© TOHO CO., LTD.
Godzilla Minus One, Takashi Yamazaki’s new film in TOHO’s Godzilla franchise, debuted at No. 1 in its opening weekend. The film sold 648,600 tickets for 1,041,193,460 yen (about $6.93 million) in its first three days at the Japanese box office. The film sold 14.7% more tickets and earned 22.8% more in its first three days than the most recent Japanese live-action Godzilla film, Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi’s Shin Godzilla, did. made it in the first three days of 2016.
Godzilla Minus One film opened in Japan last Friday, November 3, 2023 (“Godzilla Day”), which is the anniversary of the first Godzilla film released on November 3, 1954. The new film screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) as the closing film of this year’s event last Wednesday
The film will open in US theaters on December 1.
TIFF’s website describes the film’s story:
The worst despair in the series’ 70-year history hits Japan!
After the war, Japan was reduced to nothing. Godzilla appeared and pushed the country into a negative state. Faced with the most desperate situation in Japanese history, how and with whom will Japan stand up?
Ryunosuke Kamiki plays the main character Kōichi Shikishima, and Minami Hamabe plays the heroine Noriko Ōishi. (The two also lead the cast of NHK’s weekday morning drama Ranman.) Other cast members include Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Andō, and Kuranosuke Sasaki.
Yamazaki is the director and screenwriter, and is also credited for the visual effects. Yamazaki primarily directed live-action films, including Always: Sunset on Third Street, Returner and Parasyte, but also directed CG films such as Stand By Me Doremon.
Image via Twitter account of the movie Sumikko Gurashi
© 2023 日本すみっコぐらし協会映画部
Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Tsugihagi Kōjo no Fushigi na Ko (Mysterious Child of the Makeshift Factory), the third animated film of San-X’s Sumikko Gurashi series, ranked at #2 in its opening weekend in Japan. The film sold 192,300 tickets for 242,553,320 yen (about $1.61 million) in its first three days at the Japanese box office. The film opened in Japan last Friday.
Hazumu Sakuta (Neko no Dayan, Uchū Nanchara Kotetsu-kun) directs his third film at Fanworks. Takashi Sumita (Europe Kikaku) returned from the first film to write the script for the third film. Yoshihiko Inohara and Manami Honjō return from the first and second films to narrate the third film.
In the third film’s story, the characters find an ancient building deep in the woods. The building turned out to be a toy factory. They all start making toys in the factory, with Shirakuma using his skills to operate a sewing machine and Penguin? Examine the toy with a magnifying glass. But the factory itself hides something more special.
Sumikko Gurashi debuted in 2012 playing slightly negative characters who like to stay in the corner of the room. Characters include “Shirokuma”, a cold-sensitive polar bear; “Penguin?” (which has a question mark in its name), a penguin who is unsure whether he is actually a penguin or not;”Tonkatsu,” a leftover pork cutlet; “Neko,” a shy cat; and “Tokage”, who hides his nature as one of the last dinosaurs.
The first anime film, titled Sumikkogurashi – Good to be in the Corner, opened in Japan in November 2019. Ultimately, the film sold a total of 1.22 million tickets and grossed 1. 4 billion yen (about US$12.8 million) at the box office in Japan as of February 2020. The film won Best Animation of the Year at the 29th Annual Japan Film Critics Awards in June 2020.
Eiga Sumikko Gurashi: Aoi Tsukiyo no Mahō no Ko (The Miraculous Child of the Blue Moon Night), the second film, opened in Japan in November 2021 and sold about 200,000 tickets to gross about 250 million yen ( approximately 2.22 million US dollars) in the first three days.
The series had its first anime television series airing on October 6, and then all five episodes on November 5.
©Eiichiro Oda/2022 One Piece Production Committee
One Piece Film Red’s month-long encore screening dropped from #2 to #3 in its third weekend. The encore screening earned 147,496,360 yen (about US$982,500) from Friday to Sunday. In addition to its original run from August 6, 2022 to January 29, the film sold a total of 14.63 million tickets for a cumulative total of 20,175,536,860 yen (about US$134 million). It is now tied with Princess Mononoke as the 7th highest-earning film of all time in Japan (unadjusted for inflation) and the 4th highest-earning anime film in Japan.
The encore screening opened on October 20. The encore screening ranked No. 1 in its first weekend and sold 122,000 tickets to earn 159,197,710 yen (about US$1.06 million) in first three days.
The film became the highest-grossing and highest-grossing film of the franchise, in terms of both number of tickets sold and yen earned at the box office. The film is also the 8th highest-earning film of all time in Japan and topped the 2022 Japanese box office in terms of yen earned and tickets sold.
©2023 TopCoat 東宝 FNS27社
The live-action film adaptation of Yumi Tamura’s Don’t Call It Mystery (Mystery to Iu Nakare or Don’t say mystery) manga dropped from #1 to #4 in its eighth weekend of release. The film earned 121,810,640 yen (about $811,300) from Friday to Sunday. The film sold a total of 3.28 million tickets with a cumulative total of 4,442,168,260 yen (about 29.58 million USD).
The series is about college students solving Totonō Kunō mysteries. At the beginning of the story, the police brought him in for questioning on suspicion of murdering a classmate. The film focuses on the “Hiroshima Arc” of the manga, which appears in the second to fourth volumes of the manga. The “Hiroshima Arc” begins when Kunō travels to Hiroshima and becomes entangled in a family battle for inheritance. Kariatsumari.
The film opened on September 15 and sold 609,600 tickets to earn 850,483,760 yen (about US$5.71). million) in the first three days, ranking No. 1 in its opening weekend. Masaki Suda reprized his role as protagonist Totonō Kunō in the manga’s live-action film series.
Hiroaki Matsuyama, Tomoko Aizawa, and Ken Arai return from the series as director, scriptwriter, and composer, respectively.
© UTA☆PRI-MOVIE ST PROJECT
The encore screening for Gekijō-ban Utano☆Princesama♪ Maji Love ST☆RISH Tours rose from 8th to 6th place in its third weekend. The film earned 53,406,000 yen (about US$355,700) from Friday to Sunday and has earned a cumulative total of 2,294,508,730 yen (about US$15.28 million).
An encore screening opened in Japan on October 20. The film originally opened in Japan. in September 2022.
The film — described as part of a “new theatrical series” — consists entirely of concert footage of idol group ST☆RISH. Noriyasu Agematsu is again credited as the original creator with Broccoli. Elements Garden composed the music and A-1 Pictures produced the film. Shochiku is distributing the film.
Digimon Adventure 02 The Beginning, the new film in the Digimon Adventure 02 anime, dropped out of the top 10 in its second weekend, but still earned 26,343,410 yen (about US$175,400) from Friday to Sunday and has earned a total of 118,374,600 yen (about US$788,500).
Eiga Precure All Stars F, the 20th anniversary film in the Precure All Stars crossover anime series, dropped out of the top 10 in its eighth weekend.
Source: Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), comScore via KOFIC