Toho Cinema's Most-Attended Films Opening Weekend since Dec. 2012

Toho Cinemas Weekend Admissions / Overall Weekend Admissions
279,083/1,140,081 (24.5%) - One Piece Film Z (12/15-16)
167,188/747,451 (22.3.%) - The Wind Rises (07/20-21)
121,802/614,969 (19.8%) - Monsters University (07/06-07)
118,248/565,914 (20.9%) - Detective Conan: The Private Eye in the Distant Sea (04/13-14)
108,700/539,132 (20.2%) - Lupin III Vs. Detective Conan: The Movie (12/07-08)
91,182/???,??? - The Eternal Zero (12/21-22)
88,488/393,522 (22.5%) - SPEC: Close - Incarnation Part 2 (11/30-12/01)
85,462/464,839 (18.4%) - Pokemon: ExtremeSpeed Genesect - Mewtwo Awakens (07/13-14)
79,454/386,994 (20.5%) - The Kiyosu Conference (11/09-10)
76,023/345,901 (22.0%) - SPEC: Close - Incarnation Part I (11/02-03)
75,048/398,754 (18.8%) - Skyfall (12/01-02)
74,131/363,451 (20.4%) - Midsummer Formula (06/29-30)
71,497/357,976 (20.0%) - Hunter X Hunter: The Phantom Rouge (01/12-13)
68,592/330,385 (20.8%) - Fast and Furious 6 (07/06-07)

Is Only Lovers Left Alive's performance decent considering its art-house nature and, presumably, low-profile advertising campaign?

I believe it did alright. It's playing in 16 theaters, 10 being Toho Cinemas, and it sold 1,453 tickets from those 10. 1,453 admissions should be about ¥2 million ($19,000) at those 10 locations over the weekend (2-day in Japan).

I probably wouldn't consider it having a low-profile advertising campaign, though. Openers usually get more attention than other films, but it's ranking in the Top 25/50 Most-Searched titles right now on various sites. And Eiga, one of the most popular movie sites, had a review on the front page.

Weekend estimates/results were delayed due to the Emperor's Birthday, so in the meantime, here are the...

Top Selling Blu-rays/DVDs of 2013:

DVD:
805,858 - Arashi: Aarafes (12/26/12)
718,382 - Arashi: Popcorn Live Tour (4/24/13)
276,834 - Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo (4/24/13)
233,650 - Naime Amuro: Major Domes Tour Best *20th Anniversary* (2/27/13)
220,226 - KANJANI: Live Tour! 8EST (3/13/13)
208,199 - EXILE: EXILE PRIDE Tour 2012 (10/16/13)
162,395 - Les Miserables (6/21/13)
143,251 - Kis-My-Ft2: Yoshio -new member- (3/27/13)
134,180 - Ted (7/24/13)
132,011 - Tohoshinki: -TIME- Live Tour 2012 (10/23/13)
114,418 - Mechaike Aka DVD Vol. 1 (9/14/13)
112,158 - Mechaike Aka DVD Vol. 2 (9/14/13)
95,351 - Mr. Children: Popsauros Tour 2012 (12/19/12)
90,600 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (6/27/12)
90,346 - NEWS: Live Tour 2012 (1/30/13)

Blu-ray:
398,187 - Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo (4/14/13)
181,472 - The Avengers (12/19/12)
108,383 - Monsters University (11/20/13)
96,561 - Mobile Suit Gundam UC 6 (3/22/13)
95,866 - Magi Madoka Magica Part I: The Beginnings/Part II: Eternal (7/24/13)
93,656 - Skyfall (4/3/13)
89,388 - Les Miserables (6/21/13)
85,174 - Iron Man 3 (9/4/13)
72,970 - Resident Evil: Retribution (12/19/12)
72,845 - Naime Amuro: Major Domes Tour Best *20th Anniversary* (2/27/13)
65,982 - Fast and Furious 6 (11/20/13)
65,003 - Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha the Movie 2nd A's (3/22/13)
61,384 - Mr. Children: Popsaurus Tour 2012 (12/19/12)
60,147 - KANJANI: Live Tour! 8EST (3/13/13)
57,961 - Wreck-It Ralph (7/17/13)

Weekend Results [12/21-22]



1 (-) The Eternal Zero (Toho) NEW
2 (1) Lupin III Vs. Detective Conan (Toho) Week 3
3 (2) Gravity (Warner Bros.) Week 2
4 (-) Planes (Disney) NEW
5 (3) Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Gaim & Wizard (Toei) Week 2
6 (4) The Liar and His Lover (Toho) Week 2
7 (-) Walking with Dinosaurs (Fox) NEW
8 (5) SPEC: Close - Incarnation Part 2 (Toho) Week 4
9 (6) The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Toho) Week 5
10 (7) A Tale of Samurai Cooking (Shochiku) Week 3

>The Eternal Zero delivered the best debut for a live-action film since Resident Evil: Retribution in Sept. 2012. Debuting on 430 screens, Takashi Yamazaki's new film opened to ¥542,297,100 ($5.3 million) and 429,918 admissions over the weekend frame. And over the 3-day Holiday Weekend, it's total reached a huge ¥781,600,000 ($7.6 million). And what makes this opening even more impressive is the fact that it's an original film. It is based on a very popular book, yes, but it's incredibly rare for a non-sequel film (or one based on a TV show) to open this high.

The box-office has been waiting an entire year for another blockbuster live-action film, and The Eternal Zero will be aiming for a ¥5-6 billion ($50-60 million) total. However, with New Year just around the corner, and given the big debut and strong reception of the film, maybe it can go even higher.

>Falling to second place, Lupin III Vs. Detective Conan is still playing strong and has exceeded the ¥2 billion milestone after just 3 weeks, earning ¥2,148,420,000 ($20.8 million) after Monday's Holiday. The crossover film is well on track to exceed every 'Detective Conan' film, and is targeting a ¥4 billion+ ($40 million) total.

>Planes opened modestly to ¥154,949,300 ($1.5 million) and 129,043 admissions on 435 screens. This debut is about 1/3 of Cars 2, and on par with Brave's opening weekend. And with New Year, it could managed to reach ¥1 billion ($10 million).

>Walking with Dinosaurs settles for only 7th place, but it wasn't too far behind Planes. Opening on 600 screens, it grossed ¥120,653,800 ($1.2 million) and 91,492 admissions over the weekend.

And that's all the numbers that are available for now, and 3-day holiday weekend numbers aren't up for Planes or Walking with Dinosaurs yet either.

Top Opening Weekends
2014 [Box-Office Year, Dec.-Nov.]
Gross ¥ ($) / Admissions [Screens] - Film (Distributor)

¥1 billion ↨
¥649.8 million ($6.4 million) / 539,132 [329] - Lupin III Vs. Detective Conan (Toho)
¥542.3 million ($5.3 million) / 429,918 [430] - The Eternal Zero (Toho)
¥500 million ↨
¥438.6 million ($4.3 million) / 393,522 [290] - SPEC: Close - Incarnation Part 2 (Toho)
¥302.8 million ($3.0 million) / 197,006 [549] - Gravity (Warner Bros.)
¥300 million ↨
¥223.5 million ($2.2 million) / 196,252 [284] - Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Gaim & Wizard (Toei)
¥200 million ↨
¥180.5 million ($1.8 million) / 167,300 [408] - Red 2 (Disney)
¥164.0 million ($1.6 million) / 135,797 [284] - The Liar and His Lover (Toho)
¥154.9 million ($1.5 million) / 129,043 [435] - Planes (Disney)
¥123.4 million ($1.2 million) / 112,798 [471] - Captain Phillips (Sony)
¥120.7 million ($1.2 million) / 91,492 [600] - Walking with Dinosaurs (Fox)
¥105.3 million ($1.0 million) / 77,894 [753] - 47 Ronin (Toho-Towa)
¥100 million ↨


2013 Opening Weekends *FINAL*

Distributor Toho's Upcoming Movie Line-Up

Hunter X Hunter: The Last Mission (Dec. 27)
Wake Up, Girls! (Jan. 10)
Trick 4: The Last Stage (Jan. 11)
Never Stop (Jan. 17)
I Want To Hold (Feb. 1)
Yukihiko Nishino's Love and Adventure (Feb. 8)
The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji (Feb. 15)
Silver Spoon: The Movie (Mar. 7)
Doraemon: New Nobita's Great Demon—Peko and the Exploration Party of Five (Mar. 8)
God's Medical Record 2 (Mar. 21)
Team Batista Final Kerberos's Portrait (Mar. 29)
Adult Drop (Apr. 4)
Crows: Explode (Apr. 12)
Detective Conan: The Sniper From Another Dimension (Apr. 19)
Crayon Shin-chan: Serious Battle! Robot Dad Strikes Back (Apr. 19)
Thermae Romae II (Apr. 26)
Akumu-chan The Movie (May 3)
Wood Job! (May 10)
A Bolt from the Sky (May 24)
All-Round Appraiser Q: Mona Lisa’s Eye (May 31)
Carrying Spring (June 14)
Pokemon XY: The Cocoon of Destruction (July 19)
Marnie's Memories *Studio Ghibli* (July)
Godzilla (July 25)
Eight Ranger 2 (July 26)
Stand By Me, Doraemon (August)
Lupin III (Aug. 20)
Maiko Lady (September)
Chronicle of the Evening Cicadas (Oct. 4)
Like God Says (Fall)
Parasyte: Part 1 (December)

Key Titles *At least ¥3 billion ($30 million) potential*

>Among these titles, Marnie's Memories should be the biggest hit, and probably the only ¥10 billion (~$100 million) candidate. Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi's first film, Arrietty, is the highest-grossing non-Hayao Miyazaki Studio Ghibli film, earning ¥9.25 billion ($111 million) in 2010.

>Parasyte: Part 1 is being directed by Takashi Yamazaki and will be coming off his major hit this weekend, The Eternal Zero, and will more than likely be a big hit. Toho won the rights to the film after a long bidding-war with New Line (Warner Bros.).

>Thermae Romae II, All-Round Appraiser Q and Lupin III will perform well and be Top 10 contenders from the live-action batch of releases.

>Detective Conan, Doraemon, and Pokemon will do great numbers as usual. Pokemon will see a solid increase over the last film since it's the first of the new generation. There is also a second 'Doraemon film this year, Stand By Me, Doraemon being released in August. It's the first CG 'Doraemon' film, so it'll be interesting to watch its performance.

>And since Toho (who produced all 28 original Godzilla films) had a hand in the production of the new Godzilla (thus has distribution rights), it may have a chance at big numbers this time around. Hollywood adapting domestic material alone generally results in poor results.

2013 Top Grossing Films
Total Gross / Admissions :: Film :: Days in Release :: Distributor

¥12.00 billion ($123.2 million) / 9.67 million :: The Wind Rises :: 158 :: Toho
¥10 billion ↨
¥8.96 billion ($91.3 million) / 7.06 million :: Monsters University :: Final Total :: Disney
¥6.85 billion ($76.9 million) / 5.67 million :: One Piece Film Z :: Final Total :: Toei
¥5.93 billion ($65.7 million) / 4.82 million :: Les Miserables :: Final Total :: Toho-Towa
¥5 billion ↨
¥4.20 billion ($46.2 million) / 3.09 million :: Ted :: Final Total :: Toho-Towa
¥4 billion ↨
¥3.98 billion ($43.2 million) / 3.66 million :: Doraemon: Nobita's Secret Gagdet Museum :: Final Total :: Toho
¥3.63 billion ($37.1 million) / 3.03 million :: Detective Conan: Private Eye in the Distant Sea :: Final Total :: Toho
¥3.33 billion ($34.3 million) / 2.71 million :: Midsummer Formula :: Final Total :: Toho
¥3.25 billion ($33.8 million) / 2.78 million :: The After-Dinner Mysteries :: Final Total :: Toho
¥3.17 billion ($33.0 million) / 3.03 million :: Pokemon: ExtremeSpeed Genesect - Mewtwo Awakens :: Final Total :: Toho
¥3.15 billion ($32.7 million) / 2.70 million :: Like Father, Like Son :: Final Estimate :: Gaga
¥3.00 billion ($32.3 million) / 2.45 million :: Wreck-It Ralph :: Final Total :: Disney
¥3.00 billion ($31.0 million) / 2.35 million :: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods :: Final Estimate :: Toei
¥3 billion ↨
¥2.82 billion ($32.4 million) / 2.21 million :: 007: Skyfall :: Final Estimate :: Sony
¥2.72 billion ($27.6 million) / 2.24 million :: The Kiyosu Conference :: 45 :: Toho
¥2.64 billion ($28.3 million) / 2.12 million :: Platinum Data :: Final Estimate :: Toho
¥2.64 billion ($26.8 million) / 2.10 million :: SPEC: Close - Incarnation Part 1 :: 53 :: Toho
¥2.60 billion ($26.7 million) / 1.77 million :: Iron Man 3 :: Tracking Ends :: Disney
¥2.40 billion ($25.0 million) / 1.86 million :: Despicable Me 2 :: Tracking Ends :: Toho-Towa
¥2.15 billion ($23.9 million) / 1.73 million :: Strawberry Night :: Final Estimate :: Toho
¥2.13 billion ($22.2 million) / 1.73 million :: The King of Apology :: Tracking Ends :: Toho
¥2.09 billion ($21.7 million) / 1.63 million :: The Lone Ranger :: Tracking Ends :: Disney
¥2.03 billion ($22.3 million) / 1.49 million :: A Good Day to Die Hard :: Final Estimate :: Fox
¥2 billion ↨
¥1.98 billion ($20.4 million) / 1.52 million :: Fast and Furious 6 :: Tracking Ends :: Toho-Towa
¥1.96 billion ($20.3 million) / 1.42 million :: World War Z :: Tracking Ends :: Toho-Towa
¥1.94 billion ($20.0 million) / 1.40 million :: Magi Madoka Magica: The Rebellion Story :: 58 :: Warner Bros.
¥1.84 billion ($21.3 million) / 1.28 million :: Life of Pi :: Final Estimate :: Fox
¥1.83 billion ($19.3 million) / 1.51 million :: Ataru: The First Love & The Last Kill :: Final Estimate :: Toho
¥1.81 billion ($19.0 million) / 1.44 million :: Shield of Straw :: Final Estimate :: Warner Bros.
¥1.77 billion ($20.2 million) / 1.46 million :: Today, I Started Loving You :: Final Total :: Toho
¥1.75 billion ($18.9 million) / 1.25 million :: Oz: The Great and Powerful :: Final Estimate :: Disney
¥1.74 billion ($18.0 million) / 1.43 million :: The Girl in the Sunny Place :: Tracking Ends :: Asmik Ace/Toho
¥1.71 billion ($18.0 million) / 1.38 million :: Library Wars :: Final Estimate :: Toho
¥1.64 billion ($18.9 million) / 1.16 million :: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey :: Tracking Ends :: Warner Bros.
¥1.58 billion ($16.2 million) / 1.28 million :: Gintama: The Final Chapter :: Final Estimate :: Warner Bros.
¥1.55 billion ($16.9 million) / 1.42 million :: Tokyo Family :: Final Estimate :: Shochiku
¥1.54 billion ($15.3 million) / 1.29 million :: The Tale of Princess Kaguya :: 30 :: Toho
¥1.50 billion ($15.6 million) / 1.37 million :: A Boy Called H :: Final Estimate :: Toho
¥1.48 billion ($15.4 million) / 1.02 million :: Pacific Rim :: Tracking Ends :: Warner Bros.
¥1.40 billion ($14.9 million) / 1.13 million :: Oblivion :: Tracking Ends :: Toho-Towa
¥1.30 billion ($13.3 million) / 1.13 million :: Crayon Shin-chan: Gourmet Survival Class :: Final Estimates:: Toho
¥1.25 billion ($13.9 million) / 0.99 million :: Brain Man :: Final Estimate :: Toho
¥1.21 billion ($13.5 million) / 1.02 million :: Hunter X Hunter: The Phantom Rouge :: Final Total :: Toho
¥1.20 billion ($12.6 million) / 1.03 million :: Kamen Rider Wizard in Magic Land :: Tracking Ends :: Toei
¥1.18 billion ($12.9 million) / 1.02 million :: Aibou Series: X-Day :: Final Estimate :: Toei
¥1.17 billion ($13.3 million) / 0.99 million :: Humanoid Monster, Bem :: Final Total :: Toho
¥1.14 billion ($13.0 million) / 1.03 million :: Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard :: Final Total :: Toei
¥1.14 billion ($11.9 million) / 1.01 million :: Emperor :: Tracking Ends :: Shochiku
¥1.12 billion ($11.6 million) / 0.89 million :: The Great Gatsby :: Tracking Ends :: Warner Bros.
¥1.07 billion ($11.3 million) / 0.87 million :: Jack Reacher :: Tracking Ends :: Paramount
¥1.05 billion ($11.0 million) / 0.98 million :: Pretty Cure All Stars: New Stage 2 :: Final Estimate :: Toei
¥1.05 billion ($10.8 million) / 0.73 million :: Star Trek Into Darkness :: Tracking Ends :: Paramount
¥1.02 billion ($10.8 million) / 0.83 million :: The Complex :: Tracking Ends :: Shochiku
¥1.00 billion ($10.2 million) / 0.81 million :: Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day :: Tracking Ends :: Aniplex
¥1 billion ↑

Director Takashi Yamazaki's Recent Film Breakdown:

The Eternal Zero (Dec. 21, 2013)
Opening Gross/Admissions: ¥542,297,100 / 429,918 (2-day), ¥781,600,000 / 622,659 (3-day)
Sex: 51% (male) / 49% (female)
Age: 50+ (29.5%), 40-49 (22.3%), 16-19 (12.4%), 20-29 (11.8%), 30-39 (10.7%)
Motive: "Fan of the book" (55.6%), "The ensemble is impressive" (33.4%), "The film is likely to be great" (31.4%), "World War 2 setting" (24.8%)
Final Gross/Admissions: N/A

Always: Sunset on Third Street '64 (Jan. 21, 2012)
Opening Gross/Admissions: ¥555,663,750 / 421,274 (2-day)
Sex: 62% (male) / 38% (female)
Age: 40-49 (36.2%), 50+ (23.8%), 30-39 (22.3%), 20-29 (13.2%), 16-19 (4.5%)
Motive: N/A
Final Gross/Admissions: ¥3.44 billion ($43 million) / 2.7 million

Space Battleship Yamato (Dec. 1, 2010)
Opening Gross/Admissions: ¥528,215,150 / 412,129 (2-day), ¥943,995,550 / 791,012 (5-day)
Sex: 52% (female) / 48% (male)
Age: 40-49 (44.4%), 30-39 (19.0%), 50+ (15.1%), 20-29 (12.9%), 16-19 (5.6%)
Motive: "Desire to see live-action Yamato" (31.9%), "Fan of the anime" (21.7%), "The film stars Takuya Kimura" (15.8%), "Visuals look amazing" (5.3%)
Final Gross/Admissions: ¥4.10 billion ($53 million) / 3.3 million


The age breakdown is very encouraging for The Eternal Zero. Of course, it skewed older (though which films don't anymore?), but it also brought in a younger, broader crowd than Yamazaki's previous films and most recent bigger films in general, too. The 16-19 year olds representing more than 10% of a movie's audience is rare these days.

And if Space Battleship Yamato can earn a multiplier of 7.7 farther away from New Year with weaker reviews and largely attracting fans of the anime, The Eternal Zero will have no problem reaching at least a multiplier of 9.

Biggest December Opening Weekends (Final multiplier)

01. ¥1.550 billion (x13.09) - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Dec. 1-2, 2001)
02. ¥1.372 billion (x4.99) - One Piece Film: Z (Dec. 15-16, 2012)
03. ¥1.038 billion (x4.62) - One Piece Film: Strong World (Dec. 12-13, 2009)
04. ¥751.8 million (x7.00) - The Incredibles (Dec. 4-5, 2004)
05. ¥649.8 million - Lupin III Vs. Detective Conan (Dec. 6-7, 2013)
06. ¥627.7 million (x7.96) - Up (Dec. 5-6, 2009)
07. ¥597.3 million (x26.11) - Avatar (Dec. 26-27, 2009)
08. ¥578.3 million (x7.45) - I Am Legend (Dec. 15-16, 2007)
09. ¥572.8 million (x9.39) - Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (Dec. 17-18, 2011)
10. ¥542.3 million - The Eternal Zero (Dec. 21-22, 2013)

-¥528.2 million (x7.76) - Space Battleship Yamato (Dec. 4-5, 2010)
-¥496.4 million (x10.27) - Letters from Iwo Jima (Dec. 9-10, 2006)

A couple films didn't have their 2-day weekend grosses released last week.... so making a forecast for this weekend is rather difficult, but here goes!

Weekend Forecast [12/28-29]

01 (01) ¥340 million ($3.2 million), The Eternal Zero (Toho) Week 2
02 (--) ¥290 million ($2.7 million), Hunter x Hunter: The Final Mission (Toho) NEW
03 (02) ¥250 million ($2.4 million), Lupin III Vs. Detective Conan (Toho) Week 4
04 (03) ¥155 million ($1.4 million), Gravity (Warner Bros.) Week 3
05 (04) ¥105 million ($1.0 million), Planes (Disney) Week 2
06 (--) ¥85 million ($820,000), The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Kadokawa) NEW
07 (05) ¥75 million ($720,000), The Liar and His Lover (Toho) Week 3
08 (07) ¥70 million ($670,000), Walking with Dinosaurs (Fox) Week 2
09 (06) ¥65 million ($630,000), Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Giam & Wizard (Toei) Week 3
10 (09) ¥55 million ($520,000), The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Toho) Week 6

Morning and afternoon ticket sales are slow across the board, but this weekend generally sees pretty good holds. I'm going with slightly bigger drops however given the ticket sales I see so far for the day. Evening shows, and especially Sunday, can completely change that around though.

The Eternal Zero should hold it's #1 spot. The first Hunter X Hunter film opened to ¥456 million almost a year ago, but this one doesn't seem nearly as strong.

And Catching Fire will likely open to similar numbers as the first film.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 also opens this weekend, but it's only playing in 110 theaters and will miss the Top 10.

That's pretty crazy. I can't get my head around how a film can make so much in Japan and then next to nothing everywhere else.

2013's Top 5 Biggest Winners


1. *Les Miserables*
>Highest-grossing Musical of all-time.
>2nd Highest-grossing film of all-time to never rank #1.
>11-Consecutive weeks in the Top 5.
>13-Consecutive weeks in the Top 10.
>3-Consecutive weekend increases (without expansion).
>Only the 4th film since 1998 to achieve a multiplier over 20 (and without expanding), joining 'Spirited Away', 'Avatar', and 'Departures'.


2. *Japanese Anime Films*
Where to begin here! Animated films completely dominated 2013.

>The Wind Rises
>First film in 3 years to gross over ¥10 billion; first 2D film in 5 years to gross over ¥10 billion.
>8-Consecutive weeks at #1.
>14-Consecutive weeks in the Top 10.
>Still in release and could challenge the Top 10 Films of All-Time with success at the Oscars.
>One Piece Film Z
>Broke the opening weekend admissions record for a domestic film, and delivered the biggest opening weekend in 5 years.
>Broke the 2-day opening weekend PSA record.
>Highest-grossing 'One Piece' film of all-time.
>Doraemon (34): Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum
>Biggest opening weekend for a 'Doraemon' film, and the Highest-grossing, Most-attended, 'Doraemon' film of all-time.
>The 'Doraemon' franchise also became the most attended movie franchise of all-time, with over 102 million admissions.
>Detective Conan (17): The Private Eye in the Distant Sea
>Biggest opening weekend for a 'Detective Conan' film, and the Highest-grossing, Most-attended, 'Detective Conan' film of all-time.


3. *Ted*
>Highest-grossing R15+ Comedy of all-time.
>Highest-grossing Imported Comedy since 'Home Alone 2'.
>Achieved a multiplier over 12 with only a couple small expansions and minimal Holiday support.


4. *Aniplex Releases*
From Steins Gate to Anohana, every Aniplex release this year performed exceptionally well in only limited release (often fewer than 50 screens). Aniplex has never had a better year, and despite playing on 1/10th of the screens of Hollywood blockbusters or big-budget Domestic films, they were able to match or even beat a number of them.


5. *Like Father, Like Son*
>Distributor Gaga's Highest-grossing domestic film of all-time.
>Achieved a multiplier over 10 outside of Summer or Holidays.
>Earned a Top 10 spot (#10) in 2013, a very difficult goal for an original film.

-Honorable Mention:
*Monsters University*
>4th Highest-grossing, and 4th Most-attended Pixar film of all-time.
>Most-attended imported-film in 3 years.


I'll post the Top 5 Losers of 2013 tomorrow, but they'll include:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Gatchaman
Toho's original live-action releases
Space Captain Harlock
After Earth

Dishonorable Mention:
Pacific Rim

Any reason why a film like Frozen will be released during Spring in Japan?

If I had to guess, I'd say Disney is following the release strategy of Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph, both of which had March releases in Japan, and both of which cleaned up nicely at the Japanese BO.

Yeah, what TServo2049 said.

March has been very strong for Disney the past few years, so changing the release pattern for Frozen wouldn't be a good idea in my opinion. And later releases is usually a good thing for many films in the market. Frozen's huge success at the box-office will guarantee that executives will give it a very strong release. Plus, it if would win Best Animated Film at the Oscars, that'll just hype its release even more.

Toho Cinemas Weekend Admissions [12/28-29]
~20% of the nation's theaters

*Top 10*
56,911 (-38%) - The Eternal Zero (Week 2)
37,425 (-25%) - Lupin III Vs. Detective Conan (Week 4)
26,351 (--) - Hunter X Hunter: The Final Mission (NEW)
19,361 (-09%) - The Liar and His Lover (Week 3)
15,658 (-36%) - Gravity (Week 3)
14,746 (-39%) - Planes (Week 2)
11,160 (--) - The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (NEW)
10,491 (-47%) - Walking with Dinosaurs (Week 2)
9,689 (-17%) - The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Week 6)
8,687 (-43%) - Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Giam & Wizard (Week 3)
_______________
6,154 (-54%) - SPEC: Close - Incarnation Part 2 (Week 5)
3,846 (-17%) - The Best Offer (Week 3)
2,899 (-44%) - The Kiyosu Conference (Week 8)
2,188 (--) - Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (NEW)
2,024 (-48%) - Red 2 (Week 5)
1,595 (-55%) - A Tale of Samurai Cooking (Week 4)
1,415 (-39%) - SPEC: Close - Incarnation Part 1 (Week 9)
1,152 (-57%) - Ask This of Riku (Week 4)
832 (-20%) - Captain Phillips (Week 5)
754 (-79%) - 47 Ronin (Week 4)

Very good weekend here for pretty much all the Top 10, though the openers were subdued a bit.

Hunter X Hunter: The Final Mission will definitely see a sharp decline from the first film, however, I doubt it will be as frontloaded as that one was since attendees were given a free manga volume which greatly boosted its opening.

And The Hunger Games: Catching Fire also looks to drop from it's predecessor by perhaps 20/25%. This isn't surprising given the first film was poorly received, but it'll probably still have a similar gross as the first film thanks to the New Year boost this upcoming week.

Where do you get these Toho Cinemas Weekend Admissions from?

I'd love this data when Escape Plan comes out..

It's possible to track admissions at Toho Cinemas online just by selecting any theater and viewing their movies and showings. For example, The Eternal Zero has sold 545 tickets so far for Monday as of 10:42am at the very busy Toho Cinema in Shibuya.

There are 61 Toho Cinemas in the country, and tracking every single movie and showtime can be daunting, so we usually divide them up if the insider(s) aren't available - which they normally are. Quite a few cinema chains can be tracked this way, too, but Toho Cinemas is the best representative of the nation's overall results.

Overall, about 45% of the nation's theaters are tracked by our community, and that's how weekend estimates are put together. Estimates are normally +/-10% off from the actuals, though since Aeon Group acquired the Warner Mycal chain from Warner Bros. (thus making them have the most theaters and screens in the country, slightly edging ahead of Toho Cinemas), the estimates haven't been quite as accurate on some weekends.

Using the theaters we track, I get weekend estimates (admissions) as:

264,000 - The Eternal Zero (Week 2)
181,000 - Lupin III Vs. Detective Conan (Week 4)
122,000 - Hunter X Hunter (NEW)
88,000 - The Liar and His Lover (Week 3)
76,000 - Gravity (Week 3)
72,000 - Planes (Week 2)
52,000 - Catching Fire (NEW)
51,000 - Walking with Dinosaurs (Week 2)
49,000 - The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Week 6)
40,000 - Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider (Week 3)

Very awesome. Thanks

2013's Top 5 Biggest Losers


1. *Gatchaman*
>Most-expensive local production of all-time by a huge margin according to reports of a budget of ¥8 billion ($80 million)!
>Final gross hasn't been released, but it's believed to be below ¥500 million ($5 million) making it the biggest financial failure in... probably ever considering budgets for domestic films rarely exceed ¥1 billion, and the previous record was just over ¥3 billion (Ponyo)


2. *The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey*
>86% decline in gross compared to Return of the King, and 82% and 79% drops from Fellowship of the Ring and Two Towers... Alrighty then.
>Ranked outside the Top 35 films of 2013. Let's hope moving the franchise back to its original Spring release can help future films recover.


3. *Space Captain Harlock*
>Another absurdly record budget bust of a film with a rumored budget of ¥5-6 billion ($50-60 million)!
>The final gross hasn't been released yet, either, but tracking ended just over ¥500 million ($5 million). If not for Gatchaman, it would have been one of (if not the) biggest domestic bomb ever.


4. *Toho's original live-action releases*
>Many of Toho's original live-action films failed to find an audience at the box-office this year despite fine release dates and capable filmmakers and cast member. Real, Hospitality Department, and Beyond the Memories fared the worst with grosses well below the ¥1 billion ($10 million) mark.


5. *After Earth*
>Prime Summer release spot, Will Smith, interesting... plot/setting, and it still earned less than ¥1 billion ($8/9 million) and didn't come near 1 million admissions. I would say it's one of Hollywood's worst high-profile performers in recent years, but 47 Ronin just happened making After Earth's performance actually look somewhat decent.

Dishonorable Mention:
*Pacific Rim*
>Grossed a disappointing ¥1.5 billion ($15 million) and barely cracked 1 million admissions despite being released during one of biggest weeks of the year (Obon).

2013's Top 5 Biggest Winners

Space Captain Harlock was saved from total embarrassment by Gatchaman.

Veteran names Doraemon, Pokemon, and Dragonball Z did well in 2013. Surprised to see ShinChan ranking below Dragonball.