July 30th


Jennifer's Body won't do much, and may not make the Top 10.



July 31st





Salt should perform nicely. Angelina Jolie is very popular, and the film has been charting well.

Naruto Shippuuden Movie 4 The Lost Tower will probably do better than the past movies in the series. The movie's plot and characters in the film (Naruto's parents) has sparked the interest of fans.

The Adventures of Hutch the Honeybee dates back to the 1970's, being a popular kids anime. Not sure of the potential here, but it's doing pretty well on Eiga.com for an animated movie.


The next three weekends should be strong (especially mid August) judging previous years, so Toy Story 3 could drop under 20%. The weekdays will be more important, though. They determine a films gross more than the weekends.

$8.9m (like, 3.5 day total) for Inception including Friday and last weekend's previews. The opening weekend is probably $5.5m.

$6m third weekend for Toy Story 3.

I made some good estimates earlier today.

Top 10 Attended Films by Chain:

TOHO
1 1 The Borrower Arrietty (Toho) 2
2 2 Toy Story 3 (Disney) 3
3 3 Bayside THE MOVIE3 (Toho) 4
4 N Inception (WB)
5 4 Pokemon 13 Diamond & Pearl Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark (Toho) 3
6 6 Confession (Toho) 8　
7 5 Predators (Fox) 3
8 7 Last Airbender (Paramount) 2
9 8 Surely Someday (Shochiku) 2
10 10 Anpanman the Movie (2010) (TCC) 3

Shikoku and Warner (if they're not super late again) to follow later.

Shikoku
1 1 The Borrower Arrietty (Toho) 2
2 2 Toy Story 3 (Disney) 2
3 N Inception (WB)
4 3 Bayside THE MOVIE 3 (Toho) 4
5 4 Pokemon 13 Diamond & Pearl Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark (Toho) 3
6 5 Predators (Fox) 3
7 7 Last Airbender
8 6 Confession (Toho) 8
9 8 Sword of Desperation (Toei) 3
10 9 Surely Someday (Shochiku) 2

Hmm, with $8.9 million including previews....does it have a shot at $40+ million? I'd think so. WoM should be good.

Yeah, $40m looks good.

Weekend Rankings
July 24-25, 2010

1 N Inception (WB)
2 1 The Borrower Arrietty (Toho) 2
3 2 Toy Story 3 (Disney) 3
4 3 Bayside Shakedown 3 (Toho) 4
5 4 Pokemon 13 (Toho) 3
6 5 The Last Airbender (Paramount) 2
7 6 Predators (Fox) 3
8 7 Confessions (Toho) 8
9 8 Sword of Desperation (Toei) 3
10 9 Surely Someday (Shochiku) 2


WB is including all three days worth previews (totalling $3.3m) into Inception's 2day opening. Kinda cheating (since it's an extra 3 days worth of showings), but it opens at No.1. If only the actual 2day was counted, it'd have opened at No.3.

Inception
Previews - Y290m ($3.3m)
2day Opening - Y488m ($5.6m)
3day Opening - Y779m ($8.9m)

The Borrower Arrietty - Y2.73b ($31.5m), 2.1 million admissions after 9 days
Bayside Shakedown 3 - Y4.5b ($52m), 3.55 million admissions after 23 days
Pokemon 13 - Y1.6b ($18.5m), 1.5 million admissions after 16 days
Confessions - Y3.52b ($40.5m), 2.85 million admissions after 51 days.

Summer 2010 Big 3 Watch

Bayside Shakedown 3:
2day total - Y972m ($11.1m), 707,399 admissions
5day total - Y1.5b ($17.2m), 1.1m admissions
7day total - Y1.9b ($21.5m), unknown admissions (should be about 1.6m however)
9day total - Y2.5b ($28.8m), 2.1m admissions
16day total - Y3.65b ($42.3m), 2.9m admissions
17day total - Y3.92b ($45.1m), 3,005,883 admissions
19day total - Y4.2b ($48.3m), 3.2m admissions
23day total - Y4.52b ($52.2m), 3.55m admissions

Toy Story 3:
2day total - Y977m ($11.1m), 649,190 admissions
6day total - Y1.5b ($17.2m), 1m admissions
9day total - Y2.4b ($27.4m), 1.5m admissions
13day total - Y3b ($34.5m), 1.9m admissions
16day total - Y3.67b ($42.3m), 2.4m admissions

The Borrower Arrietty:
2day total - Y916m ($10.4m), 680,000 admissions
3day total - Y1.35b ($15.6m), 1,038,138 admissions
9day total - Y2.73b ($31.5m), 2.1m admissions


New updates will be in blue.

Arrietty sure did catch up to a comparatively lower opening from the other 2

How long with Arrietty run there? Will it be same like BS3 ?

It should run towards the end of the year, and probably a few locations into 2011.

The mixed reviewed Tales From Earthsea remained in the top 10 until the second week of October, still playing on over 300 screens (losing just 100 over a 3 month period). So I expect the better received Arrietty to do better.

And so far, the run for Arrietty is exceptional, $3/4m higher than BS3's and TS3's 9day totals.

After 9 days,

The Borrower Arrietty - $31.5m (should be $6.5-7m second weekend)
Ponyo - $30.4m ($7.6m second weekend), finished with $172.15m (#4 All Time).
Tales From Earthsea - $21.7m ($5.1m second weekend), finished with $62.93m.

Top 20 Opening Weekends of 2010

1. April, Alice in Wonderland (Disney) - $14,297,616 (2day), 859 screens - $16,644 pta, 828,149 admissions
2. Dec. 09, One Piece Strong World (TOEI) - $11,692,830 (2day), 188 screens - $62,196 pta, 819,738 admissions
3. July, Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (Toho) - $11,080,725 (2day), 447 screens - 24,789 pta, 707,399 admissions
4. July, Toy Story 3 (Disney) - $11,034,083 (2day), 530 screens - $20,819 pta, 649,190 admissions
5. July, The Borrower Arrietty (Toho) - $10,352,700 (2day) / $15,627,122 (3day), 447 screens - $23,160 pta, 680,234 admissions (2day) / 1,038,138 admissions (3day)
6. July, Pokemon 13 Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark (Toho) - $7,107,555 (2day), 369 screens - $19,262 pta, 601,602 admissions
7. Dec. 09, Up (Disney) - $6,992,874 (2day), 663 screens - $10,547 pta, 440,804 admissions
8. Dec. 09, Avatar (Fox) - $6,611,848 (2day)/$14,553,033 (5day), 839 screens - $7,881 pta
9. March, Doraemon 30 South Sea Adventure (Toho) - $6,115,994 (2day), 366 screens - $16,710 pta, 498,198 admissions
10. April, Nodame Cantabile: The Movie II (Toho) - $6,114,997 (2day), 410 screens - $14,915 pta, 437,613 admissions

11. April, Detective Conan 14 Lost Ship in the Sky (Toho) - $6,103,158 (2day), 352 screens - $17,339 pta, 471,527 admissions
12. July, Inception (WB) - $5,600,000 (2day)/$8,900,000 (3day + previews), 523 screens - $10,707 pta
13. Dec. 09, Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider W & Dikeido (TOEI) - $5,096,420 (2day), 292 screens - $17,453 pta, 396,178 admissions
14. Dec. 09, Nodame Cantabile: The Movie I (Toho) - $4,364,808 (2day), 409 screens - $10,672 pta, 317,302 admissions
15. March, Liar Game: The Final Stage (Toho) - $4,331,798 (2day), 283 screens - $15,307 pta, 308,824 admissions
16. May, Trick the Movie: Psychic Battle Royale (Toho) - $4,004,850 (2day), 320 screens - $12,515 pta, 270,705 admission
17. Jan., Oceans (Gaga) - $3,756,389 (2day)/$4,356,393 (3day), 303 screens - $12,483 pta, 280,726 admissions
18. March, Sherlock Holmes (WB) - $3,641,763 (2day)/$4,567,460 (3day), 441 screens - $8,392 pta
19. Feb., Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Fox) - $3,411,348 (2day)/$4,155,371 (3day), 561 screens - $5,976 pta
20. April, Crayon Shin-chan 18 (Toho) - $2,941,628 (2day), 325 screens - $9,051 pta, 238,831 admissions


I don't know how to count Inception.

All of the other films that opened on Friday did not have it included into their 2-day opening weekend, nor any previews they may have had (don't think any had them though). So using the $8.9m 3-day + 2 days of Previews as the opening weekend just seems unfair to me.

If Variety, BOM, etc. end up posting the $8.9m figure as the opening weekend, I'll edit it's numbers.


_________________________________________________________________________________

Top 20 Films of 2010

1. Avatar (Fox) - $166,371,800
2. Alice In Wonderland (Disney) - $134,063,156
3. One Piece Strong World (TOEI) - $56,776,373
4. Up (Disney) - $54,285,463
5. Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (Toho) - $52,200,000
6. Nodame Cantabile The Movie II (Toho) - $44,402,145
7. Nodame Cantabile The Movie I (Toho) - $44,322,317
8. Toy Story 3 (Disney) - $42,300,000
9. Confessions (Toho) - $40,500,000
10. Detective Conan 14 The Lost Ship in the Sky (Toho) - $35,301,112


11. Doraemon 30 Nobita's South Sea Adventure (Toho) - $34,796,716
12. The Borrower Arrietty (Toho) - $31,500,000
13. Liar Game: The Final Stage (Toho) - $26,160,537
14. Oceans (GAGA) - $25,721,299
15. Sherlock Holmes (WB) - $23,274,806
16. Younger Brother(Shochiku) - $21,047,812
17. Trick The Movie: Psychic Battle Royale (Toho) - $20,996,475
18. Sex and the City 2 (WB) - $18,674,002
19. Pokemon 13 Diamond & Pearl Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark (Toho) - $18,500,000
20. Shutter Island (Paramount) - $18,288,305


i - still playing
Studio/Distributor Tally: Toho - 10, Disney - 3, WB - 2, TOEI - 1, Fox - 1, Shochiku - 1, Gaga - 1, Paramount - 1

The Borrower Arrietty makes a big debut at No.12.
Bayside Shakedown 3 goes into the Top 5. It'll be No.3 by the end of the weekend.
Confessions clears $40m, aiming for Nodame Cantabile before the end. So far, it's multiplier is 14!
Toy Story 3 goes from 11th to 8th.
Pokemon 13 enters the charts at No.19.

I'll edit the 5 above when actuals are released when I decide what to do with Inception's opening.

Hmm, HR is reporting a different number than Screen Daily ($8.9m), with Inception opening to $7.8m.

The full, official numbers are:

Inception
Previews - Y290m ($3.3m)
2day Opening without Friday, without Previews - Y488m ($5.6m)
3day Opening with Friday, with Previews - Y779m ($8.9m)

It's easy enough to see where Screen Daily got their number, they simply added the previews in with Friday and the Opening Weekend to give it $8.9.

The only way I see HR's $7.8m is if that's the number for the 2day Opening with Friday (Fri-Sun), but without Previews.

But there isn't a number for 2day without Friday, with Previews. Or 2day with previews, without Friday? Idk....

Quite the mess, who knows what to include and not to in the opening weekend. It's either $5.6m, $7.8m, or $8.9m... I think.

We'll see on Wednesday I guess.

Hopefully inception pulls a last samurai and has a huge multi.

Those numbers aren't consistent with each other. Typo or wrong data?

What you quoted are the official previews total ($3.3m from last weekend), 2day total only (Sat. and Sun.), and the overall total from Fri.-Sun. with previews included (last weekends previews + Fri. + the weekend Sat. and Sun.).

I don't think anyone is inconsistent. Though I do see what you mean, it looks like Friday is included with the Previews.

Screen Daily reported the overall total (last weekends previews, Fri., and Sat.-Sun. all combined) to be Inception's opening weekend, while it looks like Hollywood Reporter is reporting Fri.-Sun., the 3day total without previews, as the opening weekend.

Or something, I'm confused with the different reports.

The actual 2-day weekend (Sat and Sun comprise of the weekend in Japan, films that open on Friday don't have that day included into their opening weekends) though is $5.6m, further proof being it finished behind TS3 in admissions for the 2day, and TS3 did $6m. It's just depending on the publisher on how much to add to that with it's early Friday opening, and last weekend's previews.

On Wednesday Variety, BOM, and HR will report their actuals. If they don't all match up... not sure what to actually count as the opening weekend.

They all reported different numbers for Terminator Salvation (last film I know of with week in advance previews) though. BOM reported the 2day ($6.1m), and left out the previews, while Variety included the previews ($4.5m) into the 2day for $10.6m.

Actually, the more I look at the numbers, the more it makes sense that the Y290m ($3.3m) is for last weekend's Previews and Friday combined.

Sat. and Sun. is clear, at $5.6m. It ranked 4th in admissions at Toho Chains, and 3rd at Shikoku Chains, finishing slightly behind Toy Story 3 which grossed about $6m for Sat. and Sun., so $5.6m for Inception has to be correct.

And if the extra $3.3m is Previews and Friday combined, it adds up to the $8.9m overall total.

The only confusion now is HR's $7.8m... I'm thinking that number either includes the Previews or Friday only into the 2-day of $5.6m.

Inception confusion all cleared up:
http://mantan-web.jp/2010/07/27/2010072 ... 6000c.html

I forgot last Monday was a holiday, so that too was a preview day for Inception for a total of 3 preview days (July 17-19), and then the wide opening, July 23-25.

To clear up all the confusion, the results are below:

July 17-19 (Previews) - Y291m ($3.3m)
July 23 (Opening Day) - Y94m ($1.05m)
July 24-25 (2day Opening Weekend) - Y395m ($4.5m)

I see where HR got their $7.8m figure now, too. They include the Previews in with July 24-25, where as Screen Daily included the Previews and July 23 into July 24-25 to get the 6 day total of $8.9m).

Total admissions for all 6 days came to an estimated 600,000. Not great, but pretty good.

I'm not sure about $40m+ now though... $8.9m after 6 days, with previews making up a large amount of that honestly isn't that good. It's good, but a little underwhelming to me. It'll need a multiplier of 8+ from it's 2day to reach $40m. Possible, but definitely an uphill battle.

Now, some edited figures and new updates for the Big 3.

Update: Most Recent updates will be in blue.

Summer 2010 Big 3 Watch

Bayside Shakedown 3:
2day total - Y971,993,832 ($11.08m), 707,399 admissions
5day total - Y1.5b ($17.2m), 1.1m admissions
7day total - Y1.9b ($21.5m), 1.55m admissions
9day total - Y2,501,584,528 ($28.4m), 2m admissions
16day total - Y3,662,187,666 ($42.3m), 2.9m admissions
17day total - Y3.92b ($45.1m), 3,005,883 admissions
19day total - Y4.2b ($48.3m), 3.2m admissions
23day total - Y4,599,620,600 ($52.6m), 3,531,063 admissions
25day total - Y4.7b ($53.8m), 3.6m admissions

Toy Story 3:
2day total - Y977,332,877 ($11.04m), 649,190 admissions
6day total - Y1.5b ($17.2m), 1m admissions
9day total - Y2,373,155,050 ($27.3m), 1.5m admissions
12day total - Y3b ($34.5m), 2m admissions
16day total - Y3.67b ($42.3m), 2.4m admissions
17day total - Y3.88b ($44.3m), 2.6m admissions

-Note, it's possible the 17day numbers for TS3 are for the 16day. The 17day was reported a day after the normal weekend update, so I'm assuming it wasn't for the 16day.

The Borrower Arrietty:
2day total - Y895,561,635 ($10.35m), 680,234 admissions
3day total - Y1.35b ($15.6m), 1,038,138 admissions
9day total - Y2,617,702,260 ($30.5m), 2,062,166 admissions

I will also tweak the numbers when actuals for gross and admissions become available, or if I discover a past source with any previous weeks actuals.

BOM has 44m total of ts3 as of Jul 25

awesome number

can it cross 60m next weekend?

please?

with obon holidays coming up TS3 should hopefully make 100M in japan and may be even go after alice if holds are good.

No, but it could do $55-57m.

The third weekend, while good, is even with Bayside Shakedown 3's third weekend. Even the total's are almost the same after 3 weeks. Only their second weekends have been different (while BS3's weekdays were stronger) so far when comparing them.

Next weekend will be strong though, so it's 4th weekend is bound to be higher so mid 50's looks good.

I'll post some weekend comparisons in a little bit.

Alice is just aiming a little too high (though it'd be cool). It'll need more than good holds to reach $134m, it'll need some increases in the coming weeks, too.

Obon Festival does help, and best case, will lock in $100m+ for Arrietty, Toy Story 3, and Bayside Shakedown 3, but it doesn't come near providing the boost Golden Week or New Years does.

The target goal for Toy Story 3 is Finding Nemo at $102m. It's currently ahead of Finding Nemo after 3 weeks, but Nemo's huge year-end legs (doubling it's total in two weeks) begins it's 4th weekend. I'm predicting $105m for TS3.

The target goal for Bayside Shakedown 3 is Rookies at $94.5m. It's actually behind Rookies after 4 weeks, but after week 6, Rookie's didn't have the best legs. BS3 will have stronger late legs, Obon Festival, and will be on screens until the end of the year. So it should surpass Rookies. I'm also predicting $105m for BS3.

The target goal for Arrietty is... hard to say at the moment. Clearly it's not Tales From Earthsea any longer because Arrietty has already grossed about 50% of it. But it's also not going to be Ponyo, which is too big (though their totals after 9 days in USD are even). Just have to wait until it's been in release longer, but I doubt any film will be it's target. There's just too big of a gap when you get around $100m and the next tier of films, and Arrietty looks to finish somewhere in the middle of them, so maybe $115m for now.


Usually, there is one big Summer release that challenges $100m or goes well above the mark, and a couple $50-75m range films.

This Summer though completely changed that with three films that would dominate the Summer being released one after the other. I think it's slightly stunned the three of them (though still huge), and gives Umizaru 3 and/or HP7 a chance to surpass all three this fall and winter.

Potentially 7 films could end up over $100m this year, which is what I'm hoping. It'd be a record not broken for a long, long time. The most ever was in 2004 which had 5 films cross $100m (Nemo and Last Samurai were Dec. releases of 2003, which count for the following year at Japan's Box Office.)

Weekend Summary
July 24-25, 2010



1. Inception Warner Bros. International $7,837,192 1 525 $14,928 0 $8,915,763
2. The Borrower Arrietty Toho $6,900,995 2 447 $15,438 -33 $29,946,514
3. Toy Story 3 Walt Disney Int'l $6,134,405 3 533 $11,509 -27 $44,423,787
4. Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose ! Toho $3,726,985 4 447 $8,338 -40 $52,619,660
5. Pokemon The Movie 2010 Toho $2,639,132 3 369 $7,152 -37 $20,263,356
6. Last Airbender, The Paramount Int'l $790,280 2 387 $2,042 -47 $4,082,816
7. Confessions Toho $618,675 8 266 $2,326 -36 $40,108,160
8. Predators Fox Int'l $591,248 3 367 $1,611 -52 $8,430,308
9. Surely Someday Shochiku $392,810 2 186 $2,112 -33 $1,760,884
10. Sword of Desperation TOEI $317,137 3 256 $1,239 -43 $4,171,260



Good start for Inception. The opening weekend includes $3.3m from previews, so heads up for next weekend's large drop, which won't mean it's falling apart since the 2-day was $4.5m. It should be able to come near or edge past $40m.

Nice hold for The Borrower Arrietty, delivering the best PTA in the Top 10 once again. And it's a better drop than Tales From Earthsea and is tracking about $8m ahead of it after 9 days from a second weekend almost $2m higher. Still early to project a possible finish, but $100m+ is looking good.

Toy Story 3 sees the same drop it experienced last weekend, which is great. It too is aiming for $100m.

Also targeting $100m is Bayside Shakedown 3. A pretty big drop compared to last weekend's excellent sub 20% drop. All the drops for this month have actually been a little bigger than expected, so it may be due to having so many big films in release at once. Regardless, July is sure to be a record breaking month.

Pokemon 13 continues to do solid business. Still mostly on par with the past few releases in the franchise, and $40m+ looking likely once again for Ash and Pikachu. The trailer for Movie 14 is rumored to be released soon, slated for release in it's annual July slot.

The Last Airbender didn't drop as much as I would have thought. Big drop, but not terrible. Still, it won't come near $10m which is disappointing.

Confessions still holds strong in the Top 10 after 8 weeks (4 at No.1), and now has a multiplier of 14. It's starting to slow down now though, and should finish with $43/44m.

What isn't holding up well though is Predators. Dropping over 50% again. The opening was promising, pointing towards a total of perhaps $15m, but it's going to struggle to reach $10m. Could count as a victim of so many big films in release this month.



Strong weekend, but could have saw better drops in general. The next three weekends however, should see some great drops (some increases even) based on previous years.

Update with actuals,

Top 20 Opening Weekends of 2010

1. April, Alice in Wonderland (Disney) - $14,297,616 (2day), 859 screens - $16,644 pta, 828,149 admissions
2. Dec. 09, One Piece Strong World (TOEI) - $11,692,830 (2day), 188 screens - $62,196 pta, 819,738 admissions
3. July, Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (Toho) - $11,080,725 (2day), 447 screens - 24,789 pta, 707,399 admissions
4. July, Toy Story 3 (Disney) - $11,034,083 (2day), 530 screens - $20,819 pta, 649,190 admissions
5. July, The Borrower Arrietty (Toho) - $10,352,700 (2day) / $15,627,122 (3day), 447 screens - $23,160 pta, 680,234 admissions (2day) / 1,038,138 admissions (3day)
6. July, Inception (WB) - $7,837,192 (2day + previews)/$8,915,763 (3day + previews), 523 screens - $14,928 pta
7. July, Pokemon 13 Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark (Toho) - $7,107,555 (2day), 369 screens - $19,262 pta, 601,602 admissions
8. Dec. 09, Up (Disney) - $6,992,874 (2day), 663 screens - $10,547 pta, 440,804 admissions
9. Dec. 09, Avatar (Fox) - $6,611,848 (2day)/$14,553,033 (5day), 839 screens - $7,881 pta
10. March, Doraemon 30 South Sea Adventure (Toho) - $6,115,994 (2day), 366 screens - $16,710 pta, 498,198 admissions


11. April, Nodame Cantabile: The Movie II (Toho) - $6,114,997 (2day), 410 screens - $14,915 pta, 437,613 admissions
12. April, Detective Conan 14 Lost Ship in the Sky (Toho) - $6,103,158 (2day), 352 screens - $17,339 pta, 471,527 admissions
13. Dec. 09, Kamen Rider x Kamen Rider W & Dikeido (TOEI) - $5,096,420 (2day), 292 screens - $17,453 pta, 396,178 admissions
14. Dec. 09, Nodame Cantabile: The Movie I (Toho) - $4,364,808 (2day), 409 screens - $10,672 pta, 317,302 admissions
15. March, Liar Game: The Final Stage (Toho) - $4,331,798 (2day), 283 screens - $15,307 pta, 308,824 admissions
16. May, Trick the Movie: Psychic Battle Royale (Toho) - $4,004,850 (2day), 320 screens - $12,515 pta, 270,705 admission
17. Jan., Oceans (Gaga) - $3,756,389 (2day)/$4,356,393 (3day), 303 screens - $12,483 pta, 280,726 admissions
18. March, Sherlock Holmes (WB) - $3,641,763 (2day)/$4,567,460 (3day), 441 screens - $8,392 pta
19. Feb., Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (Fox) - $3,411,348 (2day)/$4,155,371 (3day), 561 screens - $5,976 pta
20. April, Crayon Shin-chan 18 (Toho) - $2,941,628 (2day), 325 screens - $9,051 pta, 238,831 admissions



_________________________________________________________________________________

Top 20 Films of 2010

1. Avatar (Fox) - $166,371,800
2. Alice In Wonderland (Disney) - $134,063,156
3. One Piece Strong World (TOEI) - $56,776,373
4. Up (Disney) - $54,285,463
5. Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (Toho) - $52,619,660 (23 days in release)
6. Toy Story 3 (Disney) - $44,423,787 (16 days in release)
7. Nodame Cantabile The Movie II (Toho) - $44,402,145
8. Nodame Cantabile The Movie I (Toho) - $44,322,317
9. Confessions (Toho) - $40,108,816 (51 days in release)
10. Detective Conan 14 The Lost Ship in the Sky (Toho) - $35,301,112


11. Doraemon 30 Nobita's South Sea Adventure (Toho) - $34,796,716
12. The Borrower Arrietty (Toho) - $29,946,514 (9 days in release)
13. Liar Game: The Final Stage (Toho) - $26,160,537
14. Oceans (GAGA) - $25,721,299
15. Sherlock Holmes (WB) - $23,274,806
16. Younger Brother(Shochiku) - $21,047,812
17. Trick The Movie: Psychic Battle Royale (Toho) - $20,996,475 (79 days in release)
18. Pokemon 13 Diamond & Pearl Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark (Toho) - $20,263,356 (16 days in release)
19. Sex and the City 2 (WB) - $19,487,280 (51 days in release)
20. Shutter Island (Paramount) - $18,288,305


New Entries
i - still playing
Studio/Distributor Tally: Toho - 10, Disney - 3, WB - 2, TOEI - 1, Fox - 1, Shochiku - 1, Gaga - 1, Paramount - 1

2010 is becoming the year of 3D.

First Contender To Top 2011: Space Battleship Yamato



Look out, someone gave Japanese special effects genius Takashi Yamazaki a big bag of money and the rights to one of the nation's most famous space operas.

Yamazaki first drew serious attention with The Returner, his scifi-action fusion starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, in which he showed that even when under significant budgetary restraints he could pull off some impressive effects and action work. The Returner showed promise but it wasn't until Yamazaki changed gears completely with the uber-nostalgic Always films that he would break through as one of Japan's top directors, period, both in terms of box office and critical success. And though it's hard to think of the Always pictures as effects extravaganzas, seeing as they are basically period set dramas, the invisibility of the effects work is testament to Yamazaki's skill, as pretty much every shot has been altered in some way to create the authentic period feel of post-war Tokyo.



Based on the incredibly popular 70's, 80's anime, fans of the classic show have been waiting years--decades really--for this movie to come.



Trivia bits:

-Estimated Y2.2b buget ($25m), making it one of the most expensive local productions in history.
-80% of the scenes will incorporate the latest CGI technology to recreate the space battles from the Anime series.
-Computer graphics, editing, and other elements of post-production will take over nine months before TOHO opens the film during December 2010.
-Worldwide Release is still undecided.

Early this week,

Weekend Forecast
July 31-August 1



1 2 The Borrower Arrietty (Toho) 3
2 3 Toy Story 3 (Disney) 4
3 1 Inception (WB) 2
4 N Salt (Sony)
5 4 Bayside Shakedown 3 Set The Guys Loose! (Toho) 5
6 N Naruto Shippuuden The Movie 4 Lost Tower (Toho)
7 5 Pokemon 13 Diamond & Pearl Ruler of Illusions: Zoroark (Toho) 4
8 6 The Last Airbender (Paramount) 3
9 7 Confessions (Toho) 9
10 N The Adventures of Hatch the Honeybee (Shochiku)