KP1025

On the whole, I found the songs/musical numbers in the sequel to be less catchy and memorable than the first film. The only exceptions are Into the Unknown and the dazzling Show Yourself (seriously, I'm obsessed with that scene).

Corpse: Weekend Actuals (11/23-24)01 (---) ¥1,616,000,000 ($14.9 million), 0, ¥1,939,746,600 ($17.8 million), Frozen II (Disney) NEW02 (---) ¥204,000,000 ($1.9 million), 0, ¥267,960,000 ($2.5 million), The 47 Ronin in Debt! (Shochiku) NEW 03 (01) ¥202,502,600 ($1.9 million), -32%, ¥1,810,721,250 ($16.6 million), Terminator: Dark Fate (Fox) WK3 04 (03) ¥179,765,200 ($1.6 million), -02%, ¥671,941,000 ($6.1 million), Sumikko Gurashi: The Pop-Up Book and the Mystery Child (Asmik Ace) WK3 05 (02) ¥116,847,150 ($1.1 million), -38%, ¥1,526,474,800 ($14.0 million), It: Chapter Two (Warner Bros.) WK4 06 (04) ¥x65,638,950 ($603,000), -34%, ¥4,804,757,450 ($44.3 million), Joker (Warner Bros.) WK8 07 (06) ¥x37,946,300 ($349,000), -09%, ¥547,164,490 ($5.0 million), Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (Aniplex) WK5 08 (05) ¥x35,396,450 ($325,000), -31%, ¥758,986,850 ($6.9 million), At the Matinee (Toho) WK409 (---) ¥x30,000,000 ($275,000), 0, ¥x48,765,700 ($0.4 million), Zombieland: Double Tap (Sony) NEW 10 (08) ¥x22,638,900 ($208,000), -39%, ¥224,264,700 ($1.7 million), Re: Life in a Different World from Zero (Kadokawa) WK3 11 (10) ¥x19,915,800 ($183,000), -44%, ¥113,613,500 ($1.0 million), Brightburn (Toho-Towa) WK2 12 (12) ¥x19,138,600 ($176,000), -35%, ¥642,118,800 ($5.9 million), Star☆Twinkle PreCure: Putting Thought into the Star Song (Toei) WK6 13 (07) ¥x18,899,400 ($174,000), -50%, ¥1,365,662,350 ($12.4 million), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Disney) WK6Japanese audiences came out in full for this weekend for Frozen II, showing they're clearly not ready to "Let It Go". Frozen became the third highest grossing film, and second most attended film, of all-time in Japan back in 2014. >Frozen II got off to a record-start, selling 1,210,000 admissions over the weekend frame alone across 878 screens; and selling 1,452,530 admissions after three-days in release. This debut is 117% higher than the first film, and either set some very impressive records or achieved high accolades in the process. Here are some below:Records: *Biggest Opening Weekend Of 2019 - Revenue and Admissions. *Biggest Opening Weekend For An Imported Animated Film - Revenue and Admissions. *Biggest Disney Opening Weekend Ever - Revenue and Admissions. *Biggest Opening Weekend For An Animated Film In November - Revenue and Admissions.Accomplishments: *Second Biggest Opening Weekend Ever For An Animated Film - Revenue and Admissions. *Second Biggest Opening Weekend Of The Decade - Revenue and Admissions. *Second Biggest Opening Weekend Since 2007 - Revenue and Admissions. *Second Biggest Opening Weekend In November - Revenue and Admissions. *Tenth Biggest Opening Weekend Ever - Revenue. *Twelfth Biggest Opening Weekend Ever - Admissions. *Seventh Animated Film to Ever Debut Above 1,000,000 Admissions. *Thirteenth Overall Film to Ever Debut Above 1,000,000 Admissions. So, what sort of path does this absolutely stellar debut put the film on? It's always difficult to project a likely finish, or even pinpoint a likely range, after a single weekend in the market, but it's going to be a lot. Even if it has "average" legs for this time of year for a major animated film, it's likely going to exceed ¥15 billion ($140 million), but the likelihood of it grossing more is very high, and it'll probably approach the ¥20 billion ($180 million+) milestone.

Happy to see it passed $130 million with actuals.

The entire Show Yourself scene gave me chills (my audience went wild for it too at the end). I still can't stop thinking about it, and I'm tempted to rewatch just to see it on the big screen again.

Those were in the summer though with kids off from school. I think 80% drop is mostly in-line with a kid-skewing film on a regular school day.

Dory's legs also took a noticeable hit from the big breakout of SLOP (which was direct animated competition).

I think $500 million DOM is still possible with upcoming holiday support, but we'll know once we see how big the drop is over Thanksgiving.

Incredibles 3 could do it with a great hook. I'd like to see a version that's set 5-10 years after the previous films.

I doubt it. The Minions franchise seems to be on a downward trajectory as shown by DM3.

I thought that title belonged to Lion King now after it failed to reach the lofty $2 billion WW predictions.

Probably very little effect, just like how Lion King did not affect TS4 in any meaningful way. In Japan, big releases can often exist side by side without cannibalizing each other's business.

Yeah, Harry Potter was a true phenomenon in Japan. Although each sequel continued to lose a large portion of the audience (the final film grossed less than half of the first film).

According to Corpse, here are the biggest opening weekends without previews included.

It's important to note that Toy Story 4's massive opening had the help of a holiday. Its Friday might also have been a little larger than usual due to the upcoming summer vacation.

This is what Corpse had to say about Ben-Hur's admissions.

39 consecutive days over $1 million for Joker is very impressive, beating both Endgame and Lion King (38 days each).

And F7 and F8 were released in 3D internationally.

I think a heavily censored/toned down version wouldn't be nearly as well received (Deadpool 2 is a good example), if it ever happens in China. Plus, there is the issue of piracy. Some foreign films have had theatrical releases despite being available online already, and none have ever grossed close to $100 million to my knowledge.

Corpse: Terminator Box-Office HistoryOpening Weekends:¥1.097 billion ($9.5 million) / 786,000 - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)>W/Previews: ¥1.456 billion ($12.6 million) / 1,043,267¥592.1 million ($6.1 million) / 461,866 - Terminator: Salvation (2009)>W/Previews: ¥1.021 billion ($10.6 million) / 799,653¥515.7 million ($4.2 million) / 352,718 - Terminator: Genisys (2015)Totals:¥8.79 billion ($49.6 million) / 6.46 million - Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) #1 OS Market¥8.20 billion ($67.9 million) / 6.00 million - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) #1 OS Market¥3.32 billion ($33.9 million) / 2.60 million - Terminator: Salvation (2009) #1 OS Market¥2.74 billion ($22.0 million) / 1.91 million - Terminator: Genisys (2015) #2 OS MarketThe Terminator (1985) earned less than ¥1 billion in distributor income when it was released, so it wasn't an initial success at the box-office (probably even considered a disappointment) and its gross is unknown. But it clearly gained a following (presumably on home video) given just how huge Terminator 2: Judgement Day was. T2 is still the 58th highest grossing film ever in Japan after almost 30 years; and T3 also ranks well as the 65th highest grossing film.Terminator: Dark Fate debuts this weekend, so let's see if it can be more of a return to form for the franchise in the market. Japan has been the franchise's top OS market (well, 2nd for Genisys), but it's dropped off a lot. It's not going to suddenly jump back to T2 or T3 numbers, but surpassing Genisys and Salvation would be a nice accomplishment and it's not unreasonable. Weekend Forecast (11/09-10)01 (---) ¥600,000,000 ($5.5 million), 0, ¥800,000,000 ($7.3 million), Terminator: Dark Fate (Fox) NEW 02 (01) ¥185,000,000 ($1.7 million), -32%, ¥960,000,000 ($8.8 million), It: Chapter Two (Warner Bros.) WK2 03 (02) ¥159,000,000 ($1.5 million), -27%, ¥4,450,000,000 ($40.9 million), Joker (Warner Bros.) WK6 04 (03) ¥x92,000,000 ($840,000), -26%, ¥500,000,000 ($4.6 million), At the Matinee (Toho) WK205 (---) ¥x75,000,000 ($685,000), 0, ¥105,000,000 ($1.3 million), Re: Life in a Different World from Zero (Kadokawa) NEW 06 (04) ¥x67,000,000 ($615,000), -35%, ¥1,225,000,000 ($11.2 million), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (Disney) WK407 (---) ¥x60,000,000 ($550,000), 0, ¥x80,000,000 ($1.3 million), One Night (Nikkatsu) NEW 08 (05) ¥x57,000,000 ($520,000), -33%, ¥400,000,000 ($3.7 million), Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (Aniplex) WK3 09 (06) ¥x56,000,000 ($510,000), -30%, ¥660,000,000 ($6.1 million), Immortal Heroes (Nikkatsu) WK4 10 (09) ¥x39,000,000 ($355,000), -39%, ¥550,000,000 ($5.0 million), Star☆Twinkle PreCure: Putting Thought into the Star Song (Toei) WK4Notables Below:¥x20,000,000 ($185,000), -25%, ¥13,925,000,000 ($129.2 million), Weathering With You (Toho) WK17¥x17,000,000 ($155,000), -40%, ¥3,550,000,000 ($32.7 million), Hit Me Anyone One More Time (Toho) WK8Terminator: Dark Fate appears to be bringing back in some of the old franchise fans, having opened somewhere around 25/30% higher than Terminator: Genisys on Friday, and it seems poised for an even better improvement on Saturday based on pre-sales. But not only does it seem very, very likely to open higher than Genisys, it also looks good to either match or beat the opening weekend of Terminator: Salvation by a bit as long as Sunday delivers. I've been expecting a better debut for Dark Fate, and these numbers are pretty impressive, suggesting a ¥600/700 million opening weekend. So it looks likely to open higher than Salvation as well (in gross). Even if it does end up being as frontloaded as the previous two entries, it has a good chance of reaching ¥3.5/¥4 billion ($30-35 million) with a ¥600/700 million opening.

Looks like Dark Fate is having a solid opening in Japan. Perhaps the only major market with a big increase from Genisys.

Aladdin and Toy Story 4 both had 52 consecutive days above $1 million.

Like Let It Go or Speechless, I think Into the Unknown will provide a similar boost for Frozen II. Especially in markets like South Korea or Japan where musicals can become big phenomenons if certain songs resonate with the audience.

Frozen grossed ¥25.5 billion, which was approximately $250 million in 2014 according to Corpse's chart. 40% drop in yen to ¥15.3 billion would be $140 million today, a drop of 44% in USD. As for 3D share and average ticket price, 2019 levels are slightly higher than 2014 according to Corpse:

40% decline would still be good enough for Frozen II to cross ¥15 billion and win the year in Japan over Weathering With You.

I'm not saying the Joker IP alone is responsible for the film crossing $1 billion WW, but I think it definitely helped make the film more accessible to the general audience. Queen is well-known among older audiences, but the film was still a biopic about Freddie Mercury at its core. It could have easily pulled a Rocketman (Elton John is another huge icon in the music industry) and grossed under $200 million WW, especially with the LGBT angle and negative reviews prior to release. Joker, being an origin story for one of the most infamous fictional characters ever created, was always guaranteed a higher floor. But I digress. Surely, they are both incredibly surprising and amazing runs for different reasons.