cremino

Corpse Biggest All-Time Aggregated Weekends: 01. ¥3.610 billion - 12/19-20/2015 (#1 Film - Star Wars: The Force Awakens) *Est* 02. ¥3.601 billion - 07/09-10/2005 (#1 Film - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith) 03. ¥3.427 billion - 05/03-04/2014 (#1 Film - Frozen) 04. ¥3.423 billion - 07/19-20/2003 (#1 Film - Bayside Shakedown: Save the Rainbow Bridge!) 05. ¥3.379 billion - 08/08-09/2015 (#1 Film - Jurassic World) 06. ¥3.329 billion - 07/21-22/2007 (#1 Film - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) 07. ¥3.314 billion - 07/22-23/2006 (#1 Film - Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest) 08. ¥3.297 billion - 08/15-16/2015 (#1 Film - Jurassic World) 09. ¥3.160 billion - 04/17-18/2010 (#1 Film - Alice in Wonderland) 10. ¥3.129 billion - 04/18-19/2015 (#1 Film - Dragon Ball Z: Revival of F) 11. ¥3.048 billion - 07/21-22/2001 (#1 Film - Spirited Away) 12. ¥3.046 billion - 12/20-21/2014 (#1 Film - Yo-Kai Watch: It's the Secret of Birth, Nyan!) An astonishing 4 weekends from 2015 made the Top 10 this year.

Corpse Saturday 2PM Update: 206,086/307,147 (67.1% capacity) - Yo-Kai Watch 2 124,236/277,990 (44.7% capacity) - Star Wars VII Sunday 2PM Update: 212,303/303,703 (69.9% capacity) - Yo-Kai Watch 2 138,471/264,148 (52.4% capacity) - Star Wars VII Excellent, excellent Sunday for both films at the mid-point of the day. Both are probably looking at increases over Saturday, or very minimal decreases (sub-5%) if the evening business ends up being noticeably slower than yesterday.

Corpse Saturday Estimates: ¥690 million ($5.7 million) / 620,000 admissions - Yo-Kai Watch: Great King Enma and the 5 Stories, Nyan! ¥820 million ($6.8 million) / 505,000 admissions - Star Wars: The Force Awakens Updated Weekend Projections: ¥1,350,000,000 ($11.1 million) / 1,225,000 admissions - Yo-Kai Watch: Great King Enma and the 5 Stories, Nyan! ¥1,575,000,000 ($13.0 million) / 975,000 admissions - Star Wars: The Force Awakens This is the first time in history that two ¥1 billion openers have ever debuted on the same weekend (think of this as two films in the US opening to $125/150 million or so on the same weekend), and it'd be an even more staggering weekend if Star Wars VII can exceed 1 million admissions, giving the weekend two 1 million+ admissions debuts, too. And if it's still any question, this weekend will be the biggest of all-time.

Corpse Usual Locations (66% of Market) - Real-Time Saturday Ticket Sales 10AM > 11AM > 12PM > 1PM > 2PM > 3PM > 4PM > 5PM > 7PM > 10PM > FINAL 74,565 > 116,519 > 144,266 > 177,687 > 206,086 > 240,279 > 271,568 > 281,438 > 308,702 > 317,438 > 317,709 - Yo-Kai Watch 2 52,996 > x60,631 > x75,890 > 117,855 > 124,236 > 147,342 > 187,892 > 197,398 > 226,441 > 286,005 > 293,246 - Star Wars VII And that's it for Saturday! Here's the update breakdown: Saturday Pre-sales: 138,795 - Star Wars VII 116,563 - Yo-Kai Watch 2 2PM Update: 206,086/307,147 (67.1% capacity) - Yo-Kai Watch 2 124,236/277,990 (44.7% capacity) - Star Wars VII 7PM Update: 308,702/484,067 (63.8% capacity) - Yo-Kai Watch 2 226,411/517,421 (43.8% capacity) - Star Wars VII FINAL Update: 317,709/530,456 (59.9% capacity) - Yo-Kai Watch 2 293,246/714,702 (41.0% capacity) - Star Wars VII Yo-Kai Watch 2 more than doubled the previous biggest opening days of 2015 (Dragon Ball Z: Revival of F - 153,852 and Jurassic World - 152,210), and Star Wars VII came pretty close to doubling them, as well! I'll have Saturday Estimates up soon, as well as updated Weekend Projections.

Corpse Here are the pre-sales from 42% of each film's theater count. Advance Ticket Sales/Available Tickets [Theaters/Showings], Film 138,795/463,289 [155/1,795], Star Wars: The Force Awakens 116,563/320,351 [150/1,073], Yo-Kai Watch: Great King Enma and the 5 Stories, Nyan! Each film almost tripled the previous highs from earlier this year. And what monstrous pre-sales for both films, and they're close enough that the weekend isn't guaranteed to go to Star Wars just yet, in terms of admissions that is. In revenue, Star Wars will win the weekend pretty easily. I'll be posting real-time ticket sales from 66% of the market for the day soon, with the first update (ticket sales from 7AM to 10AM) coming up soon. Usual Locations (66% of Market) - Real-Time Saturday Ticket Sales 10AM > 11AM > 12PM > 1PM > 2PM > 3PM > 4PM > 5PM > 7PM > 10PM > FINAL 74,565 - Yo-Kai Watch 2 52,996 - Star Wars VII Well, these numbers destroy anything I've ever tracked so thoroughly. They're overwhelming. Expected early lead for Yo-Kai Watch 2, and it's only down about 14% from last year's record breaking first film so far. The majority of its ticket sales will come from the AM and early afternoon showings. Star Wars VII will be playing catch up until the evening showings begin, so this race will be going undecided for most of the day, if not into Sunday if they end up reasonably close for Saturday.

Corpse Usual Locations - Saturday Seating/Showtimes (66% of Market) #Seats [#Theaters/#Showtimes] - Film 709,486 [236/2,737] - Star Wars: The Force Awakens 531,684 [231/1,739] - Yo-Kai Watch: Great King Enma and the 5 Stories, Nyan! Both films are playing wider than any film of the past year (ahead of Jurassic World), with Star Wars: The Force Awakens potentially playing wider than any film ever. Its theater count of 370 (236 accounted for above) is the highest I've ever seen, and it's likely playing on more than 1,000 screens, which would make it only the second film to play on 1,000+ screens. I'll have the final update in the sellout watch I've been posting all week up tonight.

Corpse Usual Locations - Weekend Admissions (66% of Market) 12/12-13 [WKND.] TW (LW) #Admissions [#Theaters/#Showings], Film (Dis.) Week in Release 01 (--) 159,108 [220/2,375], Orange (Toho) NEW 02 (01) 118,419 (-26%), [231/2,641], 007: Spectre (Sony) Week 2 03 (--) 106,540 [224/2,330], Living With My Mother (Shochiku) NEW 04 (--) 100,205 [201/1,998], Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Ghost & Drive Movie Wars (Toei) NEW 05 (02) 52,242 (-26%), [227/2,135], The Peanuts Movie (Fox) Week 2 06 (03) 37,247 (-35%), [224/2,096], Persona Non Grata (Toho) Week 2 07 (08) 32,507 (+49%), [58/312], Girls und Panzer: The Movie (Showgate) Week 4 08 (04) 24,338 (-42%), [96/419], High Speed! Free! Starting Days (Shochiku) Week 2 09 (05) 22,135 (-26%), [203/1,621], Kainan 1890 (Toei) Week 2 10 (06) 15,195 (-36%), [225/923], The Little Prince (Warner Bros.) Week 4 11 (--) 13,802 [58/59], EXILE Live Tour 2015 'Amazing World' (Live Viewing) NEW 12 (07) 12,836 (-44%), [149/608], Raintree Country (Showgate) Week 4 13 (09) 6,918 (-50%), [8/82], Digimon Adventure tri. Chapter 1 - Reunion (Toei) Week 4 14 (11) 6,478 (-44%), [222/677], Mozu (Toho) Week 6 15 (10) 6,219 (-52%), [170/433], Grasshopper (Shochiku) Week 6 16 (15) 5,294 (-31%), [85/125], Woman in Gold (Gaga) Week 3 17 (12) 4,412 (-51%), [208/454], My Love Story!! (Toho) Week 7 18 (13) 4,266 (-51%), [185/474], Ghost Theater (Shochiku) Week 4 19 (--) 3,970 [21/21], Haikyu! Stage Play (Live Viewing) NEW 20 (14) 3,704 (-54%), [155/384], The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner Bros.) Week 5 21 (--) 3,325 [14/138], Wake Up, Girls! Beyond the Bottom (Toho Video Division) NEW 22 (18) 2,475 (-49%), [103/240], The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (Kadokawa) Week 4 23 (--) 2,260 [15/15], Monthly Takahashi [December] (Live Viewing) 2,000+ >Orange managed to see a very nice increase on Sunday, up about 30%, and won the weekend pretty handily. It may have exceeded 250,000 admissions over the weekend, which should be plenty to break the ¥300 million mark. It's also likely to be unaffected by Star Warsand Yo-Kai Watch next weekend, since it appeals quite exclusively to teens/young adult and couples, so legs should be very strong, too. >Spectre held on nicely and avoids dropping to third or even fourth place. It probably fell just shy of 200,000 admissions (190,000+), grossing a bit over ¥250 million in its second weekend. Unless it experiences a significant decline next week, it has a good chance to outgross Skyfall to become the highest-grossing 007 film. >Living With My Mother retained most of its Saturday business on Sunday, despite the solid stage greeting events yesterday, and delivered a solid third place debut. Yoji Yamada's latest should have sold around 170,000 admissions for a gross near ¥225 million. This would be an improvement over many of Yamada's more recent releases. >Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Ghost & Drive Movie Wars will only come in fourth place this weekend in terms of gross due to its low avg. ticket price, but in terms of admissions, it may be have sold enough to come in third place. The 52nd installment in the Kamen Rider series should have also sold around 170,000 admissions, and exceeding ¥200 million. Overall, this is a great weekend, and the strongest since August even if actuals would be lower across the board.

Corpse Usual Locations - Saturday Admissions (66% of Market) 12/12 [Sat.] #Seats [#Theaters/#Showings], Film (Dis.) Week in Release 68,922 [220/1,202], Orange (Toho) NEW 66,337 [224/1,175], Living With My Mother (Shochiku) NEW 60,311 [231/1,332], 007: Spectre (Sony) Week 2 47,246 [201/998], Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Ghost & Drive Movie Wars (Toei) NEW 22,471 [227/1,071], The Peanuts Movie (Fox) Week 2 18,079 [224/1,057], Persona Non Grata (Toho) Week 2 17,455 [58/156], Girls und Panzer: The Movie (Showgate) Week 4 13,413 [57/58], EXILE Live Tour 2015 'Amazing World' (Live Viewing) NEW 12,599 [96/419], High Speed! Free! Starting Days (Shochiku) Week 2 11,011 [203/815], Kainan 1890 (Toei) Week 2 6,251 [225/462], The Little Prince (Warner Bros.) Week 4 5,515 [149/300], Raintree Country (Showgate) Week 4 4,322 [8/40], Digimon Adventure tri. Chapter 1 - Reunion (Toei) Week 4 3,133 [222/338], Mozu (Toho) Week 6 2,814 [170/214], Grasshopper (Shochiku) Week 6 2,581 [85/125], Woman in Gold (Gaga) Week 3 2,260 [15/15], Monthly Takahashi [December] (Live Viewing) 2,064 [14/72], Wake Up, Girls! Beyond the Bottom (Toho Video Division) NEW 1,938 [155/193], The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner Bros.) Week 5 1,816 [185/237], Ghost Theater (Shochiku) Week 4 1,717 [208/227], My Love Story!! (Toho) Week 7 1,452 [8/8], Monthly Takahashi [November] (Live Viewing) 1,244 [103/120], The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (Kadokawa) Week 4 1,000+ >Orange managed to win Saturday, and is in store for a nice weekend. Its first day is almost 10% higher than September's No Longer Heroine, the most-recent shojo manga release, so it's still on track for a debut in first place with around ¥300 million. >Living With My Mother is performing very well, stronger than several of Yoji Yamada's more recent films, and could earn itself a second place debut, ahead of Spectre. And speaking of Spectre, it's having a good second weekend, on track for a sub-30% or even sub-25% drop. Unless it experiences a steep decline next week, it's more than likely, I believe, to outgross Skyfall to become the highest-grossing 007 film. >Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Ghost & Drive Movie Wars is off to a promising start, up 3% over this past summer's release on the first day. While it's a minimal increase, it's an increase nonetheless meaning the franchise will continue to remain stable. Overall, this is shaping up to be a very good weekend with all the openers either meeting or exceeding expectations, and the holdovers performing nicely, too.

Corpse Weekend Actuals (12/05-06)/2015年12月06日-2015年12月06日 01 (--) ¥362,221,200 ($2.95 million), 0, ¥855,983,900 ($6.97 million), 007: Spectre (Sony) NEW 02 (--) ¥153,876,000 ($1.25 million), 0, ¥180,067,600 ($1.46 million), The Peanuts Movie (Fox) NEW 03 (--) ¥145,389,600 ($1.18 million), 0, ¥145,389,600 ($1.18 million), Persona Non Grata (Toho) NEW 04 (--) ¥105,033,900 ($854,000), 0, ¥105,033,900 ($854,000), Kainan 1890 (Toei) NEW 05 (--) ¥95,546,400 ($777,000), 0, ¥95,546,400 ($777,000), High Speed! Free! Starting Days (Shochiku) NEW 06 (02) ¥58,461,400 ($475,000), -10%, ¥421,287,290 ($3.44 million), Girls und Panzer: The Movie (Showgate) Week 3 07 (01) ¥55,666,100 ($453,000), -29%, ¥436,431,200 ($3.56 million), The Little Prince (Warner Bros.) Week 3 08 (04) ¥47,350,900 ($385,000), -08%, ¥376,437,220 ($3.07 million), Raintree Country (Showgate) Week 3 09 (03) ¥32,788,300 ($267,000), -38%, ¥1,144,001,700 ($9.45 million), Mozu (Toho) Week 5 10 (05) ¥32,603,600 ($265,000), -37%, ¥913,107,800 ($7.42 million), Grasshopper (Shochiku) Week 5 What a welcoming sight after the record low weekend the box-office experienced last week. >Spectre came in a bit lower than estimates, but still delivered an impressive start. 007's latest outing sold 262,663 tickets over the weekend frame across 591 screens, which brought its 6-day admissions up to a nice 632,959. The weekend debut is 20% below Skyfall's, but Spectre had a unique opening, with widespread previews last weekend (which were actually higher than its opening weekend) and the Friday opening. As long as it can maintain a sufficient amount of screens/showtimes in two weeks when Star Wars 7 and Yo-Kai Watch 2 debut, it should be aiming for ¥2.5 billion ($20 million), and still has a chance to match Skyfall's ¥2.75 billion total. >The Peanuts Movie got off to an unspectacular start, but as far as non-Disney/Pixar imported animated films go, the debut is pretty solid. The Peanuts Gang's 3D adaptation sold 114,709 admissions over the weekend on 653 screens. Like Spectre, it's final total will depend on how many screens/showtims it'll be able to hold onto in two weeks against Star Wars 7 and Yo-Kai Watch 2, but it should be able to reach the ¥1 billion (just under $10 million) milestone. >Persona Non Grata came in third place in terms of gross, but it actually edged out The Peanuts Movie to place second in terms of weekend admissions. The biopic based on the true story of a Japanese diplomat assisting Jewish refugees during WW2 sold 118,453 admissions over the weekend on 329 screens. And again, like the two debuts above it, its final total will be determined on what happens to it and other holdovers in two weeks. There aren't many films targeting an older audiences this December, though, so it's chances of reaching the ¥1 billion mark look decent. >Kainan 1890 really surprised me this morning when I saw its weekend figures. It came in much higher than estimates were suggesting, and even crossed the ¥100 million mark somehow. The 1890 battleship disaster true story film managed to sell 88,295 tickets over the weekend across 309 screens. It's not a good opening, but it's certainly a highlight for distributor Toei considering how poorly their live-action films have performed over the past few years. >High Speed! Free! Starting Days also came in above estimates, but it's not as surprising being a near limited release, which are always difficult to predict, and the fact that its ticket prices were likely to be high. The animated prequel based on the Free! anime sold 67,829 tickets over the weekend on 120 screens. Not bad.

Corpse (C)GIRLS und PANZER Film Projekt Weekend Actuals (11/21-22)/2015年11月21日-2015年11月22日 01 (--) ¥128,438,980 ($1.05 million), 0, ¥135,640,600 ($1.10 million), Girls und Panzer: The Movie (Showgate) NEW 02 (--) ¥123,944,520 ($1.01 million), 0, ¥123,944,520 ($1.01 million), Raintree Country (Showgate) NEW 03 (--) ¥107,070,300 ($873,000), 0, ¥107,070,300 ($873,000), The Little Prince (Warner Bros.) NEW 04 (01) ¥107,000,200 ($872,000), -32%, ¥868,528,500 ($7.1 million), Mozu (Toho) Week 3 05 (02) ¥85,723,400 ($699,000), -36%, ¥678,533,700 ($5.6 million), Grasshopper (Shochiku) Week 3 06 (04) ¥78,720,100 ($641,000), -31%, ¥312,735,700 ($2.5 million), The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner Bros.) Week 2 07 (03) ¥66,107,200 ($539,000), -43%, ¥635,625,400 ($5.2 million), Everest (Toho-Towa.) Week 3 08 (--) ¥57,385,300 ($468,000), 0, ¥57,385,300 ($468,000), Ghost Theatre (Shochiku) NEW 09 (05) ¥55,060,500 ($449,000), -34%, ¥686,339,200 ($5.7 million), My Love Story!! (Toho) Week 4 10 (--) ¥53,120,500 ($433,000), 0, ¥71,105,700 ($579,000), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (Kadokawa) NEW Weekend actuals came in a bit higher than expected again this weekend, and while it's the weakest weekend of the year, it still produced three debuts above ¥100 million. >Girls und Panzer: The Movie surprises and snags the weekend victory despite playing in limited release. The film marks the first Showgate release this decade to debut atop the box-office. The first film in the Girls und Panzer series sold 84,752 admissions over the weekend across 77 screens, which wasn't good enough for rank first in admissions, but the high avg. ticket price of ¥1,515 allowed it to achieve the victory in revenue. >Raintree Country debuts in second place over the weekend, but in terms of weekend admissions, it managed to come achieve first place. The film adaptation of Hiro Arikawa novel delivered a nice opening, selling 91,726 tickets over the weekend across 190 screens, giving Showgate the not only a first place film over the weekend in revenue, but also in terms of weekend admissions. >The Little Prince, the French 3D motion-capture/CGI animated release, settles for a third place debut, but still posted a respectable start. Released via Warner Bros. in the market, the film adaptation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery's novel of the same name sold 82,898 tickets on 569 screens. Since the source material is known in Japan, expectations were favorable and while the debut is decent, it's probably receiving mixed results for the studio. However, it's important to note that for a imported-animated film (non-Disney), the debut is fairly strong. >Ghost Theatre delivered an expected poor opening, only selling 44,148 admissions on 266 screens over the weekend. >The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 debuts in a disappointing 10th place, which is the second-lowest weekend ranking in the series. However, while the weekend ranking is disappointing, its weekend take did improve upon that of its predecessor. The final film of the Hunger Games series sold 38,430 tickets across 252 screens, up 16% in admissions over its predecessor's opening weekend (and up 17% in revenue), also, its 3-day total saw a fair 4% increase, too. >Digimon Adventure tri. Chapter 1 - Reunion debuted in 11th place on only 10 screens, earning a very impressive ¥43,637,900 ($356,000). The film sold through over 75% of its weekend admissions, and achieved a 2-day PSA of 4,363,790 ($35,565).

Corpse Usual Locations - Saturday Seating/Showtime Counts (66% of Market) 11/14 [Sat.] #Seats [#Theaters/#Showings], Film (Dis.) Week in Release 305,555 [218/1,085], Mozu (Toho) Week 2 251,463 [183/925], The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (Warner Bros.) NEW 244,522 [214/1,013], Grasshopper (Shochiku) Week 2 166,146 [150/726], Last Knights (Gaga) NEW 149,657 [163/694], Everest (Toho-Towa) Week 2 120,605 [221/746], Pan (Warner Bros.) Week 3 115,627 [205/776], My Love Story!! (Toho) Week 3 112,149 [217/805], Galaxy Turnpike (Toho) Week 4 82,794 [141/461], Princess Pretty Cure The Movie: Go! Go!! Splendid Triple Feature!!! (Toei) Week 3 47,031 [133/360], Terminal (Toei) Week 2 46,809 [181/261], The Intern (Warner Bros.) Week 6 46,547 [211/319], Library Wars: The Last Mission (Toho) Week 6 41,837 [102/302], The Monuments Men (Presido) Week 2 37,795 [45/220], Harmony (Toho Video Division) NEW 34,635 [207/236], Bakuman (Toho) Week 7 33,604 [145/217], The Transporter Refueled (Asmik Ace) Week 4 33,527 [182/220], Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (Fox) Week 4 31,096 [176/178], Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Toho) Week 9 20,713 [105/128], No Longer Heroine (Warner Bros.) Week 9 16,793 [142/143], The Anthem of the Heart (Aniplex) Week 9 15,905 [31/72], Penguins from Madagascar (Fox) NEW 14,182 [22/89], Bikuu The Movie (Tohokushinsha) NEW 12,357 [34/97], You're Not You (Kino Films) Week 2 12,024 [83/89], BIG BANG World Tour 2015-2016 [Made in Japan] (Avex Pictures) NEW This will be an unspectacular weekend, and the remainder of November this year will also be uneventful. The month was largely ignored, with quite a number of notable films being released in December, which looks to be very strong this year.. >The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Last Knights will be aiming to take down Mozu, but neither film is likely up to that challenge. >Harmony is looking to do very well in its limited release, and should manage a debut in the Top 10 despite burning off some demand from its Friday debut. >Penguins of Madagascar somehow managed to get a theatrical release, through Fox and not an independent studio no less. This marks the first Dreamworks Animation film to receive a theatrical release, even if it's limited, since 2012's Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted!

Corpse Weekend Actuals (11/07-08) (C)2015劇場版「MOZU」製作委員会　(C)逢坂剛／集英社 01 (--) ¥228,472,400 ($1.86 million), 0, ¥228,472,400 ($1.86 million), Mozu (Toho) DEBUT 02 (--) ¥191,966,600 ($1.56 million), 0, ¥191,966,600 ($1.56 million), Grasshopper (Shochiku) DEBUT 03 (--) ¥164,077,100 ($1.33 million), 0, ¥203,975,100 ($1.66 million), Everest (Toho-Towa.) DEBUT 04 (03) ¥97,375,600 ($792,000), -29%, ¥405,296,600 ($3.4 million), My Love Story!! (Toho) Week 2 05 (01) ¥90,883,610 ($739,000), -50%, ¥964,404,010 ($7.9 million), Galaxy Turnpike (Toho) Week 3 06 (02) ¥90,283,300 ($734,000), -42%, ¥426,322,100 ($3.5 million), Pan (Warner Bros.) Week 2 07 (04) ¥82,398,400 ($670,000), -36%, ¥303,342,000 ($2.5 million), Princess Pretty Cure The Movie: Go! Go!! Splendid Triple Feature!!! (Toei) Week 2 08 (05) ¥66,532,300 ($540,000), -38%, ¥1,406,299,800 ($11.6 million), The Intern (Warner Bros.) Week 5 09 (06) ¥50,309,400 ($409,000), -47%, ¥1,545,412,500 ($12.9 million), Library Wars: The Last Mission (Toho) Week 5 10 (--) ¥42,209,200 ($343,000), 0, ¥55,348,400 ($449,000), The Monuments Men (Presido) DEBUT >Mozu, a joint collaboration from TBS and WOWOW, debuted atop the weekend box office, once again displaying distributor Toho's dominance over the market. The police drama novel turned TV drama sold 170,374 tickets over the weekend across 322 screens. This bests the opening weekend of another recent police TV drama film, S: The Last Policeman - Recovery of Our Future by 6%, and should allow the film to achieve the ¥1 billion milestone, but not much more. >Grasshopper settles for a second place debut, and while missing the top spot and failing to reach the ¥200 million mark, it still delivered Shochiku's best debut this year for a live-action release. The film adaptation of the best-selling novel "Gurasuhoppa" by Kotaro Isaka, sold 147,275 tickets over the weekend on 314 screens. It's a decent start, but expectations were a bit higher than where it landed since it'll probably just barely make the ¥1 billion milestone. >Everest comes in at third place, and opened quite well, and probably higher than Toho-Towa was expecting given its modest screen count. There's a chance it'll also reach the ¥1 billion milestone, giving 2015 yet another successful film. The true story 3D event managed to sell almost 100,000 tickets (96,220) over the weekend frame on 424 screens (just 225 locations, however), bringing its 3-day total admissions up to 120,301. The film also achieved an incredibly high avg. ticket price of ¥1,705 over the weekend, indicating a very strong 3D share (probably over 80%), which is about 10% higher than the normal 3D release. >The Monuments Men finally reached the shores of Japan, and actually earned itself a fairly decent debut. The small independent distributor, Presido, picked up the film and must be pleased with it making the Top 10 and selling 42,119 tickets over the weekend across only 152 screens. This isn't anything to really celebrate, but for Presido, it's quite good. Outside the Top 10: >Terminal posted a poor opening, debuting in 12th place on ¥35,293,400 ($287,000) with 28,979 admissions on 200 screens. Toei continues to struggle in the live-action film category. >No Longer Heroine exceeded 2 million admissions after 8 weeks in release.

Corpse Usual Location's Saturday Admissions (66% of Market) 11/07 [Sat.] #Admissions [#Theaters/#Showtimes], Film (Dis.) Week in Release 49,692 [225/1,238], Mozu (Toho) NEW 45,306 [223/1,193], Grasshopper (Shochiku) NEW 30,566 [128/904], Everest (Toho-Towa) NEW 16,584 [210/993], My Love Story!! (Toho) Week 2 15,755 [223/1,182], Galaxy Turnpike (Toho) Week 3 13,812 [227/979], Pan (Warner Bros.) Week 2 13,032 [143/550], Princess Pretty Cure The Movie: Go! Go!! Splendid Triple Feature!!! (Toei) Week 2 12,030 [186/369], The Intern (Warner Bros.) Week 5 10,083 [105/425], The Monuments Men (Presido) NEW 8,784 [220/522], Library Wars: The Last Mission (Toho) Week 5 6,999 [10/63], Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin II (Shochiku) Week 2 6,417 [137/657], Terminal (Toei) NEW 6,192 [216/323], Bakuman (Toho) Week 6 4,726 [187/364], Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (Fox) Week 3 4,517 [150/368], The Transporter Refueled (Asmik Ace) Week 3 3,609 [61/173], We Are Perfume: 3rd World Tour Documentary (Nikkatsu) Week 2 2,422 [105/121], The Anthem of the Heart (Aniplex) Week 8 2,187 [137/159], No Longer Heroine (Warner Bros.) Week 8 1,718 [38/160], You're Not You (Kino Films) NEW 1,543 [36/97], Yale! (Clockworks) Week 2 1,421 [102/119], John Wick (Pony Canyon) Week 4 1,102 [12/25], The Visit (Toho-Towa) Week 3 1,000+ >Good for both Mozu and Grasshopper. They were neck-and-neck most of the day (seldom did 1,000 admissions separate them until the evening showings), but Mozu pulled ahead in the evening. >I think Grasshopper will win Sunday, so this will remain a close contest to see which film debuts at #1. Both films are aiming for ¥200 million or a bit more, respectable for this time of year. >Everest is performing fairly well, and Japan should end up one of its strongest overseas markets. I see it trailing just UK, Russia, and Germany at the moment. >The Monuments Men, just barely a wide release, makes the Top 10 here, and I believe it'll manage to crack the weekend Top 10 now. Terminal on the other hand, not so likely.

Corpse Weekend Actuals (10/31-11/01) (C)2015 フジテレビ 東宝 01 (01) ¥182,484,300 ($1.51 million), -33%, ¥681,026,600 ($5.7 million), Galaxy Turnpike (Toho) Week 2 02 (--) ¥155,755,100 ($1.29 million), 0, ¥155,755,100 ($1.29 million), Pan (Warner Bros.) DEBUT 03 (--) ¥137,954,800 ($1.14 million), 0, ¥137,954,800 ($1.14 million), My Love Story!! (Toho) DEBUT 04 (--) ¥129,383,300 ($1.07 million), 0, ¥129,383,300 ($1.07 million), Princess Pretty Cure The Movie: Go! Go!! Splendid Triple Feature!!! (Toei) DEBUT 05 (03) ¥107,744,200 ($893,000), -13%, ¥1,189,413,600 ($9.7 million), The Intern (Warner Bros.) Week 4 06 (02) ¥95,084,900 ($788,000), -27%, ¥1,385,099,900 ($11.6 million), Library Wars: The Last Mission (Toho) Week 4 07 (04) ¥81,220,400 ($673,000), -27%, ¥1,435,562,000 ($12.0 million), Bakuman (Toho) Week 5 08 (06) ¥68,289,500 ($566,000), -29%, ¥269,762,000 ($2.2 million), The Transporter Refueled (Asmik Ace) Week 2 09 (05) ¥63,586,100 ($527,000), -41%, ¥309,069,900 ($2.6 million), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (Fox) Week 2 10 (--) ¥55,030,600 ($456,000), 0, ¥55,030,600 ($456,000), Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin II: Artesia's Sorrow (Shochiku) DEBUT >Galaxy Turnpike fends off a trio of new wide openers (which all debuted within 3,175 admissions of each other!) to claim its second week atop the box-office. Over its second weekend frame, Koki Mitani's latest comedy sold 156,502 tickets, bringing its 9-day admissions above 540,000. >Pan had to settle for a second place debut, and quite the mediocre start it had, too. Joe Wright's big-budget adaptation of the well-known tale only sold 121,467 tickets over the weekend across 672 screens. There wasn't much expected of this one, but with Hugh Jackman on board and the significant screen count, it should have been a guaranteed ¥1 billion earner. It'll be in for a long, uphill struggle if it's to achieve that modest milestone now, however. >My Love Story!! comes in third place, and it, too, came in a bit below expectations. The live-action adaptation of the manga/anime sold 118,921 tickets on 292 screens in its debut weekend. And again, like Pan, this one probably should have been a fairly safe ¥1 billion earner, and it'll be fairly unlikely to achieve said milestone as well. It is important to note, though, that this genre can spawn above average legs, so there's a small chance it could eventually reach the mark. >Princess Pretty Cure The Movie: Go! Go!! Splendid Triple Feature!!!, the latest entry in the Pretty Cure film franchise, debuted in-line with expectations. The 12th film in the magical girl film series bested this year's Spring release in admissions by selling 118,292 tickets across 211 screens (+5%), but fell 1% shy of its opening in terms of revenue. The film franchise has fallen slightly from its peak during 2011/2012, but it has since stabilized. >Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin II fell shy of its predecessor's debut, but still managed a very impressive weekend take on a mere 15 screens. The second film of a planned three film origin story, sold 42,119 admissions over the weekend, averaging 2,808 people per screen. Outside the Top 10: >The Anthem of the Heart exceeded the ¥1 billion milestone, becoming Aniplex's second film to reach the mark. It'll eventually outgross Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day and become the studio's highest-grossing film. >No Longer Heroine overtakes American Sniper to become Warner Bros.'s highest-grossing film of the year. This is the fourth-consecutive year that a local film released through Warner Bros. has become their highest-grossing film of the year.

Corpse Usual Locations (66% of Market) Saturday Admissions (10/31) 29,556 (-54%), Galaxy Turnpike (Toho) Week 2 26,866 (---), Princess Pretty Cure The Movie: Go! Go!! Splendid Triple Feature!!! (Toei) NEW 24,729 (---), Pan (Warner Bros.) NEW 23,911 (---), My Love Story!! (Toho) NEW 16,936 (-31%), The Intern (Warner Bros.) Week 4 15,520 (---), Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin II: Artesia's Sorrow (Shochiku) NEW 14,598 (-43%), Library Wars: The Last Mission (Toho) Week 4 12,301 (-39%), Bakuman (Toho) Week 5 11,449 (-45%), The Transporter Refueled (Asmik Ace) Week 2 10,076 (---), We Are Perfume: 3rd World Tour Documentary (Nikkatsu) NEW 9,645 (-51%), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (Fox) Week 2 6,328 (-51%), No Longer Heroine (Warner Bros.) Week 7 4,172 (-52%), John Wick (Pony Canyon) Week 3 3,637 (-46%), The Anthem of the Heart (Aniplex) Week 6 3,252 (---), Yale! (Clock Works) NEW 2,419 (-67%), PriPara: Aim for it with Everyone! Idol☆Grand Prix (Avex Pictures) Week 2 2,146 (-52%), Gamba & His Friends (Toei) Week 4 1,658 (-54%), Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Toho) Week 7 1,638 (-47%), Arpeggio of Blue Steel - Ars Nova Cadenza (Showgate) Week 5 1,574 (-27%), Sound Horizon: 9th Story Concert (Live Viewing Japan) Week 2 1,500+ A fairly heavy decline for Galaxy Turnpike, but considering it had stage greetings last Saturday, it could recover tomorrow and post a more impressive hold. And it's very likely to repeat at #1, too. The three wide openers appear to be performing within expectations. All three being average ¥150-200 million openers, and ¥1 billion earner candidates. If all three actually manage to go on to gross ¥1 billion, that'd give October a very impressive total of 7 ¥1 billion films. Mobile Suit Gundam The Origin II is performing very, very well in its limited release (selling through nearly 50% of its available tickets). It's only playing in 15 screens (10 accounted for above), but it'll easily make the weekend Top 10. Sunday, being the 1st of the month, is a national discount day (tickets at 40% discount), so expect tomorrow to greatly outpace Saturday's performance.

Corpse So, unfortunately there's an error gathering Aeon Cinema's seating/showtimes for Saturday, so for the time being, the Usual Locations updates will consist of the same five chains (the 43%) as normal: Usual Locations - Saturday Seating [Theaters/Showings] (43% of Market) 10/24 Seats (% change) [Theaters/Showings], Film (Week of Release) 328,997 (---) [145/938], Galaxy Turnpike (NEW) 121,848 (-46%) [139/619], Library Wars: The Last Mission (Week 3) 119,665 (---) [101/511], The Transporter Refueled (NEW) 113,379 (---) [126/538], Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (NEW) 80,799 (-33%) [137/539], Bakuman (Week 4) 80,008 (-20%) [121/469], The Intern (Week 3) 63,128 (-25%) [135/382], No Longer Heroine (Week 6) 62,051 (-54%) [98/384], John Wick (Week 2) 43,277 (-46%) [140/297], Fantastic Four (Week 3) 38,769 (-43%) [138/263], Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Week 6) 28,637 (-50%) [121/204], Gamba & His Friends (Week 3) 25,030 (-09%) [83/155], The Anthem of the Heart (Week 6) 23,434 (---) [32/120], PriPara: Aim for it with Everyone! Idol☆Grand Prix (NEW) 22,140 (---) [34/139], I'm a Monk (NEW) 20,704 (-09%) [134/140], Unfair: The End (Week 8) 16,182 (---) [35/70], Sound Horizon - 9th Story Concert (Live Viewing) 13,917 (-47%) [44/80], The Laws of the Universe - Part 0 (Week 3) 13,699 (---) [22/67], Trash (NEW) 13,292 (-53%) [31/107], Survivor (Week 2) 12,512 (-62%) [45/96], The Divergent Series: Insurgent (Week 2) 11,515 (---) [12/64], The Visit (NEW) 11,470 (-66%) [54/95], Pitch Perfect 2 (Week 2) 10,394 (-40%) [37/60], Arpeggio of Blue Steel - Ars Nova Cadenza (Week 4) 9,896 (-41%) [46/53], Fathers and Daughters (Week 4) 9,878 (-39%) [54/76], Teacher and Stray Cat (Week 3) Galaxy Turnpike is playing on nearly all of the largest screens, and is one of the widest openers of the year as a result (third-widest for a single format release this year). Its pre-sales are looking pretty good, too, so it should be heading toward an impressive debut this weekend. The film is also incredibly likely to be the biggest release until Star Wars and Yo-Kai Watch open in December.

Corpse Weekend Actuals (10/17-18) ©2015“Library Wars -LM-“Movie Project" 01 (01) ¥173,819,400 ($1.46 million), -47%, ¥856,463,800 ($7.1 million), Library Wars: The Last Mission (Toho) Week 2 02 (03) ¥151,906,300 ($1.27 million), -15%, ¥594,525,600 ($5.0 million), The Intern (Warner Bros.) Week 2 03 (02) ¥137,680,800 ($1.15 million), -35%, ¥1,044,899,900 ($8.7 million), Bakuman (Toho) Week 3 04 (04) ¥101,389,300 ($849,000), -27%, ¥2,070,404,830 ($17.3 million), No Longer Heroine (Warner Bros.) Week 5 05 (--) ¥78,559,100 ($658,000), 0, ¥104,715,500 ($877,000), John Wick (Pony Canyon) DEBUT 06 (05) ¥65,442,050 ($548,000), -44%, ¥279,489,250 ($2.3 million), The Laws of the Universe - Part 0 (Nikkatsu) Week 2 07 (09) ¥47,193,400 ($395,000), -23%, ¥891,811,350 ($7.4 million), The Anthem of the Heart (Aniplex) Week 5 08 (07) ¥42,250,000 ($354,000), -44%, ¥184,817,400 ($1.5 million), Gamba & His Friends (Toei) Week 2 09 (08) ¥37,878,900 ($317,000), -45%, ¥1,532,114,400 ($12.8 million), Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Toho) Week 5 10 (06) ¥35,113,400 ($294,000), -63%, ¥250,386,700 ($2.1 million), Fantastic Four (Fox) Week 2 >Library Wars: The Last Mission wins its second-consecutive weekend atop the box office, with very little competition over the weekend. The film did however suffer a fairly heavy 47% drop, selling 130,351 tickets in its second weekend. This could be due to last Monday's holiday inflating its opening a bit, but it's still a little concerning moving forward. It's on track to exceed ¥1.5 billion, though here's hoping it can still manage to reach the ¥2 billion milestone. >The Intern pulled off an excellent weekend hold, down just 15% from its opening weekend, selling 106,352 tickets in its second frame. The Hathaway/De Niro lead comedy has proven popular among females based on its strong weekday results so far, too, so this one could be in for quite the leggy performance. It's certainly going to reach the ¥1 billion milestone, proving to be a pleasant surprise from Warner Bros. and for the month of October. >Bakuman slips to third place in its third week of release, selling 103,271 tickets over the weekend. The manga/anime live-action adaptation is continue to hold pretty well, and exceeded the ¥1 billion milestone over the weekend. It should have little trouble exceeding the ¥1.5 billion mark, which is fine, though it'll fall short of the ¥2 billion milestone, which is slightly disappointing. >Fantastic Four collapses after its dismal sixth-place debut last weekend. It'll become of the of the lowest-grossing Marvel/DC films of all-time, ahead of only three or four others, I believe. >John Wick finally arrived in Japan, and entire year later, and got off to an expected poor start. The action film, starring the once popular Keanu Reeves, only sold 54,369 tickets over the course of the weekend frame across 169 screens. It's going to be lucky to even reach ¥400 million ($3 million). >The best debut outside the Top 10 this weekend was Survivor, starring Milla Jovovich and Pierce Brosan, opening in fourteenth place in its limited release.

corpse Weekend Actuals (10/10-11) ©2015“Library Wars -LM-“Movie Project" 01 (--) ¥329,462,700 ($2.75 million), 0, ¥329,462,700 ($2.75 million), Library Wars: The Last Mission (Toho) NEW 02 (01) ¥210,261,400 ($1.75 million), -16%, ¥667,334,400 ($5.6 million), Bakuman (Toho) Week 2 03 (--) ¥178,082,900 ($1.48 million), 0, ¥178,082,900 ($1.48 million), The Intern (Warner Bros.) NEW 04 (02) ¥138,413,200 ($1.0 million), -22%, ¥1,791,258,830 ($15.0 million), No Longer Heroine (Warner Bros.) Week 4 05 (--) ¥117,205,850 ($977,000), 0, ¥117,205,850 ($977,000), The Laws of the Universe - Part 0 (Nikkatsu) NEW 06 (--) ¥93,957,600 ($783,000), 0, ¥125,105,000 ($1.04 million), Fantastic Four (Fox) NEW 07 (--) ¥75,053,900 ($626,000), 0, ¥75,053,900 ($626,000), Gamba & His Friends (Toei) NEW 08 (03) ¥69,118,000 ($576,000), -30%, ¥1,422,867,100 ($12.0 million), Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Toho) Week 4 09 (05) ¥61,622,500 ($513,000), -21%, ¥776,558,050 ($6.5 million), The Anthem of the Heart (Aniplex) Week 4 10 (06) ¥52,234,900 ($435,000), -30%, ¥2,139,506,900 ($17.9 million), Unfair: The End (Toho) Week 6 11 (04) ¥49,555,800 ($413,000), -39%, ¥1,083,846,600 ($9.1 million), Ant-Man (Disney) Week 4 >Library Wars: The Last Mission delivered the easy weekend victory, opening 52% higher than its predecessor from two years ago. The second live-action adaptation based on Hiro Arikawa's light novel series sold 246,395 admissions over the weekend frame across 323 screens. Not only is the initial growth over its predecessor quite impressive, but this level of a debut is also fairly strong for a October release. There's a good chance it'll manage to reach the ¥2 billion milestone which is, again, nice for this time of year. >Bakuman held a lot better than I was expecting heading into the weekend, and even throughout the weekend. The live-action adaptation of the popular manga/anime sold a further 155,656 tickets over its second weekend, exceeding 500,000 after nine-days in release. A sub-20% drop is impressive, and proves that it'll be a weekend film since its weekdays were somewhat weak. It'll probably reach the ¥1.5 billion mark, but not much more. >The Intern appeared to be heading for an impressive second place debut, but had to settle for third place instead. However, its third place ranking doesn't take away from the success of its debut. Playing on 272 screens, the Hathaway/Niro lead comedy sold 138,771 admissions over the weekend. It's rare for imported-comedies to find an audience in Japan, so this opening is certainly a success for Warner Bros. and could result in another ¥1 billion earner for them this year. >While the Library Wars sequel delivered an impressive debut, The Laws of the Universe - Part 0 was definitely the biggest surprise this weekend. I really, really underestimated the potential it had going into the weekend. Opening on 172 screens, the anime film sold 85,495 tickets over the weekend, earning itself a Top 5 debut. Bravo. >And as a result, Fantastic Four actually missed the Top 10 in its opening weekend... The superhero reboot bombed, selling only 70,761 tickets over the weekend frame on 639 screens. It's going to be lucky to even reach ¥500 million, if it can stay in the Top 10 long enough to maintain a sufficent enough of screens/showtimes. >Gamba & His Friends also got off to a poor start, which is certainly disappointing for everyone involved in film's very long production (10+ years). The 3D animated film, and the first Gamba film since 1991, sold a measly 58,740 tickets across 596 screens. It also cost a reported ¥2 billion, meaning it'll need to find significant success overseas to recover any of that.

Corpse Weekend Forecast (10/10-11) ©2015“Library Wars -LM-“Movie Project" 01 (--) ¥300,000,000 ($2.5 million), 0, ¥300,000,000 ($2.5 million), Library Wars: The Last Mission (Toho) NEW 02 (01) ¥151,000,000 ($1.3 million), -40%, ¥580,000,000 ($4.8 million), Bakuman (Toho) Week 2 03 (--) ¥140,000,000 ($1.2 million), 0, ¥140,000,000 ($1.2 million), The Intern (Warner Bros.) NEW 04 (02) ¥123,000,000 ($1.0 million), -31%, ¥1,770,000,000 ($14.8 million), No Longer Heroine (Warner Bros.) Week 4 05 (--) ¥85,000,000 ($710,000), 0, ¥115,000,000 ($960,000), Fantastic Four (Fox) NEW 06 (--) ¥70,000,000 ($585,000), 0, ¥70,000,000 ($585,000), Gamba & His Friends (Toei) NEW 07 (03) ¥63,000,000 ($525,000), -37%, ¥1,410,000,000 ($11.8 million), Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Toho) Week 4 08 (05) ¥53,000,000 ($440,000), -32%, ¥760,000,000 ($6.3 million), The Anthem of the Heart (Aniplex) Week 4 09 (04) ¥51,000,000 ($425,000), -38%, ¥1,080,000,000 ($9.0 million), Ant-Man (Disney) Week 4 10 (--) ¥50,000,000 ($415,000), 0, ¥50,000,000 ($415,000), The Laws of the Universe - Part 0 (Nikkatsu) NEW 11 (06) ¥45,000,000 ($375,000), -40%, ¥2,110,000,000 ($17.7 million), Unfair: The End (Toho) Week 6 >Library Wars: The Last Mission will debut atop the box office quite-handily, and pre-sales and morning/afternoon showings suggest it could even reach ¥300 million ($2.5 million) over the weekend. Not only would this be very good for a October release, but it'd also be nearly 40% above the opening of its predecessor, too. >The Intern was looking good prior to the weekend, and its pre-sales/morning ticket sales confirms it's indeed doing pretty well. There's a possibility it'll debut in second place, but I don't want to go that far yet as it could be skewing toward an older audience, which would mean its evening business will be weak. >Fantastic Four is a dub, and it's easy to already call it such due to its poor Friday opening (second place with maybe ¥30 million ($250,000)) and very lackluster pre-sales going into the weekend. I'm actually doubting its chances of reaching the ¥100 million mark over the weekend, which would be embarrassing. >Gamba & His Friends is, unfortunately, not looking too good. I'm sure its Sunday will greatly outpace its Saturday business, as most animated films follow this trend (especially if they skew very young), but it's still going to have a poor opening. There's going to be a lot of money lost on this film, unless it garners international success somewhere... >And finally, The Laws of the Universe - Part 0 might crack the Top 10. I hadn't considered it having any potential until I saw that it's playing on 170 screens. That's low, but above the standard for these types of anime films. And the pre-sales are also decent enough that it might bump Unfair: The End out of the Top 10. This Monday is a National Holiday (Health and Sports Day), so weekend actuals will be delayed until Tuesday.

Corpse Usual Locations - Saturday Seating [Theaters/Showings] (43% of Market) 10/10 Seats (% change) [Theaters/Showings], Film (Week of Release) 280,375 (---) [144/738], Library Wars: The Last Mission (NEW) 154,378 (---) [147/724], Fantastic Four (NEW) 145,452 (-49%) [140/655], Bakuman (Week 2) 108,603 (---) [126/570], The Intern (NEW) 93,664 (---) [129/538], Gamba & His Friends (NEW) 92,534 (-33%) [137/480], No Longer Heroine (Week 4) 69,641 (-49%) [142/500], Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Week 4) 42,862 (-44%) [144/312], Ant-Man (Week 4) 34,719 (-31%) [83/227], The Anthem of the Heart (Week 4) 33,757 (-46%) [139/240], Unfair: The End (Week 6) 31,661 (---) [45/138], The Laws of the Universe - Part 0 (NEW) 30,016 (---) [58/220], Teacher and Stray Cat (NEW) 26,492 (-37%) [135/156], Jurassic World (Week 10) 23,913 (-50%) [38/132], Arpeggio of Blue Steel - Ars Nova Cadenza (Week 2) 23,210 (-49%) [136/149], Pixels (Week 5) 23,198 (-40%) [113/152], Kingsman: The Secret Service (Week 5) 23,157 (-47%) [138/161], Bee of the Sky (Week 5) 22,095 (-59%) [61/169], Fathers and Daughters (Week 2) 16,736 (-03%) [134/136], S: The Last Policeman - Recovery of Our Future (Week 7) 16,470 (-72%) [53/132], The Empire of Corpses (Week 2) 12,786 (-37%) [91/83], Attack on Titan - Part 1 (Week 11) 11,349 (-35%) [89/83], The Boy and the Beast (Week 14) 10,630 (---) [19/80], Little Witch Academia (NEW) 10,066 (-71%) [69/71], Ted 2 (Week 7) 9,736 (-64%) [43/78], Journey to the Shore (Week 2) >Library Wars: The Last Mission is the second live-action adaptation of Hiro Arikawa's light novel series based on the Statement on Intellectual Freedom in Libraries, that went into effect in Japan in 1954 before being amended in 1979. The light novels are quite successful, and have spawned not only two live-action films, but also adaptations in nearly every other medium, including anime and manga releases. The first film, released in April 2013, opened to ¥216.8 million (and finished with ¥1.72 billion), so the second film should be aiming for a debut above that figure, but probably not significantly higher. >Fantastic Four will likely disappoint, I'm thinking a sub-¥200 million weekend, and possibly debut in third place or lower. The mediocre seating/showtime count is an indication that theaters are aware of this fact, too. >The Intern is receiving a wider release than I was expecting and online signs are decent. I'd consider a debut above ¥100 million a success, and that's looking doable at the moment. >And finally, the potential darkhorse of the weekend, is Gamba & His Friends. It's the first Gamba film since 1991, and this new CGI 3D film has had a very long production, 10+ years, and carries a very high budget of ¥2 billion (3x the average budget). The budget can certainly be seen in the footage, but with a budget that high, it better hope for the best over the weekend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PzPT7tduWw4

Corpse Weekend Actuals (10/03-04) ©2015映画「バクマン。」製作委員会 01 (--) ¥251,607,900 ($2.10 million), 0, ¥251,607,900 ($2.10 million), Bakuman (Toho) NEW 02 (01) ¥178,309,700 ($1.49 million), -23%, ¥1,504,266,530 ($12.2 million), No Longer Heroine (Warner Bros.) Week 3 03 (02) ¥99,317,400 ($828,000), -38%, ¥1,267,660,200 ($10.8 million), Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Toho) Week 3 04 (03) ¥81,537,500 ($679,000), -41%, ¥966,845,400 ($8.1 million), Ant-Man (Disney) Week 3 05 (05) ¥77,892,350 ($649,000), -28%, ¥653,695,850 ($5.4 million), The Anthem of the Heart (Aniplex) Week 3 06 (04) ¥74,634,300 ($622,000), -39%, ¥2,000,205,400 ($16.7 million), Unfair: The End (Toho) Week 5 07 (--) ¥67,525,150 ($563,000), 0, ¥67,525,150 ($563,000), Arpeggio of Blue Steel - Ars Nova Cadenza (Showgate) NEW 08 (06) ¥51,622,500 ($430,000), -33%, ¥8,958,884,000 ($73.4 million), Jurassic World (Toho-Towa) Week 9 09 (07) ¥46,323,400 ($386,000), -31%, ¥749,894,400 ($6.3 million), Kingsman: The Secret Service (Kadokawa) Week 4 10 (06) ¥45,303,200 ($378,000), -41%, ¥938,470,200 ($7.8 million), Pixels (Sony) Week 4 >Bakuman, the live-action adaptation of the popular manga/anime series, debuts atop the box-office over the first weekend of October. The film, starring Takeru Satoh and Ryunosuke Kamiki in the lead roles, sold 184,263 tickets across 325 screens over the weekend. The opening is decent, in-line with expectations, and fair for an October release, which is one of the weakest months of the year (June being the other). It'll have little trouble achieving the ¥1 billion milestone, and should be able to exceed ¥1.5 billion ($12 million+) as well. >No Longer Heroine remains strong over its third weekend, selling an additional 148,356 tickets. Warner Bros.'s live-action adaptation of the shojo manga is well on its way to reaching the ¥2 billion milestone, and will likely become their biggest release of 2015. >Arpeggio of Blue Steel - Ars Nova Cadenza was the only other weekend opener to make the top 10, and of the other candidates, it did so on the fewest screens. The second Arpeggio of Blue Steel film sold 42,170 tickets on just 60 screens in its opening weekend, resulting in an extremely high avg. ticket price of ¥1,601. That's a good 5% higher than a typical 3D/Imax release with a favorable share in the premium formats. >Jurassic World didn't hold on as well, or increase, as I was anticipating with the addition of 4DX showings, but is still hanging in there in its ninth weekend of release. It's on the cusp of reaching the ¥9 billion milestone and should do so before the upcoming weekend. The film is also within 1,000 admissions of hitting 6 million admissions. >Outside the Top 10 - The Empire of Corpses came in 13th over the weekend in its debut on 72 screens, while Fathers and Daughters settled for a 14th place debut on 118 screens. ________

Corpse Weekend Forecast (10/03-04) 01 (--) ¥270,000,000 ($2.3 million), 0, ¥270,000,000 ($2.3 million), Bakuman (Toho) NEW 02 (01) ¥177,000,000 ($1.5 million), -24%, ¥1,480,000,000 ($12.0 million), No Longer Heroine (Warner Bros.) Week 3 03 (02) ¥95,000,000 ($790,000), -41%, ¥1,260,000,000 ($10.6 million), Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Toho) Week 3 04 (03) ¥92,000,000 ($770,000), -33%, ¥960,000,000 ($8.0 million), Ant-Man (Disney) Week 3 05 (06) ¥90,000,000 ($750,000), +16%, ¥9,000,000,000 ($73.6 million), Jurassic World (Toho-Towa) Week 9 06 (04) ¥81,000,000 ($675,000), -34%, ¥1,980,000,000 ($16.5 million), Unfair: The End (Toho) Week 5 07 (05) ¥77,000,000 ($640,000), -29%, ¥650,000,000 ($5.3 million), The Anthem of the Heart (Aniplex) Week 3 08 (--) ¥70,000,000 ($580,000), 0, ¥70,000,000 ($580,000), Arpeggio of Blue Steel - Ars Nova Cadenza (Showgate) NEW 09 (06) ¥53,000,000 ($440,000), -30%, ¥950,000,000 ($7.9 million), Pixels (Sony) Week 4 10 (--) ¥50,000,000 ($420,000), 0, ¥50,000,000 ($420,000), Fathers and Daughters (Gaga) NEW >Bakuman is on track for an easy weekend victory, and should see a debut high enough to guarantee it becoming another ¥1 billion earner this year. If it can open a bit closer to ¥300 million, or actually reach the mark over the weekend, perhaps it'll be a future ¥2 billion earner. >Jurassic World is receiving 4DX showings this weekend, and as a result, its pre-sales are up significantly compared to last Saturday. And it they're any indication of the upcoming weekend frame, it'll likely see a weekend increase. I might be conservative with my increase, so don't be surprised if it earns over ¥100 million. Also, it's a lock to surpass Big Hero 6, in gross, as the biggest film of the year now. The bottom half of the Top 10, positions 8-10 in particular, will be interesting to watch over the weekend as there are 8 films that could fill those positions. There's a ¥40-60 million range that most, if not all of them, are likely to land in. >Arpeggio of Blue Steel is the one I feel most confident about opening in the Top 10. The first one earned about ¥40 million in its debut on half-as-many screens, so I really doubt the second film does less than that figure based on that fact alone. Also, its pre-sales are quite strong. >Fathers and Daughters has mediocre pre-sales, though that's not surprising considering its target audience. It should have fair walk-up business, so I'm predicting it'll manage a Top 10 debut. >The Empire of Corpses is doing fine at the usual locations, but 75% of its overall theater count is accounted for at them, so it won't come in much higher. It's a Top 10 candidate, though I see it missing with a 11/12th place debut. >Then there are several holdovers that are also in contention, including Ted 2, Kingsman, and Bee of the Sky. And even Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation could resurface in the Top 10 with the addition of 4DX showings boosting its pre-sales.

Corpse Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation exceeded the ¥5 billion blockbuster milestone on Tuesday, earning ¥5,003,281,600 with 3,814,261 admissions, on its 54th day in release. Mission: Impossible - Box-Office History ¥9.70 billion - Mission: Impossible II ¥6.50 billion - Mission: Impossible ¥5.38 billion - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol ¥5.15 billion - Mission: Impossible III ¥5.00 billion - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation [54 Days in Release] Rogue Nation is the fifth-consecutive film in the Mission: Impossible franchise to achieve blockbuster status, trailing only Harry Potter with the most blockbuster entries: # of Blockbuster Entries/Overall Entries - Franchise 8/8 (100%) - Harry Potter 5/5 (100%) - Mission: Impossible 4/4 (100%) - Bayside Shakedown 4/4 (100%) - Jurassic Park 4/4 (100%) - Pirates of the Caribbean 4/6 (67%) - Star Wars 3/3 (100%) - Back to the Future 3/3 (100%) - The Lord of the Rings 3/3 (100%) - The Matrix 3/4 (75%) - Umizaru 3/5 (60%) - Spider-Man 3/18 (17%) - Pokemon 3+

Corpse Weekend Actuals (09/26-27) ©2015 映画「ヒロイン失格」製作委員会 ©幸田もも子／集英社 01 (02) ¥233,825,500 ($1.94 million), -12%, ¥1,090,611,830 ($8.7 million), No Longer Heroine (Warner Bros.) Week 2 02 (01) ¥159,287,800 ($1.32 million), -51%, ¥1,001,176,000 ($8.3 million), Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Toho) Week 2 03 (03) ¥137,481,900 ($1.14 million), -31%, ¥746,322,900 ($6.2 million), Ant-Man (Disney) Week 2 04 (04) ¥122,764,000 ($1.02 million), -32%, ¥1,774,051,800 ($14.8 million), Unfair: The End (Toho) Week 4 05 (05) ¥108,558,350 ($900,000), -23%, ¥473,402,400 ($3.8 million), The Anthem of the Heart (Aniplex) Week 2 06 (09) ¥77,580,200 ($643,000), -29%, ¥8,841,025,100 ($72.3 million), Jurassic World (Toho-Towa) Week 8 07 (06) ¥76,374,700 ($633,000), -36%, ¥829,763,000 ($6.9 million), Pixels (Sony) Week 3 08 (08) ¥73,674,200 ($611,000), -32%, ¥2,313,827,500 ($19.1 million), Ted 2 (Toho-Towa) Week 5 09 (07) ¥71,584,000 ($594,000), -35%, ¥786,042,700 ($6.6 million), Bee of the Sky (Shochiku) Week 3 10 (10) ¥67,046,900 ($556,000), -07%, ¥620,063,300 ($5.1 million), Kingsman: The Secret Service (Kadokawa) Week 3 Everything increased over weekend estimates. >No Longer Heroine pulls off an even more impressive hold, rising to first place, selling 196,496 tickets in its second weekend of release. Now, even if it only manages normal weekly holds, it should exceed the ¥2 billion milestone, and is in an excellent position to outgross American Sniper to become Warner Bros.'s biggest film of the year. And as I mentioned above, if that happens, this will be the fourth-consecutive year that a local film distributed via Warner Bros. has been their top film of the year. >Attack on Titan - Part 2, while improving on estimates, still experiences the deadly 50% second weekend drop, selling only 112,487 tickets over the weekend. On the bright side, and it's quite dim, it did narrowly exceed the ¥1 billion milestone over the weekend. That'll keep it's chances of exceeding ¥2 billion slightly better, but it's not looking too good. Combined, the two Attack on Titan films are looking to earn barely ¥5 billion, a number that everyone involved were certainly hoping one of the titles could have grossed. >Ant-Man cements itself as a future ¥1 billion earner, a milestone that most superhero films don't reach or struggle to reach. Marvel's tiny hero delivered one of the strongest second weekend holds in their MCU, selling an additional 96,575 tickets in its second weekend of release. It's actually doing surprisingly well, and as apart of the MCU, should finish behind only the two Avengers films, and the Iron Man sequels. Pretty impressive feat. >Jurassic World enters the Top 50 Highest-Grossing Films of All-Time, at #47, after its eighth weekend in release.

Corpse Weekend Estimates (09/26-27) ©2015 映画「ヒロイン失格」製作委員会 ©幸田もも子／集英社 01 (02) ¥211,000,000 ($1.75 million), -20%, ¥1,050,000,000 ($8.4 million), No Longer Heroine (Warner Bros.) Week 2 02 (01) ¥147,000,000 ($1.22 million), -54%, ¥975,000,000 ($8.1 million), Attack on Titan - Part 2: End of the World (Toho) Week 2 03 (03) ¥126,000,000 ($1.04 million), -37%, ¥720,000,000 ($6.0 million), Ant-Man (Disney) Week 2 04 (04) ¥113,000,000 ($940,000), -37%, ¥1,740,000,000 ($14.5 million), Unfair: The End (Toho) Week 4 05 (05) ¥100,000,000 ($830,000), -29%, ¥440,000,000 ($3.6 million), The Anthem of the Heart (Aniplex) Week 2 06 (09) ¥76,000,000 ($630,000), -30%, ¥8,800,000,000 ($72.0 million), Jurassic World (Toho-Towa) Week 8 07 (06) ¥68,000,000 ($565,000), -44%, ¥785,000,000 ($6.6 million), Pixels (Sony) Week 3 08 (08) ¥65,000,000 ($540,000), -39%, ¥2,300,000,000 ($18.9 million), Ted 2 (Toho-Towa) Week 5 09 (07) ¥63,000,000 ($525,000), -42%, ¥765,000,000 ($6.4 million), Bee of the Sky (Shochiku) Week 3 10 (10) ¥57,000,000 ($470,000), -21%, ¥560,000,000 ($4.7 million), Kingsman: The Secret Service (Kadokawa) Week 3 >No Longer Heroine delivered a strong second weekend, following it's impressive debut and holiday weekend frame last week. Its chances of exceeding the ¥2 billion milestone are looking good, and it could make a run at American Sniper to become Warner Bros.'s biggest film of the year. If that happens, 2015 will be the fourth-consecutive year that a local film released by Warner Bros. was their biggest film in the market: Rurouni Kenshin (2012) > Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion (2013) > Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno (2014) > No Longer Heroine? (2015). They're doing very well since putting more of their efforts in the release of local productions in the country after Harry Potter concluded. >Attack on Titan - Part 2, there's nothing good to be said here. There's a very real possibility that it'll miss the ¥2 billion milestone, and gross 40%+ less than its predecessor. Its under-performance, unfortunately, hurts the Fall box office season, though thankfully most of the other Fall releases are meeting or exceeding expectations so far. >Ant-Man is performing well, and should outgross all non-Avengers/Iron Man MCU films, though it can still outgross the first Iron Man. >Kingsman wasn't able to capture the magic that made it a big hit in South Korea and other Asian markets, but it's having a nice little run in Japan anyway.