the last (+40/50%) and has a good shot at reaching the ¥1 billion ($10 million) milestone once again. >Rudolph to Ippaiattena is off to a soft start, but don't count it out just yet. Children/family films tend to have incredible legs over the summer due to school break and Obon Festival, and multipliers up to 10 or greater are fairly common this time of year. So an estimated opening of this level can still result in a total of ¥1.5 billion ($15 million), or possibly even ¥2 billion ($20 million). And while neither result is particularly impressive, it's a good showing for a domestic CGI film in a market that has yet to embrace the animated CGI format. >Himitsu: The Top Secret is a borderline bomb, which has to leave many at Shochiku disappointed. The film was heavily marketed, as has been since very early this year. Summer and Obon Festival may save it from an embarrassing sub-¥1 billion ($10 million) total, most likely, but it's barely going to finish above the milestone.

Weekend Forecast (08/06-07)/2016年08月06日-2016年08月07日 01 (01) ¥512,000,000 ($5.0 million), -18%, ¥2,025,000,000 ($19.6 million), Shin Godzilla (Toho) WK2 02 (03) ¥336,000,000 ($3.3 million), -24%, ¥4,300,000,000 ($41.5 million), Finding Dory (Disney) WK4 03 (02) ¥245,000,000 ($2.4 million), -45%, ¥3,050,000,000 ($29.1 million), One Piece Film Gold (Toei) WK3 04 (---) ¥225,000,000 ($2.2 million), 0, ¥225,000,000 ($2.2 million), Rudolph to Ippaiattena (Toho) NEW 05 (---) ¥200,000,000 ($1.9 million), 0, ¥200,000,000 ($1.9 million), Himitsu: The Top Secret (Shochiku) NEW 06 (---) ¥170,000,000 ($1.6 million), 0, ¥170,000,000 ($1.6 million), Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie (Toei) NEW 07 (05) ¥85,000,000 ($835,000), -31%, ¥1,350,000,000 ($12.7 million), Pokemon XY&Z: Volcanion and the Mechanical Magearna (Toho) WK4 08 (04) ¥83,000,000 ($815,000), -47%, ¥400,000,000 ($3.8 million), The Legend of Tarzan (Warner Bros.) WK2 09 (06) ¥57,000,000 ($560,000), -43%, ¥2,500,000,000 ($24.1 million), Independence Day: Resurgence (Fox) WK5 10 (08) ¥56,000,000 ($550,000), -37%, ¥2,575,000,000 ($24.8 million), Alice Through the Looking Glass (Disney) WK6 >Shin Godzilla is poised to repeat atop the box office, and if pre-sales and morning ticket sales are an accurate indication, it's looking at a potentially very, very strong second weekend hold of possibly sub-15/20%. Its weekday business was also good, so if it delivers an outstanding hold this weekend, then I believe the strong reviews and audience reception are clearly at play here. Hideaki Anno (Evangelion) and Shinji Higuchi's reboot of the franchise, and 29th entry in the franchise, was already likely to exceed ¥4 billion ($40 million), but these first/second week figures are suggesting it could reach the ¥5 billion ($50 million) blockbuster milestone as well. >Rudolph to Ippaiattena is a 3DCGI film, very rare in the market, being released by Toho. It's an adaptation of Hiroshi Saito’s popular 1986 children's book. It doesn't appear like it's going to breakout, but it's important to remember that films that skew very young can sometimes see substantial Sunday increases so let's wait and see. Either way, an opening over ¥200 million looks assured and films released this time of year, family films in particular, often approach or exceed multipliers of 10, so don't rule out a possible ¥2 billion ($20 million) performance. >Himitsu: The Top Secret is looking to appeal to the adult crowd during this busy time of the year, and will probably somewhat succeed. It's unlikely to match the success of Shochiku's earlier live-action film this summer, Evergreen Love, but if it can achieve a debut around ¥200 million, then summer legs should get it around ¥1.5 billion (~$15 million). >Kamen Rider Ghost the Movie is the 53rd theatrical release in the 45 year old Kamen Rider franchise, and is likely to open somewhere within the range of the last few films.. Last Spring's release happened to be the worst performing film in the franchise since at least 2007, and the franchise has been on a downward trend at the box office, so hopefully this one's able to snap that trend.

I'm expecting it to bomb, possibly sub-¥1 billion. Days of Future Past barely broke ¥1 billion (¥1.03 billion) after an incredibly frontloaded run (3.78 multiplier...), and I think it reaching that milestone was largely due to the returning original cast. First Class earned ¥750 million... I'd set that as the initial goal for Apocalypse with a fair chance of doing slightly more thanks to the tax hike and more 3D/4D locations since First Class was released.

Don't underestimate its potential in Japan. Sony is giving it a significant promotional campaign, and the brand has remained a well-known property for thirty years. The original film was one of the biggest films of all-time at the time-of-release (5th!), and it helped inspire many domestic properties ever since. >It's receiving a Japanese dub cast which will help it appeal to a wider audience; the Japanese cast also released a music video featuring the Ghostbusters theme. >Advance tickets have been on sale since June 6th at six minutes after six (666), and many pre-sales incentives are being given out (LED pens, bags, etc.). >Various food chains are selling Ghostbusters themed food items such as Slimer Fries and the Marshmallow Mad Burger this summer. >The film's twitter handle is being handled by Kevin (Hemsworth's character). The new film will also have four days worth of previews over the lucrative Obon Festival holiday period prior to opening one week later. I'm not predicting it to have a blockbuster performance by any means, but don't be surprised if it performs notable well in Japan.

Japanese sources rank films by terms of admissions. Finding Dory remained in second place this past weekend in admissions but ranked third in terms of gross, while One Piece Film Gold ranked second in terms of gross and fell to third in admissions. Mark Schilling is a Tokyo correspondent, so articles written by him for Variety or Screen International will rank films as such. It's thanks to his guidance six years ago via email that I actually began tracking the market when I was assisting with Bayside Shakedown 3's online campaign.

Hey guys, it's been awhile! I wanted to thank cannastop, Olive, Cynosure, and others for the regular updates they post here; whether it's answering questions, providing weekend numbers, or by sharing my various posts from WOKJ.

Weekend Ranking (09/20-21) 01 (01) Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (Warner Bros.) Week 2 02 (--) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (Fox) DEBUT 03 (02) Stand By Me, Doraemon (Toho) Week 7 04 (04) Lupin III (Toho) Week 4 05 (03) Guardians of the Galaxy (Disney) Week 2 06 (--) Revenge of the Pomegranate Tree Hill (Shochiku) DEBUT 07 (05) Lady Maiko (Toho) Week 2 08 (07) Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (Warner Bros.) Week 8 09 (06) Hot Road (Shochiku) Week 6 10 (08) Lucy (Toho-Towa) Week 4 >Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends drops a hefty 54% in its second weekend after delivering the biggest opening weekend of the year, taking in ¥418,846,200 ($3.9 million) on 320,949 admissions. The drop is alarming, but after an abnormal large opening weekend over a 3-dau holiday weekend, perhaps it's not too unexpected. After 9-days in release, the film has exceeded ¥2.2 billion ($20 million) and 1.76 million admissions, tracking 15% ahead of the last film right now. >Dawn of the Planet of the Apes... almost bombed honestly. It only earned ¥210,925,300 ($2.0 million) on 149,354 screens on 712 screens. This is down almost 50% from the opening weekend of Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Dawn had previews last weekend which deflated the opening weekend, but this is still a huge drop. It'll probably earn only make ¥1.5 billion ($14 million) or a little more. >Revenge of the Pomegranate Tree Hill had an okay debut, grossing ¥100,389,900 ($0.94 million) on 86,646 admissions on 255 screens. It actually ranked 4th for the weekend in admissions, but its low avg. ticket price brings it down to 6th in gross.

Well, most of those were in 2010/2011 where 3D shares were over 70% for about every film. Since then, 3D shares are lucky to hit 20/30% for anything. So if a film is playing primary in 3D, and there isn't a reason to attend it (like with Gravity for example), people just don't go to see it. That probably explains a lot of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' problem this weekend.

A big drop in admissions for Guardians is expected. Its tickets were greatly discounted during its first 3 days in release by Disney, and last Sunday was also a discount day at Toho cinemas. And overall drops aren't as bad as the 4 usual chains suggest either. Toho's discount day last Sunday has to be taken into account, and that's why I didn't really bother with weekend estimates this weekend since discount days have really thrown them off ever since the tax hike increase in April. Rise of the Planet of the Apes definitely underwhelmed, though.