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

[Corpse]

Yeah, I'd say Monsters, Inc. 2 is a $100 million contender. The original is Pixar's third biggest film in the market, second in admissions, and was one of the most leggiest films ever - and I know it did very well on DVD, too.Hayao Miyazaki's next film is rumored to be released next Summer, though, so it'll have the biggest competition possible in the market. Summer has been good to Pixar, but Winter/Spring has been just as good so I'd move Monsters, Inc. 2 to December or March 2014 (the first one did extraordinary well in the Spring). Regardless, it'll certainly be one of the biggest films next year and maybe Hollywood's top film if it beats The Hobbits.

Edited August 6, 2012 by Corpse

[Corpse]

Warner (496 Screens)

1 (-) Kamen Rider Fourze The Movie: Everyone, Space is Here! (TOEI) NEW

2 (1) Umizaru: Brave Hearts (Toho) Week 4

3 (4) The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki (Toho) Week 3

4 (5) Pokemon BW: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman - Keldeo (Toho) Week 4

5 (-) Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (Paramount) NEW

Last week's openers 'The Dark Knight Rises' and 'Naruto' fall out of the ranking here. They ranked 2nd and 3rd last weekend. I'm going to assume they're 6th and 7th, but Warner only releases their Top 5.

[Corpse]

Sunshine (165 Screens)

1 (-) Kamen Rider Fourze The Movie: Everyone, Space is Here! (TOEI) NEW

2 (2) Umizaru: Brave Hearts (Toho) Week 4

3 (1) The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.) Week 2

4 (4) Pokemon BW: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman - Keldeo (Toho) Week 4

5 (5) The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki (Toho) Week 3

Holdovers stay strong here with 'Madagascar 3' missing the Top 5. 'Naruto' falls out of the Top 5 after debuting in 3rd last week. Kamen Rider doesn't appear as weak as estimates suggested.

Just Shikoku left and then the re-cap.

Edited August 6, 2012 by Corpse

[Corpse]

Shikoku (116 Screens)

1 (2) Umizaru: Brave Hearts (Toho) Week 4

2 (-) Kamen Rider Fourze: Everyone, Space is Here! (TOEI) NEW

3 (4) The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki (Toho) Week 3

4 (5) Pokemon BW: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman - Keldeo (Toho) Week 4

5 (1) Naruto: Road to Ninja (Toho) Week 2

6 (-) Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (Paramount) NEW

7 (3) The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros.) Week 2

8 (6) Eight Ranger (Toho) Week 2

9 (-) Another (Kadakoda Pictures/Toho) NEW

10 (7) Heruta Skelter (Asmik Ace) Week 4

Recap coming up.

[Corpse]

August 4-5

Major Cinema Chain Weekend Rankings

Toho (513), Warner (496), Sunshine (165), Shikoku (116) :: Film :: Distributor :: Avg. Rank :: Week In Release

1, 2, 2, 1 :: Umizaru: Brave Hearts :: Toho :: 1 :: Week 4

3, 1, 1, 2 :: Kamen Rider Fourze: Everyone, Space is Here! :: TOEI :: 2 :: NEW

2, 3, 5, 3 :: The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki :: Toho :: 3 :: Week 3

6, 4, 4, 4 :: Pokemon Best Wishes: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman - Keldeo :: Toho :: 4 :: Week 4

4, -, 3, 7 :: The Dark Knight Rises :: Warner Bros. :: 5 :: Week 2

5, 5, -, 6 :: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted :: Paramount :: 6 :: NEW

7, -, -, 5 :: Naruto: Road to Ninja :: Toho :: 7 :: Week 2

8, -, -, 8 :: Eight Ranger :: Toho :: 8 :: Week 2

9, -, -, 9 :: Another :: Kadokawa/Toho :: 9 :: NEW

10, -, -, 10 :: Heruta Skelter :: Asmik Ace :: 10 :: Week 4

Pokemon, Batman, and Madagascar 3 are very close. Pokemon ranked higher, but it's much lower ticket prices probably places it behind both of them for the weekend.

I also have some Weekly Data that was released out of nowhere ready to post.

Edited August 6, 2012 by Corpse

[Olive]

so how was TDKR's hold,good or bad?

[Corpse]

Looks like it may have been 40% or so for the weekend, but the weekdays were much, much stronger than the weekend (same for all films). I have some data coming up.

[Corpse]

An old twitter source that hasn't updated since last March suddenly updated an hour ago.

No Weekend Grosses have been released (except for the openers now), but Weekly Grosses were released as well as total grosses. I doubt this will be available every week, so enjoy it now.

Weekly Gross (July 30 - August 5)

Weekly Gross (Mon-Sun), Weekly Increase/Decrease, Film :: Total Gross :: Days in Release

1. ¥806 million ($10.3 million), -22%, Umizaru: Brave Hearts :: ¥4.62 billion ($58.7 million) :: 24

2. ¥596 million ($7.6 million), -9%, The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki :: ¥1.62 billion ($20.6 million) :: 16

3. ¥573 million ($7.3 million), -14%, Pokemon BW: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman :: ¥2.12 billion ($27.0 million) :: 23

4. ¥553 million ($7.0 million), 0, The Dark Knight Rises :: ¥1.01 billion ($12.9 million) :: 10

5. ¥384 million ($4.9 million), 0, Naruto: Road to Ninja :: ¥686 million ($8.7 million) :: 9

6. ¥383 million ($4.9 million), NEW, Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted :: ¥383 million ($4.9 million) :: 5

7. ¥292 million ($3.7 million), -25%, Heruta Skelter :: ¥1.49 billion ($19.0 million) :: 23

8. ¥268 million ($3.4 millon), 0, Eight Ranger :: ¥425 million ($5.4 million) :: 9

9. ¥251 million ($3.2 million), NEW, Kamen Rider Fourze: Everyone, Space is Here! ::¥251 million ($3.2 million) :: 2

10. ¥199 million ($2.5 million), -26%, Brave :: ¥614 million ($7.8 million) :: 16

11. ¥127 million ($1.6 million), -41%, The Amazing Spider-Man :: ¥2.96 billion ($37.8 million) :: 37

12. ¥81 million ($1.1 million), NEW, Another :: ¥81 million ($1.1 million) :: 2

Yay for Summer Weekdays. They're accounting for 60, 70% or more of Weekly grosses now.

Another strong week for 'Umizaru'. Looks to be on course for ¥7 billion ($90 million) still.

Very impressive for 'Wolf Children'. It's hard to predict a film like this as there's potential there to triple it's current total. ¥3 billion ($40 million) looks locked up, however, ¥4 billion ($50 million) could also go.

'Pokemon' is doing it's usual business. It's tracking behind last year's film though and might miss ¥4 billion ($50 million) making it the first Pokemon film to miss that milestone in 6 years. ¥3.5 billion ($45 million) is certainly attainable. Going to be in a close race with 'Wolf Children'.

'The Dark Knight Rises' becomes the first superhero film, besides Spider-Man, to achieve ¥1 billion ($12 million) in 4 years. ¥2.5 billion ($30 million) looks likely making it the highest grossing superhero movie ever behind the Spider-Man franchise.

Good start for 'Madagascar 3'. ¥1.5 billion ($20 million) shouldn't be too difficult to achieve.

So-so debut for Kamen Rider. It's on the low-end of the franchise openings, but will still earn another ¥1-1.3 billion ($13-16 million).

NOTE: This is WEEKLY Grosses, NOT WEEEKEND Grosses.

Edited August 6, 2012 by Corpse

[Fake]

Hope Obon carries TASM close to 45m.

[Corpse]

2012 Box Office Charts

As of Sunday, 08/05:

Top Grossing Films (¥1 billion+)

Rank :: Revenue ¥ (billion) / $ (million) :: Title :: Release :: Admissions (million) :: Days In Release :: Distributor

01 :: ¥5.92 / $75.77 (13.70x) :: Thermae Romae :: Apr. :: 4.66 :: 100 :: Toho

02 :: ¥5.38 / $70.55 (9.39x) :: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol :: Dec '10 :: 4.24 :: OE :: Paramount

03 :: ¥4.62 / $58.91 (5.26x) :: Umizaru: Brave Hearts :: July :: 3.58 :: 24 :: Toho

04 :: ¥3.59 / $45.40 (6.50x) :: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles :: Mar. :: 3.32 :: OE :: Toho

05 :: ¥3.40 / $43.31 (6.12x) :: ALWAYS: Sunset on Third Street '64 :: Jan. :: 2.66 :: OE :: Toho

06 :: ¥3.28 / $42.32 (5.21x) :: Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker :: Apr. :: 2.74 :: OE :: Toho

07 :: ¥3.16 / $40.98 (5.51x) :: MIB 3 :: May :: 2.12 :: TE :: Toho-Towa

08 :: ¥3.10 / $40.84 (5.34x) :: Kaibutsu-Kun: The Movie :: Nov '10 :: 2.39 :: OE :: Toho

09 :: ¥2.96 / $37.86 (5.09x) :: The Amazing Spider-Man :: June :: 2.03 :: 37 :: Sony

10 :: ¥2.51 / $31.27 (8.50x) :: We Were There: Part I :: Mar. :: 2.10 :: OE :: Asmik Ace/Toho

11 :: ¥2.40 / $30.36 (5.16x) :: SPEC: The Movie :: Apr. :: 1.85 :: OE :: Toho

12 :: ¥2.20 / $27.50 (7.00x) :: Liar Game: Reborn :: Mar. :: 1.76 :: OE :: Toho

13 :: ¥2.16 / $27.21 (5.35x) :: Dark Shadows :: May :: 1.71 :: TE :: Warner Bros.

14 :: ¥2.12 / $27.18 (4.17x) :: Pokemon BW: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman - Keldeo :: July :: 2.04 :: 23 :: Toho

15 :: ¥1.96 / $24.49 (6.46x) :: Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows :: Mar. :: 1.67 :: TE :: Warner Bros.

16 :: ¥1.90 / $23.74 (6.01x) :: K-ON! The Movie :: Dec '10 :: 1.45 :: OE :: Shochiku

17 :: ¥1.84 / $23.54 (5.88x) :: Glow of Fireflies :: June :: 1.49 :: 58 :: Toho

18 :: ¥1.80 / $23.17 (6.49x) :: In Time :: Feb. :: 1.40 :: TE :: FOX

19 :: ¥1.71 / $22.01 (5.45x) :: We Were There: Part II :: Apr. :: 1.37 :: TE :: Asmik Ace/Toho

20 :: ¥1.71 / $21.98 (5.67x) :: Snow White and the Huntsman :: June :: 1.33 :: TE :: Toho-Towa

21 :: ¥1.70 / $21.97 (6.15x) :: Shizanmono: The Movie :: Jan. :: 1.36 :: OE :: Toho

22 :: ¥1.62 / $20.70 (4.43x) :: The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki :: July :: 1.31 :: 16 :: Toho

23 :: ¥1.56 / $19.86 (3.81x) :: Kamen Rider x Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen :: Apr. :: 1.34 :: TE :: TOEI

24 :: ¥1.55 / $19.85 (4.06x) :: Space Brothers :: May :: 1.21 :: TE :: Toho

25 :: ¥1.51 / $19.78 (4.01x) :: Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: War Mega Max :: Dec '10 :: 1.30 :: TE :: TOEI

26 :: ¥1.50 / $19.28 (5.13x) :: Battleship :: Apr. :: 1.18 :: OE :: Toho-Towa

27 :: ¥1.49 / $19.14 (6.42x) :: Heruta Skelter :: July :: 1.16 :: 23 :: Asmik Ace

28 :: ¥1.47 / $19.11 (10.42x) :: Friends: Naki On Monster Island :: Dec '10 :: 1.10 :: TE :: Toho

29 :: ¥1.45 / $18.92 (6.41x) :: Real Steel :: Dec '10 :: 1.13 :: OE :: Walt Disney

30 :: ¥1.43 / $18.72 (9.47x) :: Fleet Admiral, Isoroku Yamamoto :: Dec '10 :: 1.13 :: TE :: TOEI

31 :: ¥1.39 / $17.87 (8.47x) :: Tale of Genji :: Dec '10 :: 1.15 :: TE :: Toho

32 :: ¥1.37 / $17.37 (5.57x) :: Sadako 3D :: May :: .969 :: TE :: Kadokawa Pictures

33 :: ¥1.28 / $15.66 (5.54x) :: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo :: Feb. :: .996 :: TE :: Sony

34 :: ¥1.20 / $15.36 (7.04x) :: Puss in Boots :: Mar. :: .925 :: OE :: Paramount

35 :: ¥1.18 / $15.29 (5.84x) :: Robo-G :: Jan. :: 1.01 :: TE :: Toho

36 :: ¥1.14 / $14.81 (9.47x) :: Chronicle of My Mother :: Apr. :: .876 :: TE :: Shochiku

37 :: ¥1.12 / $14.58 (8.11x) :: Inazuma Eleven GO :: Dec '10 :: .926 :: TE :: Toho

38 :: ¥1.09 / $14.13 (4.96x) :: The Adventures of Tintin :: Dec '10 :: .754 :: TE :: Toho-Towa

39 :: ¥1.03 / $12.90 (5.28x) :: Crayon Shin-chan (2012) :: Apr. :: .963 :: TE :: Toho

40 :: ¥1.03 / $12.87 (5.88x) :: Hugo :: Mar. :: .732 :: TE :: Paramount

41 :: ¥1.02 / $12.85 (5.23x) :: Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage: Friends of the Future :: Mar. :: .881 :: TE :: TOEI

42 :: ¥1.01 / $12.81 (2.71x) :: The Dark Knight Rises :: July :: .743 :: 10 :: Warner Bros.

'Umizaru 4' continues to gain on the Top 2 films of the year and will surpass both of them in a couple weeks.

'Pokemon 15' moves up 7 spots in the chart and will reach the Top 10 very soon.

'Wolf Children' moves up 16 spots after dropping 9% week-to-week. Hard to tell just how high this one could end up after Obon Week, but Top 5 of the year is becoming a possibility since it's performing like a Studio Ghibli release.

'The Dark Knight Rises' debuts on the chart at #42 after 10 days. It's the first superhero film to even reach 1 billion yen in over 4 years (besides Spider-Man.

***************************************************************

***************************************************************

Top Opening Weekends (2-Days ONLY, ¥200 million+)

Rank :: Revenue ¥ (million) / $ (million) :: Title :: Release :: Admissions (thousand) :: Screen Count :: Distributor

01 :: ¥878.23 / $11.08 :: Umizaru: Brave Hearts :: July :: 686.98 :: 450 :: Toho

(¥1.563 / $19.91 :: 1.223 :: 4-Day Opening Weekend)

02 :: ¥629.74 / $7.82 :: Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker :: Apr. :: 540.98 :: 351 :: Toho

03 :: ¥583.89 / $7.61 :: The Amazing Spider-Man :: June :: 426.16 :: 1,092 :: Sony

(¥901.46 / $11.32 :: 620.21 :: 2-Day Opening Weekend Plus Previews)

04 :: ¥581.04 / $7.50 :: Kaibutsu-Kun: The Movie :: Nov '10 :: 431.09 :: 446 :: Toho

05 :: ¥573.57 / $7.35 :: MIB 3 :: May :: 372.97 :: 979 :: Toho-Towa

(¥701.80 / $8.80 :: 461.85 :: 3-Day Opening Weekend)

06 :: ¥573.22 / $7.34 :: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol :: Dec '10 :: 437.75 :: 636 ::Paramount

(¥725.83 / $9.29 :: 563.25 :: 3-Day Opening Weekend)

07 :: ¥555.66 / $7.22 :: ALWAYS: Sunset on Third Street '64 :: Jan. :: 421.27 :: 473 :: Toho

08 :: ¥552.62 / $6.86 :: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles :: Mar. :: 485.47 :: 359 :: Toho

09 :: ¥509.94 / $6.42 :: Pokemon BW: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman - Keldeo :: July :: 489.86 :: 351 :: Toho

(¥753.76 / $9.61 :: 724.07 :: 3-Day Opening Weekend)

10 :: ¥468.70 / $5.81 :: SPEC: The Movie :: Apr. :: 351.47 :: 279 :: Toho

11 :: ¥432.55 / $5.40 :: Thermae Romae :: Apr. :: 325.69 :: 304 :: Toho

12 :: ¥410.04 / $5.06 :: Kamen Rider x Super Sentei: Super Hero Taisen :: Apr. :: 355.99 :: 292 :: TOEI

13 :: ¥404.53 / $5.05 :: Dark Shadows :: May :: 311.16 :: 571 :: Warner Bros.

14 :: ¥382.32 / $4.87 :: Space Brothers :: May :: 285.34 :: 322 :: Toho

15 :: ¥378.03 / $4.84 :: Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: War Mega Max :: Dec '10 :: 333.13 :: 301 :: TOEI

16 :: ¥372.02 / $4.75 :: The Dark Knight Rises :: July :: 269.17 :: 546 :: Warner Bros.

(¥455.18 :: $5.81 :: 331.67 :: 2-Day Opening Weekend Plus Previews)

17 :: ¥365.15 / $4.67 :: The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki :: July :: 276.33 :: 381 :: Toho

18 :: ¥316.31 / $4.08 :: K-ON! The Movie :: Dec '10 :: 237.82 :: 137 :: Shochiku

19 :: ¥314.89 / $3.97 :: We Were There: Part II :: Apr. :: 242.92 :: 297 :: Asmik Ace/Toho

20 :: ¥314.70 / $3.96 :: Liar Game: Reborn :: Mar. :: 242.19 :: 318 :: Toho

21 :: ¥313.66 / $3.95 :: Glow of Fireflies :: June :: 242.82 :: 316 :: Toho

22 :: ¥303.35 / $3.77 :: Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows :: Mar. :: 237.98 :: 464 :: Warner Bros.

23 :: ¥302.08 / $3.86 :: Naruto: Path to Ninja :: July :: 254.03 :: 262 :: Toho

24 :: ¥301.78 / $3.75 :: Snow White and the Huntsman :: June :: 234.87 :: 572 :: Toho-Towa

(¥374.83 / $4.71 :: 296.16 :: 3-Day Opening Weekend)

25 :: ¥295.31 / $3.67 :: We Were There: Part I :: Mar. :: 227.24 :: 295 :: Asmik Ace/Toho

26 :: ¥292.16 / $3.65 :: Battleship :: Apr. :: 237.87 :: 545 :: Toho-Towa

(¥364.01 / $4.52 :: 298.15 :: 3-Day Opening Weekend)

27 :: ¥277.13 / $3.63 :: In Time :: Feb. :: 203.05 :: 427 :: FOX

28 :: ¥276.41 / $3.62 :: Shizanmono: The Movie :: Jan. :: 217.18 :: 377 :: Toho

29 :: ¥254.17 / $3.25 :: Kamen Rider Fourze: Everyone, Space is Here! :: Aug. :: 217.66 :: 304 :: TOEI

30 :: ¥246.41 / $3.08 :: Sadako 3D :: May :: 154.15 :: 214 :: Kadakowa Pictures

31 :: ¥233.53 / $3.04 :: Heruta Skelter :: July :: 174.24 :: 204 :: Asmik Ace

32 :: ¥230.89 / $2.98 :: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo :: Feb. :: 178.36 :: 431 :: Sony

33 :: ¥225.05 / $2.88 :: Real Steel :: Dec '10 :: 176.25 :: 531 :: Walt Disney

34 :: ¥219.51 / $2.83 :: The Adventures of Tintin :: Dec '10 :: 148.70 :: 895 :: Toho-Towa

35 :: ¥202.39 / $2.63 :: Robo-G :: Jan. :: 164.69 :: 279 :: Toho

'Kamen Rider Fourze' opened at #29 on the charts. 'Madagascar 3' missed ¥200 million opening weekend since it opened on a Wednesday.

[subscript]-KEY-

New Entry

Indicates a film still in release or being tracked

Days in Release: TE (Tracking Ends, Awaiting OE/FT) / OE (Official Estimate) / FT (Final Total)[/subscript]

Edited August 7, 2012 by Corpse

[druv10]

Come on Japan, we need 35M from you so TA can reach 1.5B WW.

[fmpro]

Hope Obon carries TASM close to 45m.

Same here

[fmpro]

Come on Japan, we need 35M from you so TA can reach 1.5B WW.

To be sure.. If TA is released in $ theaters it could be only 32 mill

[Corpse]

Mid-Week Report:

'Wolf Children' reaches 1.35 million admissions and ¥1.68 billion ($21.4 million) on Monday, it's 17th day in release, surpassing director Hosoda's previous film 'Summer Wars' which earned ¥1.65 billion ($20 million) and 1.26 million admissions in 2009.

'Prometheus' had select preview screenings this past weekend and earned ¥24 million ($300,000). No screen count was release for the screenings, but I'm sure it was quite limited. The film opens nationwide on Aug. 24.

'The Avengers' will play on 841 screens next Friday. The film gets an early start by opening on Aug. 14 to take advantage of Obon Week, but no screen count is available for those first three days.

Details leaked for Hayao Miyazaki's next film? Two animators recently tweeted that Miyazaki's next work will be about Jiro Horikoshi, head engineer of many Japanese fighter planets during World War II, and most famous for designing the Zero Fighter. The release of Miyazaki's next film has been rumored for Summer 2013, 5 years since 'Ponyo' was released.

[Fullbuster]

The Avengers next week, I hope for good numbers

[Corpse]

August 11-12

Weekend Projections (Based on Saturday Data)

1 (-) ¥301 million / $3.8 million :: Total Recall :: FOX :: NEW

2 (1) ¥281 million / $3.6 million (-4%) :: Umizaru: Brave Hearts :: Toho :: Week 5

3 (3) ¥244 million / $3.1 million (+15%) :: The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki :: Toho :: Week 4

4 (5) ¥181 million / $2.3 million (+2%) :: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted :: Paramount :: Week 2

5 (6) ¥174 million / $2.2 million (+11%) :: Pokemon BW: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman :: Toho :: Week 5

6 (2) ¥154 million / $2.0 million (-39%) :: Kamen Rider Fourze: Everyone, Space is Here! :: TOEI :: Week 2

7 (4) ¥128 million / $1.6 million (-37%) :: The Dark Knight Rises :: Warner Bros. :: Week 3

8 (7) ¥87 million / $1.1 million (-30%) :: Naruto: Road to Ninja :: Toho :: Week 3

9 (9) ¥77 million / $990,000 (-5%) :: Eight Ranger :: Toho :: Week 3

10 (8) ¥65 million / $800,000 (-20%) :: Heruta Skelter :: Asmik Ace :: Week 5

Below:

11 (10) ¥62 million / $790,000 (-33%) :: Another :: Toho :: Week 2

- (-) ¥33 million / $420,000 :: This Kirishima Thing :: Kadokawa :: NEW

No data for 'Jewel Pets' opening day.

And no question now that the first days of Obon Week will effect this weekend.

Looking great for 'Total Recall', it may just debut on top; 'Umizaru 4' holds strong; Increases for the family films; Poor for 'The Dark Knight Rises'. The latter's dark tone must not be attracting audiences during the holidays.

[John Marston]

Ugh, Japanese and Russian people. Stop ignoring TDKR!

[iceroll]

Nice for Madagascar!

[druv10]

Ugh, Japanese and Russian people. Stop ignoring TDKR!

No worries, TDKR's already made more money than TDK in both countries. :)2 days to go till TA's released in Japan.Corpse, what kind of opening are you expecting for TA?

[Corpse]

Avengers is hard to predict with it being a Tuesday opener and this being Obon Week. I'm going to refrain from predicting anything right now, but will say that online buzz isn't as high as 'The Dark Knight Rises' was, and 'Prometheus' which opens at the end of the month appears stronger. On the plus side, It does have a very high screen count (doesn't always mean something though), and the lighter tone of the film should have some appeal to some casual moviegoers. And do remember that at it's core, Avengers is still a superhero film, and they're unpopular in Japan. They've never done too well, and likely never will. Even 'The Dark Knight Rises' with all it's hype, great reviews, etc. isn't doing very well after opening. It's probably barely going to manage 2 billion yen ($25 million) at this rate, perhaps making it the most frontloaded wide release this summer.