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

[Annayya]

Why did "How to train your Dragon" do so bad in Japan ? - Only made $5.5 million. (my guess is its because its not from Disney)

It was one of the best rated movies: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1194522-how_to_train_your_dragon/

The sequel doesn't even have a confirmed release date in Japan, maybe due to the poor performance of the first one.

 

I don't know if Big Hero 6 will make a great connection with the Japanese but because it is coming from Disney it has ought to be a success.

If a movie like Chicken Little can make $22 million and Bolt can make $16 million in Japan, BH6 should make at least $35 million. Tangled and Wreck-it Ralph both made about $30 million too.

 

Just going through all the Disney and Pixar boxoffice in Japan, it is clear that the "Disney" brand is very strong in Japan since some crappy movies had a decent box office run in Japan. A lot of Pixar movies were also very successful in Japan, with many movies near or over $50 million and the highest is Toy Story 3 at $127 million.

Edited August 2, 2014 by Annayya

[KATCH-2D2]

Why did "How to train your Dragon" do so bad in Japan ? - Only made $5.5 million. (my guess is its because its not from Disney)

It was one of the best rated movies: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1194522-how_to_train_your_dragon/

The sequel doesn't even have a confirmed release date in Japan, maybe due to the poor performance of the first one.

 

That's just sad, considering how Japanese were supposed to like movies with good story. Why the obsession with Disney's brand though? I'd think they would at least give some non-Disney animations a chance.

[Cynosure]

Japan just doesn't like Dreamworks, for some reason.

Edited August 2, 2014 by Cynosure

[Corpse]

Saturday Results:

 

Toho Cinemas Saturday Admissions [08/02]

37,829 - Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc (NEW)

23,664 (-42%) - Godzilla (Week 2)

15,797 (-19%) - Maleficent (Week 5)

11,446 (-21%) - Memories of Marnie (Week 3)

9,785 (-22%) - Pokemon XY: The Cocoon of Destruction & Diancie (Week 3)

6,067 (-69%) - Eight Ranger 2 (Week 2)

2,706 (-33%) - Kamen Rider Gaim the Movie: The Great Soccer Match! (Week 3)

2,432 (-26%) - Say, "I Love You" (Week 4)

1,758 (-34%) - Planes: Fire & Rescue (Week 3)

1,562 (-36%) - Edge of Tomorrow (Week 5)

 

Toho, Movix, 109, Kinezo Cinema Chains Saturday Admissions [08/02]

76,319 - Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc (NEW)

42,322 (-40%) - Godzilla (Week 2)

27,990 (-21%) - Maleficent (Week 5)

20,856 (-18%) - Memories of Marnie (Week 3)

18,633 (-19%) - Pokemon XY: The Cocoon of Destruction & Diancie (Week 3)

9,128 (-68%) - Eight Ranger 2 (Week 2)

6,163 (-25%) - Kamen Rider Gaim the Movie: The Great Soccer Match! (Week 3)

5,836 (-23%) - Say, "I Love You" (Week 4)

4,127 (-36%) - Edge of Tomorrow (Week 5)

3,448 (-31%) - Planes: Fire & Rescue (Week 3)

 

Rurouni Kenshin beat Godzilla by 8% here despite being behind at Toho Cinemas for the day and probably beat Godzilla last Saturday as a result since Aeon Cinemas should be strong for Kenshin, too.  Toho Cinemas was actually a little weak (comparatively speaking) for the original film.  

 

Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc should be looking at ¥475-550 million ($4.7-5.5 million) with 350-400,000 admissions over the weekend, and a 3-day total of ¥675-750 million ($6.7-7.5 million) with 450-500,000 admissions.

 

By comparison, the first film opened to ¥399.5 million ($5.0 million) with 295,319 admissions, and finished with ¥3.01 billion ($38.3 million) and 2.42 million admissions in 2012.

[Ajbg]

Why did "How to train your Dragon" do so bad in Japan ? - Only made $5.5 million. (my guess is its because its not from Disney)It was one of the best rated movies: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1194522-how_to_train_your_dragon/The sequel doesn't even have a confirmed release date in Japan, maybe due to the poor performance of the first one. I don't know if Big Hero 6 will make a great connection with the Japanese but because it is coming from Disney it has ought to be a success.If a movie like Chicken Little can make $22 million and Bolt can make $16 million in Japan, BH6 should make at least $35 million. Tangled and Wreck-it Ralph both made about $30 million too. Just going through all the Disney and Pixar boxoffice in Japan, it is clear that the "Disney" brand is very strong in Japan since some crappy movies had a decent box office run in Japan. A lot of Pixar movies were also very successful in Japan, with many movies near or over $50 million and the highest is Toy Story 3 at $127 million.

Not every Disney movie: Planes 2 is a flop.

[lab276]

That's just sad, considering how Japanese were supposed to like movies with good story. Why the obsession with Disney's brand though? I'd think they would at least give some non-Disney animations a chance.

The average Japanese person goes to the movies about once a year and because of that they tend to spend their money on stuff they know. That's why Japanese movie franchises go for so long (Pokemon and Godzilla for instance), Ghibli and Disney are also part of this trusted circle, so to speak. There's also Disneyland and a whole bunch of Disney stores across the country. So there's this interaction between the films and real life.

[Bishop54]

Is that a steep drop for Godzilla?

[Annayya]

Not every Disney movie: Planes 2 is a flop.

 

In general most Disney/Pixar movies do very well at box office.

 

Planes 2 flopped cuz Planes 1 sucked so bad, and yet it made $11 million in Japan.

Planes 1 was never supposed to release in theaters. It was meant to be a direct to home release but Disney got greedy and released it in theaters. With a budget of $50 million and total domestic box office of $90 million and a foreign total of $130 million, Planes 1 was a flop (although it was profitable due to the low budget, merchandise sales, and home video).

 

The fact that Disney decided to make a sequel and release that in theaters was a cheap attempt on having another run at the box office with Planes 2. It is doing worse than Planes 1 in USA as well. When a movie is not successful, there should never be a sequel.

Edited August 2, 2014 by Annayya

[Corpse]

Is that a steep drop for Godzilla?

It's fine.  I'm going to assume Sunday will be stronger than Saturday for it this weekend, so a sub-40% drop looks pretty likely. Might be able to manage a -35% drop or so, too, which would be strong.

 

Weekdays > Weekends until the end of August when they go back to being about 50/50, and Obon Week coming up should assure it $30 million+.  

[Omni]

Japan just doesn't like Dreamworks, for some reason.

When the average moviegoer picks just one film every year, you really need to 'build up' a strong name if you want your movie to succeed. That's why most movies with high potential tend to get a delayed release there - Frozen likely wouldn't have been 'Frozen' in Japan with a December opening. Disney has got a park and a strong past, and therefore it has got a name - the reason even craps like Chicken Little and Bolt did some solid business. Pixar is usually associated with quality. Pokemon, Doraemon, Conan, ecc all have a 'name', for obvious reasons. Considering the films that Dreamworks Animation usually releases, it's quite clear why in Japan that name tends to be connected to 'diarrhea'.

Edited August 2, 2014 by Omni

[Corpse]

Dreamworks' future prospects in Japan was ruined by many of their early CGI films that had a lot of pop culture and western jokes (not to mention most were poor quality, too) that has no connection with a Japanese audience.  

 

I believe Shrek 2 is their only film with a spot on the Top 100 Highest-Grossing Animated Movies in Japan, and even it is somewhere in the 70-80 range I think.  

[Corpse]

 

The live-action Attack on Titan film that was planned for next year is now going to be split into film to be released back-to-back next Summer.  The franchise has become a monster hit in Japan since last year, and the live-action adaptation has some the industry's leading visual effects artists and talent behind it.  

 

Plus, the series creator, Hajime Isayama, is supervising the production and assisting with the story and new enemies/characters.  This is very important and will assure fans to come out in droves.  

 

The principal cast has also been revealed, though their character roles are still a mystery besides Haruma Miura playing the lead role of Eren Jaeger:

 

Haruma Miura (Gokusen, The Eternal Zero) - Eren Jaeger 

Hiroki Hasegawa (the upcoming live-action Jellyfish Princess, Why Don't You Play in Hell)

Kiko Mizuhara (Norwegian Wood, Helter Skelter)

Kanata Hongō (Prince of Tennis, Nana 2)

Takahiro Miura (live-action Space Battleship Yamato)

Nanami Sakuraba (Twin Spica)

Satoru Matsuo (Thermae Romae )

Satomi Ishihara (No Longer Human, Sadako 3D)

Pierre Taki (Linda Linda Linda)

Jun Kunimura (Audition, Kill Bill)

Shu Watanabe (Kamen Rider OOO)

Ayame Misaki (Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters)

Rina Takeda (High Kick Girl)

 

 

No exact release dates have been revealed yet, but it's likely the first half will arrive early/mid-July to kick off the Summer, with the second half to follow late-July/early August in time for Obon.  

 

Releasing two-part films has become a pretty popular tend in Japan recently.  The SPEC sequel was split last Fall, this summer's Rurouni Kenshin as well, and the upcoming Parasyte film later this year will be split as well.  And in the end, it's the best decision.  It's allowed studios to spend more to make a better quality film, a budget all these titles deserve, that a single release could have trouble making back alone.

[KATCH-2D2]

When the average moviegoer picks just one film every year, you really need to 'build up' a strong name if you want your movie to succeed. That's why most movies with high potential tend to get a delayed release there - Frozen likely wouldn't have been 'Frozen' in Japan with a December opening. Disney has got a park and a strong past, and therefore it has got a name - the reason even craps like Chicken Little and Bolt did some solid business. Pixar is usually associated with quality. Pokemon, Doraemon, Conan, ecc all have a 'name', for obvious reasons. Considering the films that Dreamworks Animation usually releases, it's quite clear why in Japan that name tends to be connected to 'diarrhea'.

That's new to me. Why don't Japanese like going to the cinema? Is it because the ticket is too expensive or people just prefer the other kinds of entertainment?

[Andy001]

That's new to me. Why don't Japanese like going to the cinema? Is it because the ticket is too expensive or people just prefer the other kinds of entertainment?

From my 6 months experience in japan , i can see that japanese ppl dont have much time these days. A long hour of working and the amount of study.. Many ppl got too tired to go to sit in the theater for 2 hours. I can see a lot of ppl fell asleep in the subway or at bus stop. Those japs will have their favourite plc ( coffee shops, bars etc ) to hang out aftr work or school. Nowaday, going to the Movie isnt quite a hobbie like in the west. Edited August 3, 2014 by Andy001

[Corpse]

Weekend Results [08/02-03]:

 

Toho, Movix, 109, Kinezo Cinema Chains Weekend Admissions [08/02-03]

159,321 - Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc (NEW)

89,072 (-36%) - Godzilla (Week 2)

63,149 (-22%) - Maleficent (Week 5)

47,686 (-16%) - Memories of Marnie (Week 3)

46,760 (-16%) - Pokemon XY: The Cocoon of Destruction & Diancie (Week 3)

20,371 (-57%) - Eight Ranger 2 (Week 2)

16,154 (-22%) - Kamen Rider Gaim the Movie: The Great Soccer Match! (Week 3)

14,906 (-24%) - Say, "I Love You" (Week 4)

8,648 (-27%) - Planes: Fire & Rescue (Week 3)

7,943 (-36%) - Edge of Tomorrow (Week 5)

 

Rurouni Kenshin beat Godzilla's opening weekend by 15% at these four chains (reminder: they represent ~40% of the market) and very likely performed better at Aeon Cinemas, the biggest chain, that isn't tracked.  

 

I'm thinking Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc more than likely exceeded 400,000 admissions over the weekend, which should earn it ¥550-600 million ($5.5-6.0 million), and a 3-day total of ¥750-800 million ($7.5-8.0 million) and 600-650,000 admissions.  

 

If it does open around those figures, it'll be one of the biggest local openings of all-time that hasn't been released by Toho.  There are some bigger local openings by non-Toho distributors from animated titles like One Piece or Evangelion, but as far as live-action films go... I believe it's the biggest since the second Death Note film, also distributed by Warner Bros., in 2006, so nearly a decade.  

 

Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc should be aiming for ¥4.0 billion+ ($40 million+) based on these numbers.

Edited August 3, 2014 by Corpse

[KATCH-2D2]

From my 6 months experience in japan , i can see that japanese ppl dont have much time these days. A long hour of working and the amount of study.. Many ppl got too tired to go to sit in the theater for 2 hours. I can see a lot of ppl fell asleep in the subway or at bus stop. Those japs will have their favourite plc ( coffee shops, bars etc ) to hang out aftr work or school. Nowaday, going to the Movie isnt quite a hobbie like in the west.

Thanks. That must be the reason. I feel so lucky now that my workplace is 20mins walk from my home and I have 2-3 day offs per week. That's why I have enough time to see as many movie as I like.

[Corpse]

From my 6 months experience in japan , i can see that japanese ppl dont have much time these days. A long hour of working and the amount of study.. Many ppl got too tired to go to sit in the theater for 2 hours. I can see a lot of ppl fell asleep in the subway or at bus stop. Those japs will have their favourite plc ( coffee shops, bars etc ) to hang out aftr work or school. Nowaday, going to the Movie isnt quite a hobbie like in the west.

Correct. 

 

And for students, they're a lot busier than most students elsewhere in the world, too, and must study for entrance exams that will effect the rest of their education as early as 10 years old.  

 

So students don't have a lot of free time either, with their longest break during the school year being Summer vacation that lasts 6 weeks.

[Andy001]

Yeah japan is quite an interesting place..but in a good way tho

Edited August 3, 2014 by Andy001

[Andy001]

It is a very well manner society. I was in the theater once with my jap friend, she gotta hold it n waited till the movie finished to go to the toilet, she didnt want to stand up & disturb others. Another thing i found interesting. If they didnt like the film they still say that it's okay. Mayb it is their way of courtesy & respect for other film makers. Nt sure why but many japs ppl they just love johny depps there. He's very popular in japan.

Edited August 3, 2014 by Andy001

[Godzilla]

Studio Ghibli is not making anymore movies.