Figures are hard to come by for films released before 1998 (which is why you see most of my lists being from 1998 til present). Most films with reported numbers before 1998 are major blockbusters and such.

Movie ticket prices are only 12/13% higher today than they were in 1980 (and have been mostly stagnate since 1992), so you rarely have to consider inflation in Japan unless you're talking about films from the 1950's-1970's. You can usually compare two films released 20 or 30 years apart without any issues.

It was reported that 2013's Doraemon film was the most-attended, though, until Stand By Me, Doraemon easily beat every other Doraemon film last year. But Stand By Me, Doraemon is the first CG Doraemon film and not apart of the annual March releases.

Ok, so that makes it really incredible. Thanks for the info.

Toei have set a goal of ¥4 billion for the upcoming Dragon Ball Z Revival of F.

Do you have the Box Office data for the previous Dragon Ball/Z movies as a comparison in the same way you did with Doraemon?

Corpse has it. Corpse has everything. Japan is in his blood.

Well I also read that the movie is going to be shown on 640-650 screens in Japan whereas Dragon Ball Z Battle of Gods was only shown on 312 screens in Japan.

Has there ever been an anime film shown on that many screens film before? 650 or so screens sounds like a lot for a film like this.

No domestic film has ever been shown on more than 481 screens (a record still held by Ponyo), so 640-650 sounds kinda unbelievable. It's rare enough for a domestic film to get more than 400 screens (generally 5 or less films get a count over 400 per year).

But I do remember something about the new Dragon Ball Z film getting an IMAX release of some sort (first of its kind I think), so maybe this will allow it more screens than usual. Before Japan studios and audiences largely abandoned 3D in 2012, some domestic films were receiving 3D releases in 2010-2011 and getting counts near or over 400, when they'd normally have a count of 300 or less. So, there is some precedent for a new way to see films to boost screen counts above the norm.

They are also giving away some freebies (cards it seems) to the first 1/1.5 million attendees, so its opening weekend will be one to watch next month. And it opens against Detective Conan (a very anticipated one), too! 04/18-19 is going to be a huge weekend.

I have a box-office history for most movie franchises, including Dragon Ball, and I'll post it soon if you don't want to wait until next month before the new film opens. I was wanting to wait though, since Dragon Ball vs. Detective Conan next month will be one of the biggest weekends of the year.

Usual Locations - Saturday Admissions

99,645 (--), Doraemon: Nobita's Space Record of Space Heroes (Toho) NEW
25,860 (-29%), American Sniper (Warner Bros.) Week 3
20,520 (--), Solomon's Perjury (Part 1) (Shochiku) NEW
10,387 (-47%), Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin I (Shochiku) Week 2
9,230 (-40%), Terrace House: Closing Door (Toho) Week 4
7,552 (--), PriPara the Movie: Everyone, Assemble! Prism Tours (Avex Pictures) NEW
6,714 (-30%), Have a Song on Your Lips (Asmik Ace) Week 2
5,147 (-52%), The Curtain Rises (Toei) Week 2
5,051 (-60%), Big Hero 6 (Disney) Week 12
4,206 (-19%), Chef (Sony) Week 2
4,157 (-39%), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Paramount) Week 5
[highlight=]3,279 (--), Knights of Sidonia: The Movie (Toho Video Division) NEW[/highlight]
3,093 (-35%), The Fault in Our Stars (Fox) Week 3
2,887 (-34%), Mortdecai (Kadokawa) Week 5
2,052 (-51%), Annie (Sony) Week 7

Very strong for Doraemon. Toho is claiming it it's outpacing last year's film by 7% so far, and expect it to finish above ¥3.5 billion ($30 million+).

And it's Saturday is about 13% higher than last year's film, and that one opened to ¥600 million. Doraemon always increases on Sunday, so it should be aiming for ¥650-700 million, which will be one of the top 3 highest debuts in the franchise.

Okay for Solomon's Perjury (Part 1), but ¥200 million looks very unlikely unless it has a very strong Sunday.

Toho Cinemas Saturday/Weekend Admissions (Overall Weekend Admissions) [Mid 2013-]

Toho Opening Day/Weekend (Overall OW), Toho OD/OW multiplier (Overall OW Weekend multiplier)
133,455/270,558 (1,484,916), x2.03 (x5.49) - Yo-Kai Watch: It's the Secret of Birth, Nyan! (12/20/14)
85,115/167,188 (747,451), x1.96 (x4.47) - The Wind Rises (07/20/13)
68,575/159,180 (717,948), x2.32 (x4.51) - Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends (09/13/14)
64,398/133,273 (649,865), x2.07 (x4.88) - Detective Conan: The Sniper from Another Dimension (04/19/14)
62,250/120,489 (500,837), x1.94 (x4.16) - Maleficent (07/05/14)
59,492/121,802 (614,969), x2.05 (x5.05) - Monsters University (07/06/13)
59,192/123,606 (602,347), x2.09 (x4.87) - Frozen (03/15/14)
51,800/108,724 (539,132), x2.10 (x4.96) - Lupin III vs. Detective Conan (12/07/13)
51,181/114,523 (554,991), x2.24 (x4.85) - Stand By Me, Doraemon (08/09/14)
50,274/88,560 (396,280), x1.76 (x4.47) - The Last: Naruto the Movie (12/06/14)
48,518/??,??? (???,???), x?.?? (x?.??) - Doraemon: Nobita's Space Record of Space Heroes (03/07/15)
46,570/94,181 (463,556), x2.02 (x4.92) - Big Hero 6 (12/20/14)
43,669*/75,635 (322,162), x1.73 (x4.26) - The After-Dinner Mysteries (08/03/13)
42,541/94,650 (530,544), x2.22 (x5.60) - Doraemon: Nobita's Great Demon - Peko and the Exploration Party (03/08/14)
42,537/91,182 (429,918), x2.14 (x4.71) - The Eternal Zero (12/21/13)
40,635/79,373 (339,048), x1.95 (x4.27) - Godzilla (07/26/14)
40,414*/74,131 (363,451), x1.83 (x4.90) - Midsummer Formula (06/29/13)
39,836/84,982 (365,356), x2.13 (x4.30) - Thermae Romae II (04/26/14)
38,885/85,462* (464,839), x2.20 (x5.44) - Pokemon Best Wishes: ExtremeSpeed Genesect - Mewtwo Awakens (07/13/13)
37,960/88,488* (393,522), x2.33 (x4.45) - SPEC: Close - Incarnation Part 2 (11/30/13)
37,829/78,485 (433,346), x2.08 (x5.52) - Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire Arc (08/02/14)
36,995/79,454 (386,994), x2.15 (x4.87) - The Kiyosu Conference (11/09/13)
35,447/68,592 (330,385), x1.94 (x4.91) - Fast and Furious 6 (07/06/13)
33,778/67,625 (360,190), x2.00 (x5.33) - Pokemon XY: The Cocoon of Destruction & Diancie (07/19/14)
33,358/76,023 (345,921), x2.28 (x4.55) - SPEC: Close - Incarnation Part 1 (11/02/13)
32,618/64,093 (302,992), x1.96 (x4.73) - Transformers: Age of Extinction (08/09/14)
30,000+/60,000+
*Stage Greeting/Discount Day boost.

Using last year's film, it'll do around 105-110,000 admissions at Toho Cinemas, and 580-600,000 admissions overall this weekend. If this happens, it's a considerable number for other films this year to challenge.

Well I'm not making it up anyway. You may not be aware but back when Battle of Gods was coming out some marketing guy at Toei set a goal of ¥3 billion for the film. With this film he's said ¥4 billion and mentioned a "ultra expansion" of 640-650 screens.

I would link you to this on Kanzenshuu but unfortunately the site Kanzenshuu is having problems so this will have to do.

"Additionally, there will be a larger showing for the movie! Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods opened across 312 theaters in Japan, while Dragon Ball Z: Revival of “F” will see showings at 640-650 screens, including 2D and IMAX 3D."

http://www.saiyanisland.com/2015/03/dra ... e-of-gods/

But yeah I thought it sounded like a lot but I guess they're really pushing this one.



Well I'd like to see them because I saw you had posted the previous DBZ movies box office grosses before but they didn't match the grosses that I saw on Eiren so I wanted to know where you got your figures from and why they were so different.

If you just wanted to PM it me though that'd be fine.

I wasn't saying you were wrong. The IMAX/3D screens will indeed give it a significant screen boost. I'm pretty sure it's the first Japanese film to receive an IMAX release.

Before 2000, Eiren only reported the distributor income for films. Most film grosses averaged 55-60% higher than this figure, so you can get a rough estimate for actual grosses this way for films with unreported actual figures.

However, actual figures for blockbusters pre-2000 are usually reported, and past films in ongoing franchises sometimes have their actual figures revealed in articles discussing any upcoming new film. It's been two years ago that articles concerting Battle of Gods were being published, but I know most of the 90's releases are actual grosses (the early films are certainly estimates).

Dragon Ball Box-Office History


Sub-¥1 billion (~$5/6 million), Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies (1986)
Sub-¥1 billion (~$6/7 million), Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (1987)
Sub-¥1 billion (~$7/8 million), Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988)
Sub-¥1 billion (~$6/7 million), Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone (1989)
Sub-¥1 billion (~$5/6 million), Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (1990)
Sub-¥1 billion (~$5/6 million), Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990)
¥2.20 billion ($16.2 million), Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge (1991)
¥2.05 billion ($14.9 million), Dragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991)
¥2.48 billion ($19.2 million), Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992)
¥2.35 billion ($18.9 million), Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13 (1992)
¥2.12 billion ($20.4 million), Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993)
¥2.05 billion ($18.7 million), Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound (1993)
¥2.24 billion ($22.2 million), Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Second Coming (1994)
¥1.75 billion ($18.0 million), Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (1994)
¥1.98 billion ($22.7 million), Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995)
¥1.10 billion ($12.2 million), Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995)
Sub-¥1 billion (~$8/9 million), Dragon Ball Z: The Path to Power (1996)
¥2.99 billion ($31.1 million), Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (2013)
¥?.?? billion ($?? million), Dragon Ball Z: Revival of F (2015)

Looking at this list again, it's funny how the US was always 8-10 years behind getting the anime and movies.

Battle of Gods was the first Japanese film to be released in IMAX however Revival of F is the first Japanese film to be released in IMAX 3D. It's also being released in 4DX theatres too.



Thanks for posting that however you did lose me a little.

1. The figures you posted for the movies between Cooler's Revenge and Wrath of the Dragon are those the actual figures that you were talking about or the rough estimates with 55-60% tacked on?

2. Do you have a source for any of these figures? Not that I don't believe you but I'd like to use them to update some wiki pages and threads and would need one.

Anything not ending with a 5 is an actual.

This results in a rather interesting trend I just noticed. In the 90s, Toei was releasing two Dragon Ball Z films a year, and the second film of each year always grossed less and I don't have actuals for those ones either. It would seem they provided actual figures for the main release (during the Spring) of each year.

So consider the first release of each year as an actual, and the second film of each year an estimate.

I'll go back later and see if I can locate the articles on cinema.today, eiga.com, or other movie sites from the weeks leading up to Battle of Gods' release and shortly after (as it was beating them). That's where the actual figures all came from.

There will probably be a lot more information on the older films available next month before Revival of F opens, too.

OK thanks that'd be great if you were to find something as I've never had any luck until seeing the Eiren link recently.

Just to point out though Lord Slug did come out before Coolers Revenge, otherwise they are in the right order.

Top 25 Opening Weekends [ANIMATED FEATURES]
Weekend Gross ¥ ($) / Admissions [Screen Count] - Film (Release Date)

01. ¥1.629 billion ($14.0 million) / 1,484,916 [408] :: Yo-Kai Watch: It's the Secret of Birth, Nyan! (Dec '14) [#1 All-Time Domestic OW]
02. ¥1.484 billion ($14.0 million) / 1,104,980 [448] :: Howl's Moving Castle (Nov '04)
03. ¥1.372 billion ($16.7 million) / 1,140,081 [300] :: One Piece Film Z (Dec '12)
04. ¥1.133 billion ($14.1 million) / 771,764 [223] :: Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo (Nov '12)
05. ¥1.038 billion ($11.9 million) / 819,738 [190] :: One Piece Film Strong World (Dec '09)
06. ¥1.034 billion ($9.8 million) / 812,557 [481] :: Ponyo (July '08)
07. ¥1.010 billion ($8.9 million) / 810,000 [318] :: Spirited Away (July '01)
08. ¥977.3 million ($11.1 million) / 649,249 [530] :: Toy Story 3 (July '10)
09. ¥960.9 million ($9.8 million) / 747,451 [454] :: The Wind Rises (July '13)
10. ¥907.4 million ($7.9 million) / 672,696 [435] :: Tales from Earthsea (July '06)
11. ¥898.0 million ($8.4 million) / 724,000 [654] :: Finding Nemo (Dec '03)
12. ¥895.6 million ($10.4 million) / 680,190 [447] :: Arrietty (July '10)
13. ¥847.5 million ($8.4 million) / 614,969 [661] :: Monsters University (July '13)
14. ¥789.3 million ($7.8 million) / 649,865 [341] :: Detective Conan: The Sniper from Another Dimension (Apr '14)
15. ¥780.9 million ($6.5 million) / 742,978 [351] :: Pokemon D&P: The Rise of Darkrai (July '07)
16. ¥767.2 million ($7.6 million) / 554,991 [319] :: Stand By Me, Doraemon (Aug '14)
17. ¥763.4 million ($7.5 million) / 602,347 [598] :: Frozen (Mar '14)
18. ¥751.8 million ($7.3 million) / 604,355 [689] :: The Incredibles (Dec '04)
19. ¥715.0 million ($6.1 million) / 540,000 [260] :: Princess Mononoke (July '97)
20. ¥703.8 million ($6.7 million) / 670,285 [359] :: Pokemon D&P: Giratina and the Sky Warrior (July '08)
21. ¥685.0 million ($5.8 million) / 593,000 [351] :: Doraemon: Nobita's Space Record of Space Heroes (Mar '15) *Est.*
22. ¥683.9 million ($7.3 million) / 561,098 [312] :: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods (Mar '13)
23. ¥672.6 million ($7.1 million) / 641,700 [366] :: Pokemon D&P: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (July '09)
24. ¥671.5 million ($6.9 million) / 565,914 [344] :: Detective Conan: Private Eye in the Distant Sea (Apr '13)
25. ¥667.3 million ($7.2 million) / 597,899 [353] :: Doraemon: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum (Mar '13)

Recently Bumped Off:
26. ¥649.8 million ($6.4 million) / 539,132 [329] :: Lupin III vs. Detective Conan (Dec '13)
27. ¥629.7 million ($7.7 million) / 540,975 [351] :: Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker (Apr '12)
28. ¥629.5 million ($7.2 million) / 600,602 [369] :: Pokemon D&P: Zoroark - Master of Illusion (July '10)

Upcoming Major Animated Features:
Detective Conan: Sunflowers of Inferno (04/18/15)
Dragon Ball Z: Revival of F (04/18/15)
The Boy and the Beast (07/11/15)
Pokemon XY: The Archdjinni of the Rings - Hoopa (07/18/15)
Inside Out (07/18/15)
Evangelion 4.0: Final (Winter '15)
Yo-Kai Watch 2 (Dec '15)

Life-Size Godzilla Looms Over Tokyo Hotel & Theater



Toho will also be reviving their Godzilla franchise with a new film planned for 2016, their first since 2004's Godzilla: Final Wars.

Legendary posted that on Facebook a few days ago. It's cool, and I get it, but I would have preferred a huge 2014-version. The Japanese-version just looks so...amateur.

Yeah, the Japanese just don't know what Godzilla is. Thanks to the US of A to make "real" Godzilla movies (shitty CGI movies, that is).

Without doing a lot of research, I believe most in Japan liked and appreciated the 2014 Godzilla film (much more so than the 1998 version which they've renamed just "Zilla"), but many didn't care for Godzilla's new design.

There were quite a few articles and surveys revealing that the Japanese still prefer the old Showa/Heisei era design (body suit and all) to the new "neckless" look. And considering Japan's aging population, that's unlikely to change.

Of course, I see the point Algren is making (old Godzilla can look a bit silly in this day and age), but the Japanese don't recognize Godzilla in his American production designs. Toho has been generous with the rights to Godzilla and allowing Hollywood to make their own adaptations, but they're also intent on keeping their franchise separate from Hollywood's.

There are going to be two Godzilla franchises happening at once in Japan soon with Gareth Edwards continuing the 2014 franchise in 2018 (and perhaps beyond), and Toho themselves will be rebooting their own franchise in 2016. Japanese audiences will be getting the best of both worlds, so to speak.

I have the day off, sick in bed, so I'll be posting the weekend ranking and updating various charts while I down all this tea.

Pg. Bump (Weekend Ranking Next Page).