JAPAN BOX OFFICE | Demon Slayer breaks all time record for OW

[TheseDays]

Yeah I was just surprised by how late they released it, wasn't suggesting it had anything to do with the poor box office returns. 

 

It's interesting conundrum though. I read a great article the other day that showed a graph representing a clear correlation between twitter buzz and the box office performance of interstellar in South Korea, spiking towards the weekends and everything. Perhaps the bond between box office and the social network isn't as apparent in Japan. 

 

True. Also, the public About Time had the biggest buzz was very specific (trendy, urban women) and, given the movie's big popularity among women, I'd also guess that it probably did big business on "ladies' day" when tickets are heavily discounte. I'd say it'll do good business on rentals and such though, given the movie is still "buzzing" on social media which probably means it is still being discovered. Other movies that had big buzz among this segment in Japan this year on Instagram: Frozen; Maleficent; The Grand Budapest Hotel. The first two are not big surprises, the third one was definitely not a big hit but it did better than About Time. Also, Cinderella also buzzed when the trailer was released and given Disney's power among both kids and grown women and the success of Maleficent, I'm sure it'll do more than alright.

 

Anyway, excited for Parasyte Part 1 this weekend. Huge marketing, big budgets and big expectations, let's see if it'll deliever. I have the impression the manga/anime is not as huge as Rurouni Kenshin among the general public but Toho and Kodansha clearly have huge expectations.

 

Then, there is Ao Haru Ride, which is hugely popular among teen girls. The first weekend will be good just because it is such a popular franchise but the overall total will depends on how well word of mouth goes. Hot Road had really good word of mouth and did well this year, same with Kanojo wa Uso o Aishigiteru last year. The Kimi ni Todoke movie, which was really huge among girls in its manga form, was not as well-liked and did not reach its full potential (although it did good). So we will see how that one goes...

[Michael Seng Wah]

Interstellar Saturday -Monday 3-day opening 279.1M yen or $2.35M.

 

Any updated numbers from Japan?

[Olive]

Any updated numbers from Japan?

The numbers you quoted are weekend actuals.

No new update available.

[edroger3]

Interstellar tue-wed very weak (about 350K a day).

Edited November 27, 2014 by edroger

[teardropmina]

Weekend Interstellar just barely beat the local romance, with far lower average (IS shown in 512 screens, MIRACLE: Devil Claus` Love and Magic in 302 screens)

[teardropmina]

Interstellar tue-wed very weak (about 350K a day).

 

don't seem it would have monster leg; Gravity's OW only counted 9.6% of its total gross in Japan. 

[Andy001]

This year the Japanese box office has been very unfriendly to Hollywood films that weren't

• Animated films (just Frozen basically)
• Disney fairy tale (Maleficent did well so Cinderella should be all right)
• Spiderman (most popular Hollywood SH in Japan)
• Godzilla (Based on original Japanese film

Beginning of a new trend?

Excluding these hollywood animation such as big hero 6, minions etc...nxt yr is gonna be very tough for any movies to break thr in japan.

The only movies i think will do okay in japan nxt yr (excluding animation films )

1. Cinderella ( jap women just love this kinda story )

2. Ted 2 ( surely will be a massive hit nxt yr )

3. Age of ultron ( even this still nt a guarantee, though part 1 made over $40 mills)

4. Pan 2015 ( might be a dark horse )

5. Star wars 7 ( used to be huge there but nothing certain nowaday)

6. Mission impossible 5 ( still a massive franchise in japan n tom cruise is still popular)

7. Jurassic world ( a massive popular franchise in the past )

8. Terminator 5 ( popular franchise in the past also)

9. Bond 24 ( hard to guess but u never know)

10. Fast 7 ( fast 6 did quite okay there plus the paul walker factor might help)

[Rsyu]

Excluding these hollywood animation such as big hero 6, minions etc...nxt yr is gonna be very tough for any movies to break thr in japan.

The only movies i think will do okay in japan nxt yr (excluding animation films )

1. Cinderella ( jap women just love this kinda story )

2. Ted 2 ( surely will be a massive hit nxt yr )

3. Age of ultron ( even this still nt a guarantee, though part 1 made over $40 mills)

4. Pan 2015 ( might be a dark horse )

5. Star wars 7 ( used to be huge there but nothing certain nowaday)

6. Mission impossible 5 ( still a massive franchise in japan n tom cruise is still popular)

7. Jurassic world ( a massive popular franchise in the past )

8. Terminator 5 ( popular franchise in the past also)

9. Bond 24 ( hard to guess but u never know)

10. Fast 7 ( fast 6 did quite okay there plus the paul walker factor might help) 

 

I mostly agree with your list. If you exclude Frozen from this year 2014 was abysmal for Hollywood. On average, I can't see 2015 doing any worse. 

[lab276]

[lab276]

The films over 1b this year up to now (44) equal 134.2b. Last year's top 44 equaled 124.69b. Total box office last year was 194.237b.

[Andy001]

Without animation films,, maybe we gotta wait until avatar 2 to break $100 mills in japan again, do we? Even avatar 2 id say only 30% chance of reaching !!!

Edited November 28, 2014 by Andy001

[lab276]

Just out of interest, I wanted to know what the biggest film in each calendar year was. 1980-1999 based on rentals. For the following years, it's hard to tell if the one I've got was actually number one in the year (because of December release): 1983, 1985, 1987, 1990, 1994, 1999, 2005. Alternative listed second. If Howl's Moving Castle made it to ~22b, then I'm certain it was number one in 2005, otherwise it was likely Goblet.

1980 The Empire Strikes Back

1981 The Elephant Man

1982 The Gods Must Be Crazy

1983 E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial or Antarctica

1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

1985 Ghostbusters or The Burmese Harp (ビルマの竪琴)

1986 The Adventures of Milo and Otis

1987 Top Gun or Hachiko

1988 The Silk Road (敦煌)

1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

1990 Heaven and Earth (天と地と) or Back to the Future Part 2

1991 Terminator 2

1992 Porco Rosso

1993 Jurassic Park

1994 True Lies or Cliffhanger

1995 Die Hard with a Vengeance

1996 Mission: Impossible

1997 Princess Mononoke

1998 Titanic

1999 The Phantom Menace or Armageddon

2000 Mission: Impossible 2

2001 Spirited Away

2002 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

2003 Bayside Shakedown 2

2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire or Howl's Moving Castle

2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

2008 Ponyo

2009 Rookies

2010 Avatar

2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

2012 Umizaru Brave Hearts

2013 The Wind Rises

2014 Frozen

Posting this again (just because!). I got 2005 wrong, it's Revenge of the Sith not Goblet. Out of the more questionable years, 1983, 1990 and 1994 look the most certain (for E.T, Heaven and Earth and True Lies respectively). 1999 I'm less sure of, but I'll go with The Phantom Menace. 1985 and 1987 are too hard to tell.

Amended list:

1980 The Empire Strikes Back

1981 The Elephant Man

1982 The Gods Must Be Crazy

1983 E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial

1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

1985 Ghostbusters or The Burmese Harp (ビルマの竪琴)

1986 The Adventures of Milo and Otis

1987 Top Gun or Hachiko

1988 The Silk Road (敦煌)

1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

1990 Heaven and Earth (天と地と)

1991 Terminator 2

1992 Porco Rosso

1993 Jurassic Park

1994 True Lies

1995 Die Hard with a Vengeance

1996 Mission: Impossible

1997 Princess Mononoke

1998 Titanic

1999 The Phantom Menace

2000 Mission: Impossible 2

2001 Spirited Away

2002 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

2003 Bayside Shakedown 2

2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2005 Revenge of the Sith

2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

2008 Ponyo

2009 Rookies

2010 Avatar

2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

2012 Umizaru Brave Hearts

2013 The Wind Rises

2014 Frozen

Edited November 28, 2014 by lab276

[TheseDays]

Excluding these hollywood animation such as big hero 6, minions etc...nxt yr is gonna be very tough for any movies to break thr in japan.

The only movies i think will do okay in japan nxt yr (excluding animation films )

1. Cinderella ( jap women just love this kinda story )

2. Ted 2 ( surely will be a massive hit nxt yr )

3. Age of ultron ( even this still nt a guarantee, though part 1 made over $40 mills)

4. Pan 2015 ( might be a dark horse )

5. Star wars 7 ( used to be huge there but nothing certain nowaday)

6. Mission impossible 5 ( still a massive franchise in japan n tom cruise is still popular)

7. Jurassic world ( a massive popular franchise in the past )

8. Terminator 5 ( popular franchise in the past also)

9. Bond 24 ( hard to guess but u never know)

10. Fast 7 ( fast 6 did quite okay there plus the paul walker factor might help)

 

"Ted" was really the surprise Hollywood hit. Then again, it had a very big, Japan-oriented marketing campaign. It still exceeded expectations anyway.

Edited November 28, 2014 by TheseDays

[Michael Seng Wah]

Interstellar tue-wed very weak (about 350K a day).

 

Will it close above $10mil? This seems to be pretty weak.

[edroger3]

Will it close above $10mil? This seems to be pretty weak.

In first 8 days could be about 4m$. 2nd weekend drop is near 50%.

[cremino]

Corpse

 

Weekend Forecast (11/29-30)

01 (--) ¥320 million ($2.8 million), 0, ¥320 million ($2.8 million), Parasyte Part 1 (Toho) NEW
01 (--) ¥220 million ($1.9 million), 0, ¥260 million ($2.2 million), Fury (Kadokawa) NEW
03 (01) ¥130 million ($1.1 million), -33%, ¥550 million ($4.7 million), Interstellar (Warner Bros.) Week 2
04 (03) ¥116 million ($1.0 million), -23%, ¥780 million ($6.8 million), As the Gods Will (Toho) Week 3
05 (02) ¥113 million ($1.0 million), -38%, ¥490 million ($4.2 million), Miracle: Devil Claus' Love and Magic (Toho) Week 2
06 (04) ¥66 million ($0.57 million), -30%, ¥605 million ($5.3 million), Pale Moon (Shochiku) Week 3
07 (05) ¥42 million ($0.37 million), -40%, ¥190 million ($1.7 million), Attack on Titan Season 1 Recap: Crimson Bow & Arrow (Pony Canyon) Week 2
08 (07) ¥40 million ($0.35 million), -25%, ¥910 million ($8.0 million), Beauty and the Beast (Gaga) Week 5
09 (--) ¥35 million ($0.31 million), 0, ¥35 million ($0.31 million), The Nutcracker (Asmik Ace) NEW
10 (08) ¥34 million ($0.30 million), -32%, ¥820 million ($7.2 million), Clover (Toho) Week 5

It would appear we're going have to wait until December 20th for when Yokai Watch and Big Hero 6 open for anything eventful at the box-office again.

Parasyte Part 1 is going to disappoint unless it has a strong evening showing or recovers on Sunday. Morning/afternoon ticket sales are unimpressive and aren't much higher than Fury's so far. It should be the biggest opener since September (sigh) but an opening of this level would be disappointing for what was supposed to be a decent sized hit. This isn't the way Takashi Yamazaki wants to follow up on his back-to-back blockbuster hits (The Eternal Zero and Stand By Me, Doraemon) from earlier this year.

Fury opened pretty well yesterday earning around ¥35/40 million ($300,000-350,000) based on estimates. This should result in an opening weekend around the ¥200 million mark, but perhaps it can do slightly better. All I'm wanting is for something to actually open above the mark; it's been 8-weeks(!) since a film has done so... Fury will also become Kadokawa's biggest release in at least 2, maybe 3+ years.

The Nutcracker (CGI/3D Japanese adaptation) is only playing on 89 screens, but it's doing pretty well and may debut in the Top 10 since that hasn't been a hard task for 2+ months now.

[Olive]

David Ayer's Fury opened with $1.7 million (￥210 million) from 156,000 admissions at 332 screens in Japan this weekend, coming in second place behind Parayste from Takashi Yamazaki.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/japan-box-office-fury-opens-752881?utm_source=twitter

[xSabrinax]

Just found this in Naruto: The Last tag in tumblr:

 

"To those claiming the movie is flopping, this comes from Nikkansports(.)com "配給の東宝によると、午後３時の段階で、興行収入（興収）１４億７０００万円を記録した, １２年７月公開の前作「ROAD　TO　NINJA－NARUTO　THEMOVIE－」対比１７５％を記録 " -> "According to Toho Distribution, at 3PM, the box-office revenue [for THE LAST] was 1 billion and 470 million yen, 175% more than the previous movie "ROAD TO NINJA - NARUTO THE MOVIE" "

 

[AJG]

The new Naruto Movie apparantly grossed more than the lifetime gross of the highest grossing Naruto movie, in just 1 day.

BULLSHIT!!!!!

Edited December 7, 2014 by AJG

[cremino]

Corpse

 

Weekend Estimates (12/06-07)

 

01 (--) ¥475 million ($4.1 million), 0, ¥475 million ($4.1 million), The Last: Naruto the Movie (Toho) NEW
02 (01) ¥221 million ($2.0 million), -35%, ¥880 million ($7.6 million), Parasyte Part 1 (Toho) Week 2
03 (02) ¥102 million ($0.87 million), -49%, ¥540 million ($4.6 million), Fury (Kadokawa) Week 2
04 (--) ¥90 million ($0.77 million), 0, ¥90 million ($0.77 million), Space Battleship Yamato 2199: Star-Voyaging Ark (Shochiku) NEW
05 (03) ¥81 million ($0.69 million), -30%, ¥730 million ($6.3 million), Interstellar (Warner Bros.) Week 3
06 (04) ¥70 million ($0.60 million), -27%, ¥930 million ($8.2 million), As the Gods Will (Toho) Week 4
07 (05) ¥68 million ($0.58 million), -15%, ¥560 million ($4.8 million), Miracle: Devil Claus' Love and Magic (Toho) Week 3
08 (06) ¥34 million ($0.29 million), -43%, ¥730 million ($6.3 million), Pale Moon (Shochiku) Week 4
09 (--) ¥30 million ($0.26 million), 0, ¥45 million ($0.38 million), Bump of Chicken: Willpolis 2014 (Toho Video Division) NEW
10 (06) ¥29 million ($0.25 million), -27%, ¥265 million ($2.3 million), Attack on Titan Season 1 Recap: Crimson Bow & Arrow (Pony Canyon) Week 3


>The Last: Naruto the Movie, celebrating the conclusion of the iconic long-running series (15 years), has the best opening weekend since the end of Summer this year. Estimates have its weekend admissions around 390,000, which brings it pretty close to the ¥500 million mark using the last film's avg. ticket price (+the tax increase from this past year).

The opening in admissions is approx. 50-60% higher than the previous opening record in the film franchise (254,000 admissions), and it'll undoubtedly go on to become the highest-grossing film in the series, too, which is currently ¥1.47 billion. Based on the estimate, it should have no problem exceeding ¥2 billion ($17/18 million) and has a good shot at reaching ¥2.5 billion ($22/23 million) with New Year coming up in a few weeks.

>Parasyte Part 1 has a decent second weekend hold, but is still underperforming. It's going to need some much better holds from this point forward if it wants to have a respectable finish. It's aiming for about ¥2 billion, but really needs to make a push for ¥2.5 billion+.

>Fury has a rough second weekend, but this is a clear sign that its audiences are mostly the older crowds after its solid weekday numbers. Films that skew old generally have weak weekends, but excellent weekdays. It'll still earn over ¥1 billion ($10 million+).

>Space Battleship Yamato: Star-Voyaging Ark opened very well, and it's only playing on 89 screens. The limited opening though makes the weekend estimate very rough, especially since its ticket prices could be quite high, but with an estimated 64,000 admissions over the weekend, it should be around the ¥100 million mark.

>Bump of Chicken: Willpolis 2014 is also a limited release, but on just 20 screens. Almost all of then are accounted for, but guessing the avg. ticket price for this one is more difficult. Concert tickets are usually very high, so it may have opening a bit higher than estimated here. Concert films like this one also rarely have their box-office numbers reported, so I hope that won't be the case if it really made the Top 10 as estimates suggest.