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

[Mau]

25 minutes ago, KP1025 said:

 

Correction. Japan is very big for local animated films by big name directors like Miyazaki or Shinkai. Other than Frozen, no other imported animated film has gotten much higher than the ¥10 billion milestone (only Finding Nemo and Toy Story 3/4). 

Finding Nemo = 102 M 

Finding Dory = 65M

Toy story 3 = 126 M

Toy story 4= 93M

Finding Dory decreased from nemo and toy story 4 too. Even tho it wasnt a huge drop, TS4 couldnt make 100M, but it is still a big success. Frozen 1 was a phenomenon, and frozen 2 is still a big hit like these other four movies.

Frozen 1 performed like the force awakens in USA and Frozen 2 like the last jedi. (I hope the next frozen movie doesnt drop like TROS) 

Edited January 21, 2020 by Mau

[charlie Jatinder]

2 minutes ago, Mau said:

Finding Nemo = 102 M 

Finding Dory = 65M

Toy story 3 = 126 M

Toy story 4= 93M

These sequels had difference of around 10 or more years especially in case of Dory. Cinegoing is on decline across world, but most country get over it statistically due to inflation which isn't case in Japan so sequels over long period of time are supposed to drop. TS4 had an impressive hold though in local currency & admits.

[charlie Jatinder]

I think we can't rule out under $125mn as well. There will be another big drop in next two weeks going by historical trend of November releases. I was expecting this and thus had expectations of $120-125mn. Though the New Year week was bigger than I expected but that's cancelled out with smaller Xmas week & follow up drop.

[KP1025]

5 minutes ago, Mau said:

Finding Nemo = 102 M 

Finding Dory = 65M

Toy story 3 = 126 M

Toy story 4= 93M

Finding Dory decreased from nemo and toy story 4 too. Even tho it wasnt a huge drop, TS4 couldnt make 100M, but it is still a big success. Frozen 1 was a phenomenon, and frozen 2 is still a big hit like these other four movies.

Frozen 1 performed like the force awakens in USA and Frozen 2 like the last jedi. (I hope the next frozen movie doesnt drop like TROS) 

 

Toy Story 4 actually passed Toy Story 3 in admissions. It just had way worse exchange rates (TS3 would be under $100 million under current ER) and much lower 3D share. 

[danhtruong5]

Just now, Mau said:

Finding Nemo = 102 M 

Finding Dory = 65M

Toy story 3 = 126 M

Toy story 4= 93M

Finding Dory decreased from nemo and toy story 4 too. Even tho it wasnt a huge drop, TS4 couldnt make 100M, but it is still a big success. Frozen 1 was a phenomenon, and frozen 2 is still a big hit like these other four movies.

If I am not wrong. Toy Story 3 benefited very much from the good ER back then. 

In local currency, it is around ¥9.5B, not yet ¥10B while Toy Story 4 is around ¥10.2B

[KP1025]

1 minute ago, danhtruong5 said:

If I am not wrong. Toy Story 3 benefited very much from the good ER back then. 

In local currency, it is around ¥9.5B, not yet ¥10B while Toy Story 4 is around ¥10.2B

 

Toy Story 3 was ¥10.8 billion. Second highest Pixar film under Finding Nemo's ¥11 billion. 

[danhtruong5]

Just now, Jedi Jat said:

I think we can't rule out under $125mn as well. There will be another big drop in next two weeks going by historical trend of November releases. I was expecting this and thus had expectations of $120-125mn. Though the New Year week was bigger than I expected but that's cancelled out with smaller Xmas week & follow up drop.

How much does Japan $120-125M affect the OS projection? Is it still looking at $975M ?

[charlie Jatinder]

16 minutes ago, danhtruong5 said:

How much does Japan $120-125M affect the OS projection? Is it still looking at $975M ?

It doesn't matter now if it end in 950-1000. 

[edroger3]

	F1 adm	F2 adm	F1 MY	F2 MY
W1	854.620	1.443.216	763	1.616
W2	1.590.429	1.942.554	2.247	2.694
W3	1.895.709	1.281.084	2.270	1.700
W4	2.012.243	1.016.665	2.432	1.322
W5	1.213.578	729.610	1.564	944
W6	1.112.632	1.044.000	1.444	1.269
W7	1.045.515	1.367.064	1.385	1.744
W8	1.927.531	551.292	2.515	704
W9	1.849.336	427.304	2.466	524
W10	960.995		1.445
TOT W9	13.501.593	9.802.789	17.086	12.517

 

Frozen 2 should pass 10M and maybe Avatar by Sunday to reach the 18th spot alltime and I think it will pass WWY 10,51M by the end of its run.

 

001. 23.50 million - Spirited Away (2001)
002. 20.03 million - Frozen (2014)
003. 19.50 million - Tokyo Olympiad (1965)
004. 19.30 million - Your Name. (2016)
005. 16.83 million - Titanic (1997)
006. 16.20 million - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
007. 15.50 million - Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
008. 14.20 million - Princess Mononoke (1997)
009. 14.00 million - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
010. 13.00 million - Emperor Meiji and the Great Russo-Japanese War (1958)
011. 12.87 million - Ponyo (2008)
012. 12.60 million - Bayside Shakedown: Save the Rainbow Bridge! (2003)
013. 12.55 million - Godzilla vs. King Kong (1962)
014. 12.10 million - The Last Samurai (2003)
015. 11.00 million - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
016. 10.69 million - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
017. 10.51 million - Weathering With You (2019) [27 Weeks in Release]
018. 10.10 million - Avatar (2009)
019. 9.80 million - Frozen II (2019) [9 Weeks in Release]

[Krissykins]

On 1/6/2020 at 3:25 PM, Krissykins said:

How is Cats expected to do? 
 

🙈

It’s #1  

[Tower]

(C) 2019 Universal Pictures.All Rights Reserved.

Weekend Forecast (01/25-26)
01 (---) ¥300,000,000 ($2.7 million), 0, ¥400,000,000 ($3.7 million), Cats (Toho-Towa) NEW
02 (01) ¥175,000,000 ($1.6 million), -22%, ¥1,375,000,000 ($12.5 million), Kaiji: Final Game (Toho) WK3
03 (02) ¥166,000,000 ($1.5 million), -19%, ¥12,775,000,000 ($117.1 million), Frozen II (Disney) WK10
04 (05) ¥139,000,000 ($1.3 million), +05%, ¥925,000,000 ($8.4 million), Parasite (Bitter's End) WK3
05 (03) ¥122,000,000 ($1.1 million), -32%, ¥6,750,000,000 ($61.7 million), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney) WK6
06 (04) ¥102,000,000 ($930,000), -25%, ¥425,000,000 ($3.9 million), Last Letter (Toho) WK2
07 (06) ¥x70,000,000 ($640,000), -36%, ¥725,000,000 ($6.6 million), Ford v. Ferrari (Fox) WK3
08 (07) ¥x63,000,000 ($575,000), -39%, ¥285,000,000 ($2.6 million), The Memory Eraser (Shochiku) WK2
09 (12) ¥x58,000,000 ($530,000), +40%, ¥1,535,000,000 ($14.0 million), My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (Toho) WK6
10 (08) ¥x52,000,000 ($475,000), -28%, ¥225,000,000 ($2.1 million), Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul (Kadokawa) WK2

This is shaping up to be a better weekend than it seemed a few days ago.

>Cats is aiming to make Japan its #1 overseas market. The musical is very well-known in Japan--there's even a Cats-dedicated theatre that has put on over 11,000 shows since 1983--and its pre-sales are quite good. I don't see it opening below ¥250 million based on them, and think it could approach ¥300 million over the weekend frame. An opening on this scale would be on the mid-to-upper tier for live-action musicals. Musicals also tend to have good legs, so look for a total on the upper-range of ¥1.5-2.0 billion ($15-20 million) if this opening comes to pass.

>Parasite saw almost daily week-to-week increases heading into its third weekend, and its Saturday pre-sales are suggesting it may experience a weekend increase. As we've discussed here, this is almost certainly the highest grossing Korean film ever in the market (I need to check one more film to say with certainly). And I don't really see it slowing down much unless it's snubbed at the Academy Awards, so I believe we're looking at possible total over ¥2 billion ($20 million), and a lot more if it wins Best Picture.

>My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising is receiving a 4DX expansion this weekend, so it'll likely rise back into the Top 10. It saw a Fri-to-Fri increase of over 150%, but the weekend increase will come in below that due to the early rush from the fanbase to see it ASAP to receive the limited giveaway at 4DX showings. It's incredibly difficult to predict increases in these cases, but I'm expecting something between 30-50%.

>I'm not going to talk about the remaining holdovers in the forecast this weekend. Most of them are looking to achieve good/great holds. But because I know I'll be asked about Frozen II, it's looking at one of the better holds this weekend, and a much, much needed drop. It's still too little, too late though, and passing Weathering With You is nigh impossible now. Still, it's increased its chances of it reaching the ¥13.5 billion ($124/125 million) milestone to jump over a couple more films on the all-time chart and settle in the #14 all-time position. -

[Tower]

(C) 2019 Universal Pictures.All Rights Reserved.

Weekend Actuals (01/25-26)
01 (---) ¥262,134,400 ($2.4 million), 0, ¥354,433,600 ($3.3 million), Cats (Toho-Towa) NEW
02 (01) ¥198,153,400 ($1.8 million), -12%, ¥1,412,694,800 ($12.8 million), Kaiji: Final Game (Toho) WK3
03 (02) ¥167,269,500 ($1.5 million), -19%, ¥12,785,628,000 ($117.2 million), Frozen II (Disney) WK10
04 (05) ¥164,925,660 ($1.5 million), +24%, ¥967,672,940 ($8.8 million), Parasite (Bitter's End) WK3
05 (03) ¥125,819,430 ($1.2 million), -30%, ¥6,757,750,630 ($61.8 million), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney) WK6
06 (04) ¥x92,716,200 ($851,000), -32%, ¥437,912,900 ($4.0 million), Last Letter (Toho) WK2
07 (12) ¥x71,249,800 ($654,000), +73%, ¥1,553,045,600 ($14.2 million), My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (Toho) WK6
08 (06) ¥x70,637,900 ($649,000), -36%, ¥732,904,950 ($6.7 million), Ford v. Ferrari (Fox) WK3
09 (07) ¥x64,131,900 ($589,000), -38%, ¥290,922,750 ($2.7 million), The Memory Eraser (Shochiku) WK2
10 (08) ¥x63,370,400 ($582,000), -13%, ¥235,741,800 ($2.2 million), Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul (Kadokawa) WK2

>Cats got off to a solid start in the market, selling 190,910 admissions over the weekend frame across a whopping 778 screens; it sold 259,876 admissions over its first three-days in release. This isn't an opening to be particularly impressed over, but it's honestly pretty good and ranks in the mid-tier for live-action musical debuts in the market. If the film hadn't suffered from a toxic reception, and abysmal box-office returns elsewhere, it would have likely opened about on par with some of the bigger musicals in the market. As it is, I'd expect a finish a bit above ¥1.5 billion ($15 million), meaning Japan could surpass the U.K. to become the films' #1 overseas market.

>Kaiji: Final Game delivered an excellent third weekend, selling an additional 139,000 admissions, bringing its 17-day admissions above 1 million. Thanks to this great hold, and solid weekday business, it could reach the ¥2 billion (~$20 million) milestone now. It'll need another strong hold, or two, but it could have certainly stalled out around ¥1.5 billion, so anything near ¥2 billion is very good.

>Frozen II has decided it wants to hold well late in its run, which is perfectly fine and welcomed, but these holds really would have helped a couple weeks ago... It sold an additional 129,000 admissions over its tenth-weekend of release. As said, this is another strong hold for Frozen, and it did exceed the 10 million milestone on Sunday, becoming just the 19th film to ever achieve this accomplishment. It also became the 19th highest grossing film. It looks to finish around ¥13.5 billion ($124/125 million), or slightly less.

>Parasite enjoyed an excellent third weekend increase, one that even allowed its third weekend to come in 18% above its opening weekend. Thanks to user peterfdt123, I looked up 2005's A Moment to Remember (Japanese name is like "Eraser in My Memory..."), a Korean film, and it grossed an incredible ¥3 billion, making it by far the biggest Korean film in Japan. In fact, it (and soon to be Parasite) is the only Korean film that I know of that has even grossed above ¥1 billion. It's going to be very hard for Parasite to beat that film, but it hasn't peaked yet and could continue to grow if it does well at the Academy Awards, so don't rule it out. At a minimum, we can expect a total of ¥2 billion ($20 million), but a ¥2.5-3.0 billion ($25-30 million) total is possible.

>Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker held fine again, but fine isn't cutting it and it's certain to finish below Star Wars: The Last Jedi now to become the lowest grossing Star Wars film since Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. It also broke 4.5 million admissions after 38-days in release, but will ultimately miss the 5 million admissions milestone. It's going to exceed ¥7 billion at least, and finish around ¥7.2/7.3 billion ($66/67 million); that's about 3% less than The Last Jedi.

>My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising experienced a huge sixth-weekend increase thanks to its 4DX expansion. It looked like the second film in the popular manga/anime series was going to gross less than the first film (¥1.72 billion), but it has a chance of outgrossing it now, or at least coming incredibly close to its total.

[PKMLover]

Most Attended Years, Yearly Admissions (1955-):

1958 - 1,127,452,000
1957 - 1,098,882,000
1959 - 1,088,111,000
1960 - 1,014,364,000
1956 - 993,875,000
1955 - 868,912,000
1961 - 863,430,000
1962 - 662,279,000
1963 - 511,121,000
1964 - 431,454,000
1965 - 372,676,000
1966 - 345,811,000
1967 - 335,067,000
1968 - 313,398,000
1969 - 283,980,000
1970 - 254,799,000
1971 - 216,754,000
2019 - 194,910,000
1972 - 187,391,000
1974 - 185,738,000
1973 - 185,324,000
2016 - 180,189,000
2017 - 174,483,000
2010 - 174,358,000
1975 - 174,020,000
1976 - 171,020,000
1983 - 170,430,000
2004 - 170,092,000
2009 - 169,297,000
2018 - 169,210,000
2015 - 166,630,000
1978 - 166,042,000
1977 - 165,172,000
1979 - 165,088,000
2006 - 164,585,000
1980 - 164,422,000
2001 - 163,280,000
2007 - 163,193,000
2003 - 162,347,000
2014 - 161,116,000
2002 - 160,767,000
1986 - 160,758,000
2008 - 160,491,000
2005 - 160,453,000
2013 - 155,888,000
1982 - 155,280,000
2012 - 155,159,000
1985 - 155,130,000
1998 - 153,102,000
1984 - 150,527,000
1981 - 149,450,000
1990 - 146,000,000
1988 - 144,825,000
1999 - 144,762,000
2011 - 144,726,000
1987 - 143,935,000
1989 - 143,573,000
1997 - 140,719,000
1991 - 138,330,000
2000 - 135,390,000
1993 - 130,720,000
1995 - 127,040,000
1992 - 125,600,000
1994 - 122,990,000
1996 - 119,575,000

[Tower]

(C)2019「AI崩壊」製作委員会

Weekend Forecast (02/01-02)
01 (---) ¥200,000,000 ($1.8 million), 0, ¥260,000,000 ($2.4 million), AI Amok (Warner Bros.) NEW
02 (04) ¥189,000,000 ($1.7 million), +15%, ¥1,330,000,000 ($12.1 million), Parasite (Bitter's End) WK4
03 (01) ¥178,000,000 ($1.6 million), -32%, ¥770,000,000 ($7.1 million), Cats (Toho-Towa) WK2
04 (02) ¥148,000,000 ($1.3 million), -25%, ¥1,695,000,000 ($15.4 million), Kaiji: Final Game (Toho) WK4
05 (03) ¥134,000,000 ($1.2 million), -20%, ¥12,980,000,000 ($119.0 million), Frozen II (Disney) WK11
06 (---) ¥100,000,000 ($915,000), 0, ¥130,000,000 ($1.2 million), Bad Boys for Life (Sony) NEW
07 (05) ¥x89,000,000 ($815,000), -29%, ¥6,950,000,000 ($63.6 million), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney) WK7
08 (---) ¥x75,000,000 ($690,000), 0, ¥x95,000,000 ($0.9 million), Knives Out (Long Ride) NEW
09 (06) ¥x65,000,000 ($595,000), -30%, ¥590,000,000 ($5.4 million), Last Letter (Toho) WK3
10 (08) ¥x51,000,000 ($465,000), -28%, ¥835,000,000 ($7.7 million), Ford v. Ferrari (Fox) WK4
11 (---) ¥x50,000,000 ($460,000), 0, ¥x50,000,000 ($0.5 million), Goblin Slayer: Goblin's Crown (Toho) NEW
12 (10) ¥x46,000,000 ($420,000), -27%, ¥330,000,000 ($3.1 million), Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul (Kadokawa) WK3

A difficult weekend to predict since Saturday is a first of the month, meaning it's a national discount day (40% off movie tickets). These days always see a big boost in admissions, but the increase in revenue is much smaller due to the discounted ticket prices (though still typically stronger than normal). And as a result of the first falling on a Saturday this weekend, everything (Parasite aside) will likely experience sharp declines on Sunday to keep the weekend itself relatively normal.

The #1 spot is very contested this weekend between the debuting AI Amok, which I'm predicting with much uncertainty edging out the victory, and holdovers Cats and Parasite. Cats played fine over the weekdays and pre-sales today are good, so I think legs will be fine (Japan will already become its #2 overseas market after two weeks). And Parasite actually looks like it's going to enjoy another weekend increase, and it'd be quite a feat if it manages to rise to first place. All three appear on course for ¥175/200 million.

[keysersoze123]

Corpse did say that saturday boost(1st of month) was not as much as what he expected. So drops this weekend would be worse that what he predicted. 

[danhtruong5]

So now, the final milestone in Japan it can dream of is China $122.3M.

How pathetic

[keysersoze123]

(C)2019「AI崩壊」製作委員会

Weekend Actuals (02/01-02)
[highlight=yellow]01 (---) ¥225,000,000 ($2.1 million), 0, ¥266,560,000 ($2.5 million), AI Amok (Warner Bros.) NEW[/highlight]
02 (01) ¥171,596,400 ($1.6 million), -35%, ¥787,302,400 ($7.2 million), Cats (Toho-Towa) WK2
03 (04) ¥147,514,100 ($1.4 million), -11%, ¥1,307,653,920 ($11.9 million), Parasite (Bitter's End) WK4
04 (02) ¥120,022,950 ($1.1 million), -39%, ¥1,677,634,600 ($15.3 million), Kaiji: Final Game (Toho) WK4
05 (03) ¥111,181,000 ($1.0 million), -34%, ¥12,971,531,950 ($118.9 million), Frozen II (Disney) WK11
[highlight=yellow]06 (---) ¥x90,000,000 ($830,000), 0, ¥119,560,700 ($1.1 million), Bad Boys for Life (Sony) NEW[/highlight]
07 (05) ¥x85,373,120 ($787,000), -32%, ¥6,947,051,150 ($63.6 million), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney) WK7
[highlight=yellow]08 (---) ¥x70,000,000 ($645,000), 0, ¥x89,506,900 ($0.8 million), Knives Out (Long Ride) NEW[/highlight]
[highlight=yellow]09 (---) ¥x60,000,000 ($550,000), 0, ¥x80,396,400 ($0.7 million), We Make Antiques! (Gaga) NEW[/highlight]
10 (06) ¥x56,227,600 ($518,000), -39%, ¥590,306,200 ($5.4 million), Last Letter (Toho) WK3
11 (10) ¥x46,123,800 ($425,000), -27%, ¥331,007,000 ($3.1 million), Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul (Kadokawa) WK3
[highlight=yellow]12 (---) ¥x42,541,900 ($392,000), 0, ¥x53,317,900 ($0.5 million), Maeda Corporation Fantasy Marketing Depart. (Tokyo Theaters, Co.) NEW[/highlight]
13 (08) ¥x42,076,050 ($388,000), -40%, ¥830,562,050 ($7.7 million), Ford v. Ferrari (Fox) WK4
14 (07) ¥x41,491,850 ($382,000), -42%, ¥1,636,530,850 ($15.0 million), My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (Toho) WK7
15 (09) ¥x32,394,750 ($299,000), -49%, ¥375,788,550 ($3.5 million), The Memory Eraser (Shochiku) WK3

>AI Amok debuted atop the box-office this weekend, selling 165,000 admissions over the weekend frame across 346 screens; it sold 213,617 admissions in its first three-days of release.  Solid enough start, right around, perhaps even slightly above, expectations.  Films that open on a weekend where the first of the month falls on Saturday or Sunday have a bit of frontloading, but this opening is high enough to get the film above the ¥1 billion ($10 million) milestone.

>Cats enjoyed a good second weekend, selling a further 136,000 admissions, bringing its ten-day admissions up to 600,000.  Most musicals develop good legs in the market, and while this drop isn't great, it's good enough where I believe the film will end up with a healthy total.  Expect a finish around ¥1.5 billion ($14 million) or slightly more.  A bit over $15 million is needed to surpass the U.K. for Japan to become the films' #1 overseas market.

>Parasite didn't see the weekend increase that I was expecting, but it did rise another position and an 11% decline is clearly nothing to be disappointed about.  Its fourth weekend is 5% higher than its opening weekend.  Its admissions after 24-days in release has reached 934,344.  There's still little indication of the film slowing down yet, so I believe a total above ¥2 billion ($20 million) is looking good.  And, of course, if it does well at the Academy Awards, it'll go much higher.

>Frozen II tumbled a bit in its eleventh-weekend of release, but it remains in the Top 5, a great accomplishment after eleven weeks.  The film surpassed Jurassic Park on the all-time chart to become the 18th-highest grossing film ever, and after 73-days in release, it has sold 10.16 million admissions.

>Bad Boys for Life missed the Top 5, but expectations were low so I wouldn't necessarily say its opening weekend is disappointing.  Its weekend admissions haven't been released, but its three-day admissions reached 94,734.

 

[Krissykins]

Good for Cats. 
 

like Corpse said, the UK and Japan are the only markets it’s done well in. 

[danhtruong5]

Weekend actual 

 

The effect of 4 Oscars winning already kicked in Japan BO today for Parastie, can finish at $25-$30M

[keysersoze123]

(C)ふじた／一迅社　(C)2020映画「ヲタクに恋は難しい」製作委員会

Weekend Actuals (02/08-09)
[highlight=yellow]01 (---) ¥229,400,150 ($2.1 million), 0, ¥301,097,800 ($2.7 million), Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (Toho) NEW[/highlight]
[highlight=yellow]02 (---) ¥155,203,100 ($1.4 million), 0, ¥203,678,800 ($1.9 million), Howling Village (Toei) NEW[/highlight]
03 (03) ¥125,143,890 ($1.1 million), -15%, ¥1,593,692,210 ($14.5 million), Parasite (Bitter's End) WK5
04 (01) ¥118,484,150 ($1.1 million), -42%, ¥555,811,900 ($5.1 million), AI Amok (Warner Bros.) WK2
[highlight=yellow]05 (---) ¥100,037,910 ($912,000), 0, ¥100,037,910 ($912,000), Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger VS Lupinranger VS Patranger (Toei) NEW[/highlight]
06 (02) ¥x89,213,900 ($814,000), -48%, ¥1,022,827,850 ($9.3 million), Cats (Toho-Towa) WK3
07 (04) ¥x66,122,600 ($603,000), -45%, ¥1,824,650,350 ($16.7 million), Kaiji: Final Game (Toho) WK5
08 (05) ¥x62,773,550 ($573,000), -44%, ¥13,079,048,100 ($119.9 million), Frozen II (Disney) WK12
09 (07) ¥x50,097,890 ($457,000), -41%, ¥7,059,048,000 ($64.6 million), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (Disney) WK8
10 (06) ¥x41,993,800 ($383,000), -53%, ¥238,693,000 ($2.2 million), Bad Boys for Life (Sony) WK2
11 (08) ¥x39,132,200 ($357,000), -44%, ¥190,877,300 ($1.7 million), Knives Out (Long Ride) WK2
12 (09) ¥x28,127,700 ($257,000), -50%, ¥169,823,200 ($1.6 million), We Make Antiques! (Gaga) WK2

>Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku debuts atop the box-office, selling 169,000 admissions over the weekend frame across 304 screens; it sold 223,260 admissions over its first three-days in release.  A pretty good start, especially for early February, that will earn distributor Toho another ¥1 billion ($10 million) earner early in the year.  Expect a total around ¥1.2/1.3 billion ($11/12 million).

>Howling Village achieves a second place opening, selling 116,000 admissions over the weekend frame on 211 screens; it sold 152,829 admissions over its first three-days in release.  This is another pretty good start, not just for the time of year, but also given the lower screen count.  Distributor Toei also has a very rough track record with live-action films, so this is a nice little surprise for them.  It'll probably still miss the ¥1 billion ($10 million) milestone, but it does have a chance of reaching the mark.

>Parasite holds strong in third place in its fifth-weekend of release, off just 15% despite coming off an inflated prior weekend (just look at the drops for the other holdovers).  So... it won Best Picture at the Oscars.  That win is going to go a long way in a market like Japan, and the film was already holding extraordinarily well.  We're going to see some major increases this week, and undoubtedly an increase next weekend.  It'll probably continue to play very, very well even after next week, too.  I'm expecting it to finish around ¥3 billion ($30 million), twice as much as its five-week total, but won't be surprised if I adjust that number higher next week.

>Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger VS Lupinranger VS Patranger rounded out the Top 5 in its debut, but its weekend admissions haven't been released.  These films typically have very low average ticket prices since they skew young, so it probably sold between 80,000-90,000 admissions over the weekend.  

>I'm basically going to lump the bottom half of the Top 10 together in this analysis, and just say that they all experienced the usual sharp declines that come off an inflated prior weekend (last Saturday was the first of the month, national discount day).