12/28-29
Weekend Forecast

1 One Piece Film Z (Toei) Week 3
2 Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) Week 2
3 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.) Week 3
4 Today, I Started Loving You (Toho) Week 4
5 007: Skyfall (Sony) Week 5
6 Blue Exorcist: The Movie (Toho) NEW!
7 Humanoid Monster, Bem (Toho) Week 3
8 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (Kadokawa Pictures) NEW!
9 Ooku: The Inner Chambers 2 (Asmik Ace/Shochiku) Week 2
10 Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard (Toei) Week 4

Unfortunately full weekend figures from last week still aren't available so I can't really forecast half of the Top 10. So... I'll just predict the openers and post the what the estimated totals should be after this weekend for films above ¥1 billion.

Blue Exorcist: The Movie is opening at 183 locations via Toho and will probably be aiming for ¥100 million ($1.2 million) this weekend. The manga has gained in popularity over the past year with sales of each volume since the fifth exceeding 750,000. This puts it around Bleach's level right now (a little higher actually), so a box office performance may be similar.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 is opening at just 147 locations and will struggle to reach ¥100 million for the weekend. It's likely to open between ¥75-90 million ($1 million), on par with the previous two entries.

[Projected Totals after Sunday, ¥1 billion+]
One Piece Film Z - ¥4.2 billion ($51 million) after 16 days.
007: Skyfall - ¥2.1 billion ($26 million) after 30 days.
Today, I Started Loving You - ¥1.3 billion ($16 million) after 23 days.
Les Miserables - ¥1.1 billion ($14 million) after 10 days.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - ¥1.0 billion ($12 million) after 17 days.

Update (12/23)

Top Grossing Animated Films (¥3 billion+)

1. Spirited Away :: ¥30.4 billion ($244 million)
2. Howl's Moving Castle :: ¥22.0 billion ($207 million)
3. Princess Mononoke :: ¥19.3 billion ($165.5 million)
4. Ponyo :: ¥15.5 billion ($164 million)
5. Finding Nemo :: ¥11.0 billion ($102.4 million)
6. Toy Story 3 :: ¥10.80 billion ($130.7 million)
7. Monsters, Inc. :: ¥9.37 billion ($76.8 million)
8. The Borrower Arrietty :: ¥9.25 billion ($111.9 million)
9. Tales From Earthsea :: ¥7.65 billion ($62.9 million)
10. Pokemon: Mewtwo Strikes Back! :: ¥7.54 billion ($67.8 million)
11. The Cat Returns :: ¥6.46 billion ($54.4 million)
12. Pokemon: The Power of One :: ¥6.36 billion ($64.8 million)
13. The Incredibles :: ¥5.26 billion ($51.1 million)
14. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: The Rise of Darkrai :: ¥5.02 billion ($47.2 million)
15. Up :: ¥5.0 billion ($60.5 million)
16. Dinosaur :: ¥4.90 billion ($42.1 million)
17. Pokemon: Spell of the Unown :: ¥4.85 billion ($45.8 million)
18. One Piece Film Strong World :: ¥4.80 billion ($58.1 million)
19. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: Giratina and the Sky Warrior :: ¥4.80 billion ($53.3 million)
20. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: Arceus and the Jewel of Life :: ¥4.67 billion ($51.6 million)
21. Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo :: ¥4.64 billion ($57.7 million) (5 Weeks in Release)
22. Pokemon Advanced: Jirachi - Wishmaker :: ¥4.50 billion ($38.4 million)
23. From Kokuriko Hill :: ¥4.47 billion ($57.8 million)
24. Pokemon Advanced: Destiny Deoxys :: ¥4.38 billion ($39.1 million)
25. Pokemon Best Wishes: White - Victini and Zekrom / Black - Victini and Reshiram :: ¥4.33 billion ($56.1 million)
26. Pokemon Advanded: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew :: ¥4.30 billion ($38.9 million)
27. The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki :: ¥4.22 billion ($53.9 million)
28. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: Zoroark - Master of Illusions :: ¥4.16 billion ($50.3 million)
29. Wall-E :: ¥4.0 billion ($44.2 million)
30. Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance :: ¥4.0 billion ($44.2 million)
31. Ratatouille :: ¥3.90 billion ($36.3 million)
32. Pokemon: Celebi - Voice of the Forest :: ¥3.90 billion ($32.5 million)
33. Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles :: ¥3.62 billion ($46.1 million)
34. Pokemon Best Wishes: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman :: ¥3.61 billion ($46.1 million)
35. Doraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld :: ¥3.54 billion ($30.0 million)
36. Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser :: ¥3.50 billion ($35.6 million)
37. Toy Story 2 :: ¥3.45 billion ($29.9 million)
38. Pokemon Advanced: Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea :: ¥3.40 billion ($28.2 million)
39. Detective Conan: The Phantom of Barker Street :: ¥3.40 billion ($30.3 million)
40. Doraemon: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend :: ¥3.37 billion ($32.1 million)
41. Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker :: ¥3.28 billion ($42.3 million)
42. Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur :: ¥3.28 billion ($27.6 million)
43. Detective Conan: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital :: ¥3.20 billion ($28.6 million)
44. Detective Conan: Lost Ship in the Sky :: ¥3.20 billion ($35.2 million)
45. Doraemon: Nobita's Great Merman Sea Adventure :: ¥3.16 billion ($33.6 million)
46. Detective Conan: 15 Minutes of Silence :: ¥3.13 billion ($39.85 million)
47. Doraemon: Nobita and the Legend of the Sun King :: ¥3.05 billion ($29.0 million)
48. Doraemon: Nobita's Wannyan Space-Time Odyssey :: ¥3.05 billion ($28.9 million)
49. Detective Conan: The Private Eyes' Requiem :: ¥3.03 billion ($26.8 million)
50. Cars 2 :: ¥3.01 billion ($39.0 million)
51. Doramon: Nobita and the Winged Braves :: ¥3.0 billion ($25.8 million)

2012's New Entries (All are Final Totals except for Eva 3.0)

Since Brave bombed, no Imported Animated films came close to ¥3 billion in 2012.

2013 Animated Films looking to join the list next year includes: One Piece Film Z (above ¥3 billion after just 10 days), Doraemon: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum (March), Detective Conan: Private Eye in the Distant Sea (April), Pokemon Best Wishes: Extremespeed Genesect (July), Monsters University (July), and a Studio Ghibli release (double feature) that has potential to challenge the Top 3, The Wind Rises (Miyazaki) / The Tale of Princess Kaguya (Takahata) in the Summer.

Box Office updates are still coming in at an incredibly slow rate due to New Year so it'll probably a few more days before weekend figures are released again (still waiting for last weekend, too).

In the meantime, projections for the beginning of the 2013 Box Office year:

First Third of the Year Projections (12/1-3/30)

¥7 billion ($84 million)↓
-One Piece Film Z
¥6 billion ($72 million)↨
-
¥5 billion ($60 million)↨
-
¥4 billion ($48 million)↨
-A Good Day to Die Hard
-Doraemon: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum
-Les Miserables
¥3 billion ($36 million)↨
-007: Skyfall
-Dragonball Z: Battle of Gods
-Hunter X Hunter: Phantom Rouge
-Oz: The Great and Powerful
-Platinum Data
-Strawberry Night
¥2 billion ($24 million)↨
-Brain Man
-Cloud Atlas
-Humanoid Monster, Bem
-Jack and the Giant Slayer
-Jack Reacher
-Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard
-Life of Pi
-Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage 2: Friend of the Heart
-Ted
-The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
-Today, I Started Loving You
-Tokyo Family
-Wreck-It-Ralph
¥1 billion ($12 million)↑

I'm seeing 23 films exceeding ¥1 billion in this time frame compared to last year's 20 films. There are a couple iffy ones (3D releases) like Cloud Atlas and Jack and the Giant Slayer, and if Oz: The Great and Powerful is given too many 3D screens it could potentially bomb/disappoint (Tintin, Hobbit, Brave, Spider-Man, etc.), too, but matching last year looks pretty good.

Note: The Yen has been fluctuating A LOT since the election two weeks ago, so the USD numbers are very likely to change significantly as they have on a daily basis.

Die Hard is so popular!

Japanese retailing giant Aeon Group is to buy out Warner Bros Entertainment's 50% stake in the Japanese cinema chain Warner Mycal.

Warner Mycal is one of the largest exhibitors in Japan with 60 theatres and 496 screens, and was established in 1993 as a joint venture between Warner and Aeon, which was then known as Mycal.

According to a stock market filing by Aeon the deal is expected to complete in Feb or March 2013.

By combining the Warner Mycal cinemas with Aeon's wholly owned chain, which totals some 70 complexes and 600 screens, the new group expects to become the largest movie theatre operator in Japan. The current market leader is Toho Cinemas, which previously bought out the Virgin chain in Japan.

Aeon, which operates the MaxValue and TopValue supermarket chain and is in the process of buying Tesco's supermarkets in Japan and Carrefour's stores in Malaysia, did not disclose the value of the Warner Mycal stake purchase. But it said that it would fund the purchase from its own balance sheet.

Warner Bros International Cinemas has over the past two decades been a pioneer of multiplex cinemas around the world, opening more than 170 cinemas and almost 1,600 screens in 11 countries internationally. Including Portugal, Japan, Holland, Italy, China, and Taiwan. Most of these have been sold to local players, with Japan remaining the last disposal.

http://www.animeanime.biz/all/1212215/

Major announcement there.

Aeon Group is the largest retailer in Japan and Asia, and ranked 10th worldwide in 2011.

Warner Mycal is or was the second largest cinema chain as mentioned above, and is one of the four major chains I track which makes this news even more interesting. Other articles are saying Warner Bros. plans to focus more on distributing local films in the future now, which they've had greater success at in recent years.

That's a shame performance for The Hobbit

Corpse, is there a new ghibli film for this year (2013)?, when is Monsters University scheduled? and also I'm sure there's gonna be a new pokemon film? right?

Yes, yes, and yes. They're all July releases, too.

Pokemon Best Wishes: Extremespeed Genesect (7/13) is the only one with a date at the moment, though.

Monsters University will probably open on 7/27 (though it should move to December ala Nemo and Up).

And Studio Ghibli is releasing a double feature event film, maybe the biggest of the decade, directed by the co-founders themselves, The Wind Rises and The Princess Kaguya Story, the former is directed by Hayao Miyazaki himself, his first film since 2008's Ponyo. If it follows Ghibli's past release pattern, they'll open on 7/13 or 7/20.

12/28-29
Cinema Chain Weekend Ranking



[TOHO CINEMAS]
1 One Piece Film Z (Toei) Week 3 (→)
2 Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) Week 2 (→)
3 007: Skyfall (Sony) Week 5 (→)
4 Today, I Started Loving You (Toho) Week 4 (→)
5 Blue Exorcist: The Movie (Toho) NEW!
6 Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo (T-Joy) Week 6 (→)
7 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.) Week 3 (↓)
8 Humanoid Monster, Bem (Toho) Week 3 (↓)
9 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (Kadokawa Pictures) NEW!
10 Frankenweenie (Disney) Week 3 (→)

[WARNER MYCAL]
1 One Piece Film Z (Toei) Week 3 (→)
2 Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) Week 2 (→)
3 Today, I Started Loving You (Toho) Week 4 (→)
4 Humanoid Monster, Bem (Toho) Week 3 (↑)
5 Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard (Toei) Week 4 (↓)

[SHIKOKU]
1 One Piece Film Z (Toei) Week 3 (→)
2 Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) Week 2 (→)
3 Today, I Started Loving You (Toho) Week 4 (→)
4 Humanoid Monster, Bem (Toho) Week 3 (↑)
5 007: Skyfall (Sony) Week 5 (↓)
6 Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard (Toei) Week 4 (↑)
7 Blue Exorcist: The Movie (Toho) NEW!
8 Ooku: The Inner Chambers 2 (Asmik Ace/Shochiku) Week 2 (↓)
9 Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo (T-Joy) Week 6 (↑)
10 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (Kadokawa Pictures) NEW!

[SUNSHINE]
1 One Piece Film Z (Toei) Week 3 (→)
2 Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) Week 2 (→)
3 007: Skyfall (Sony) Week 5 (→)
4 Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard (Toei) Week 4 (→)
5 Humanoid Monster, Bem (Toho) Week 3 (↑)

Openers,
>Blue Exorcist did pretty well for itself. I figured it'd beat Twilight, and it had no trouble doing it.
>Breaking Dawn Part 2 did poorly as expected, barely making the Top 10, and perhaps worse than Part 1.

Holdovers,
>One Piece is still dominant everywhere. It's more than likely north of ¥4 billion ($50 million) now.
>Les Miserables stays strong in second place.
>Humanoid Monster looks to have benefited greatly from pre-New Year week as kid/family films tend to do. It'll do even better this week.
>The Hobbit disappears from each chain except at Toho locations after just three weeks.

Corpse are those 4 chains the TOP4 in Japanese Market? Interesting news about this sell of Warner chain.

MOVIX and United Cinemas are above Shikoku and Sunshine, however they don't report their weekend Top 5/10. Occasionally United Cinemas will release their Top 3, though it's rare. I don't remember the exact number of screens each chain controls, but I know I have the data somewhere and I'll post it later.

12/29-30
Weekend Ranking (Admissions)

1 (1) One Piece Film Z (Toei) Week 3 (→)
2 (2) Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) Week 2 (→)
3 (3) Today, I Started Loving You (Toho) Week 4 (→)
4 (4) 007: Skyfall (Sony) Week 5 (→)
5 (7) Humanoid Monster, Bem (Toho) Week 3 (↑)
6 (-) Blue Exorcist: The Movie (Toho) NEW!
7 (5) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.) Week 3 (↓)
8 (6) Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard (Toei) Week 4 (↓)
9 (-) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (Kadokawa Pictures) NEW!
10 (9) Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo (T-Joy) Week 6 (↓)
11 (10) Frankenweenie (Disney) Week 3 (↓)

No weekend numbers are available yet, even for the openers. I'll update whenever they are, but with it being New Year it could be a few days.

Eva making it thru 6 weeks in the top 10 seems quite good. Any chance of 7 (suspect not...)?

Ugh, if The Hobbit hadn't totally bombed here then $700m OS would be a good bet for it. There's no reason it shouldn't have been able to at least eke out $40m.

It might manage 7 weeks. There are no wide openers this weekend and it should hold better than Twlight and maybe Kamen Rider, too.

I'm about to post my Top 10 of 2013 Predictions, but before I do that, here is how my predictions matched up with the actuals from 2012:

My Top 10 2012 Predictions (Posted 1/26/2012)
01 Umizaru 4: Brave Hearts - ¥8.4 billion ($107 million)
02 Bayside Shakedown 4: The Final - ¥7.6 billion ($96 million)
03 The Amazing Spider-Man - ¥6.4 billion ($81 million)
04 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - ¥5.5 billion ($71 million)
05 Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo - ¥4.5 billion ($57 million)
06 Pokemon Best Wishes: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman: Keldeo - ¥4.4 billion ($56 million)
07 Resident Evil V: Retribution - ¥4.2 billion ($53 million)
08 Brave - ¥4.1 billion ($52 million)
09 Men in Black 3 - ¥3.7 billion ($47 million)
10 ALWAYS: Sunset on Third Street '64 - ¥3.6 billion ($46 million)

Vs. Top 10 2012 Actuals:
01 Umizaru 4: Brave Hearts - ¥7.33 billion ($93 million)
02 Thermae Roame - ¥5.98 billion ($76 million)
03 Bayside Shakedown 4: The Final - ¥5.95 billion ($75 million)
04 Mission Impossible - Ghost Protocol - ¥5.38 billion ($70 million)
05 Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo - ¥5.2-5.4 billion ($62-65 million) Est. Total
06 The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki - ¥4.22 billion ($54 million)
07 Resident Evil V: Retribution - ¥3.81 billion ($48 million)
08 Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles - ¥3.62 billion ($46 million)
09 Pokemon Best Wishes: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman - Keldeo - ¥3.61 billion ($46 million)
10 The Avengers - ¥3.60 billion ($46 million)

I was close on Men in Black 3 and ALWAYS: Sunset on Third Street, but they missed the Top 10 with ¥3.2 billion ($42 million) and ¥3.44 billion ($44 million), respectively.

No one could foresee Thermae Romae becoming the juggernaut it did and that both Hollywood's Summer blockbusters, Spider-Man and Brave, would do so poorly. Wolf Children was a dark horse, but not many anticipated the incredible run it had.

Top 10 of 2013 Predictions:

01 The Wind Rises/The Princess Kaguya Story - ¥18.0 billion ($215 million)
02 One Piece Film Z - ¥6.2 billion ($74 million)
03 Evangelion: Final - ¥5.6 billion ($67 million)
04 Monsters University - ¥4.8 billion ($57 million)
05 The After-Dinner Mysteries - ¥4.2 billion ($51 million)
06 Oblivion - ¥4.0 billion ($48 million)
07 Pokemon Best Wishes: ExtremeSpeed Genesect - ¥3.7 billion ($44 million)
08 World War Z - ¥3.5 billion ($42 million)
09 Doraemon: Nobita's Secret Gadget Museum - ¥3.3 billion ($40 million)
10 Les Miserables - ¥3.2 billion ($39 million)
-Detective Conan: Private Eye in the Distant Sea - ¥3.2 billion ($39 million)

The easy #1 of 2013 will be the Studio Ghibli double feature. The two films are directed by Ghibli's co-founders Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata (best known for Grave of the Fireflies). The Wind Rises is Miyazaki's first film since Ponyo (earned ¥15.5 billion or $164 million on 12.87 million admissions in 2008), and The Princess Kaguya Story is Takahata's first film since My Neightbors the Yamadas 14 years ago.

Hayao Miyazaki's Most Recent Films:
2001 - Spirited Away - ¥30.4 billion ($244 million); 23.5 million admissions (#1 All-Time)
2004 - Howl's Moving Castle - ¥22.0 billion ($207 million); 15.0 million admissions (#3 All-Time)
1997 - Princess Mononoke - ¥19.3 billion ($165 million); 14.2 million admissions (#5 All-Time)
2008 - Ponyo - ¥15.5 billion ($164 million); 12.87 million admissions (#8 All-Time)

>One Piece Film Z is doing well enough to secure itself a Top 3 spot this year, if not the #2 position.

>The final Evangelion film may or may not be released in 2013. It's release is still tba, but it was suppose to come out this year (Eva 3.0's release wasn't known until 4 months before it opened). If it doesn't get released, I included Detective Conan below the Top 10 since his films almost always do between ¥3-3.4 billion. We'll known sometime in the Summer I suspect.

>I think Monsters University had great potential given it's predecessor's reputation (second highest attended Pixar film), but with Brave totally bombing and strong hints that 3D is a hindrance now, I'm going "low" on it.

>The After-Dinner Mysteries was a very popular dramedy/mystery TV series in 2011 with impressive ratings. It's being released in the Summer by Toho/Fuji TV (same team behind many other hit movie drama adaptations).

>Oblivion, World War Z, Pacific Rim, and After Earth all seem very similar to me with more or less the same potential here. I'm giving the edge to Oblivion since it has Tom Cruise, and World War Z with it's good release date sometime August (hopefully before/during Obon Week) and Brad Pitt is also pretty popular. The negatives for Pacific Rim is that's it's opening day and date as the rest of the world and that's usually a bad thing in Japan unless it's a very well known property. The film also doesn't have any known names. And while Will Smith is popular in Japan, I've heard he's hardly in After Earth so it may open well, but is likely to have disappointing legs.

There's also bound to be another Japanese TV drama film coming out in the Summer or Fall that I'm unaware of or that hasn't been announced yet (movie announcements come late in the market) that could find a place in the Top 10.

I can't see World War Z making 3.5 billion. I have nothing to base that on apart from my hunch, so feel free to ignore me.

Weekend Figures for the last week's openers:

Blue Exorcist ranked sixth earning ¥90 million ($1.1 million) over the weekend frame bringing it's 3-day total to ¥160 million ($2 million).
Breaking Dawn Part 2 grossed just ¥67 million ($800,000) during the weekend ranking 10th, bringing it's 3-day total to ¥112 million ($1.3 million).



2013 Box Office Charts
As of Sunday, 12/30:

Top Grossing Films (¥500 million+)
Rank :: Revenue ¥ (billion) / $ (million) :: Title :: Release :: Admissions (million) :: Days In Release :: Distributor
01 :: ¥4.23 / $50.09 (3.08x) :: One Piece Film Z :: Dec '12 :: 3.48 :: 17 :: Toei
02 :: ¥2.04 / $24.17 (4.50x) :: 007: Skyfall :: Dec '12 :: 1.64 :: 30 :: Sony
03 :: ¥1.28 / $15.11 (5.68x) :: Today, I Started Loving You :: Dec '12 :: 1.06 :: 23 :: Toho
04 :: ¥1.13 / $13.37 (3.83x) :: Les Miserables :: Dec '12 :: 0.897 :: 10 :: Toho-Towa
05 :: ¥0.932 / $11.01 (4.22x) :: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey :: Dec '12 :: 0.636 :: 17 :: Warner Bros.
06 :: ¥0.868 / $10.27 (3.07x) :: Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard :: Dec '12 :: 0.788 :: 23 :: Toei
07 :: ¥0.646 / $7.64 (3.14x) :: Humanoid Monster, Bem :: Dec '12 :: 0.556 :: 16 :: Toho
08 :: ¥0.540 / $6.45 (3.12x) :: Inazuma Eleven Go! Vs. Danball Senkei W :: Dec '12 :: 0.510 :: 30 :: Toho

Notes:
One Piece Film Z is the fastest film to exceed ¥4 billion since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.
Today, I Started Loving You becomes the third film this year to reach 1 million admissions.
Les Miserables cruises past the ¥1 billion milestone in 10 days, becoming the fourth film this year to achieve the milestone.

Expect big gains for every film this week thanks to New Year.



Top Opening Weekends (2-Days ONLY, ¥200 million+)
Rank :: Revenue ¥ (million) / $ (million) :: Title :: Release :: Admissions (thousand) :: Screen Count :: Distributor
01 :: ¥1,372.1 / $16.74 :: One Piece Film Z :: Dec '12 :: 1,140.1 :: 300 :: Toei
02 :: ¥454.64 / $5.56 :: 007: Skyfall :: Dec '12 :: 398.8 :: 584 :: Sony
03 :: ¥295.42 / $3.56 :: Les Miserables :: Dec '12 :: 229.2 :: 360 :: Toho-Towa
04 :: ¥281.64 / $3.44 :: Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard :: Dec '12 :: 244.9 :: 298 :: Toei
05 :: ¥225.32 / $2.75 :: Today, I Started Loving You :: Dec '12 :: 188.4 :: 301 :: Toho
06 :: ¥220.51 / $2.66 :: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey :: Dec '12 :: 146.3 :: 878 :: Warner Bros.
07 :: ¥206.33 / $2.49 :: Humanoid Monster, Bem :: Dec '12 :: 175.4 :: 331 :: Toho

Notes:
None of last week's openers debuted high enough to chart.

Key:
Top Grossing Films: In Release
Top Opening Weekends: Debut
Following Tracking: TE (Temporary Estimate) / OE (Official Estimate) / FT (Final Total)

2012 Box Office Charts
As of Sunday, 12/30:

Top Grossing Films (¥1 billion+)
Rank :: Revenue ¥ (billion) / $ (million) :: Title :: Release :: Admissions (million) :: Days In Release :: Distributor
01 :: ¥7.33 / $93.60 (8.34x) :: Umizaru: Brave Hearts :: July :: 5.75 :: FT :: Toho
02 :: ¥5.98 / $76.34 (13.84x) :: Thermae Romae :: Apr. :: 4.71 :: FT :: Toho
03 :: ¥5.95 / $75.86 (7.40x) :: Bayside Shakedown THE FINAL :: Sept. :: 4.65 :: FT :: Toho
04 :: ¥5.38 / $70.55 (9.39x) :: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol :: Dec '11 :: 4.24 :: FT :: Paramount
05 :: ¥4.78 / $59.30 (4.23x) :: Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo :: Nov. :: 3.47 :: 44 :: T-Joy
06 :: ¥4.22 / $53.97 (11.56x) :: The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki :: July :: 3.42 :: FT :: Toho
07 :: ¥3.81 / $48.85 (5.74x) :: Resident Evil: Retribution :: Sept. :: 2.60 :: FT :: Sony
08 :: ¥3.62 / $46.07 (6.56x) :: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles :: Mar. :: 3.35 :: FT :: Toho
09 :: ¥3.61 / $46.06 (7.09x) :: Pokemon B&W: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman - Keldeo :: July :: 3.43 :: FT :: Toho
10 :: ¥3.60 / $46.04 (7.20x) :: The Avengers :: Aug. :: 2.37 :: FT :: Disney
11 :: ¥3.44 / $43.68 (6.19x) :: ALWAYS: Sunset on Third Street '64 :: Jan. :: 2.70 :: OE :: Toho
12 :: ¥3.28 / $42.32 (5.21x) :: Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker :: Apr. :: 2.74 :: OE :: Toho
13 :: ¥3.16 / $40.88 (5.51x) :: Men in Black 3 :: May :: 2.12 :: TE :: Toho-Towa
14 :: ¥3.13 / $40.64 (5.34x) :: Kaibutsu-Kun: The Movie :: Nov '11 :: 2.39 :: OE :: Toho
15 :: ¥3.11 / $39.49 (5.36x) :: The Amazing Spider-Man :: June :: 2.12 :: TE :: Sony
16 :: ¥2.92 / $37.21 (7.31x) :: Rurouni Kenshin :: Aug. :: 2.34 :: TE :: Warner Bros.
17 :: ¥2.68 / $32.81 (6.61x) :: The Floating Castle :: Nov. :: 2.21 :: 59 :: Toho/Asmik Ace
18 :: ¥2.51 / $31.67 (8.50x) :: We Were There: Part I :: Mar. :: 2.10 :: OE :: Toho/Asmik Ace
19 :: ¥2.40 / $30.36 (5.16x) :: SPEC: The Movie :: Apr. :: 1.85 :: OE :: Toho
20 :: ¥2.22 / $28.01 (7.45x) :: Holy Scripture of Evil :: Nov. :: 1.69 :: 51 :: Toho
21 :: ¥2.20 / $27.50 (7.00x) :: Liar Game: Reborn :: Mar. :: 1.76 :: OE :: Toho
22 :: ¥2.16 / $27.21 (5.35x) :: Dark Shadows :: May :: 1.71 :: TE :: Warner Bros.
23 :: ¥2.13 / $27.16 (9.14x) :: Dearest :: Aug. :: 1.99 :: TE :: Toho
24 :: ¥2.04 / $26.01 (8.75x) :: Heruta Skelter :: July :: 1.55 :: TE :: Asmik Ace
25 :: ¥2.01 / $25.87 (11.16x) :: Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted :: Aug. :: 1.58 :: TE :: Paramount
26 :: ¥1.96 / $24.49 (6.46x) :: Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows :: Mar. :: 1.67 :: TE :: Warner Bros.
27 :: ¥1.92 / $24.27 (5.16x) :: The Dark Knight Rises :: July :: 1.46 :: TE :: Warner Bros.
28 :: ¥1.90 / $24.14 (6.01x) :: K-ON! The Movie :: Dec '11 :: 1.45 :: OE :: Shochiku
29 :: ¥1.84 / $23.54 (5.88x) :: Glow of Fireflies :: June :: 1.49 :: TE :: Toho
30 :: ¥1.80 / $23.07 (6.49x) :: In Time :: Feb. :: 1.40 :: TE :: FOX
31 :: ¥1.77 / $22.70 (5.86x) :: Prometheus :: Aug. :: 1.22 :: TE :: FOX
32 :: ¥1.71 / $22.01 (5.45x) :: We Were There: Part II :: Apr. :: 1.37 :: TE :: Toho/Asmik Ace
33 :: ¥1.71 / $21.98 (5.67x) :: Snow White and the Huntsman :: June :: 1.33 :: TE :: Toho-Towa
34 :: ¥1.70 / $21.97 (6.15x) :: Shizanmono: The Movie :: Jan. :: 1.36 :: OE :: Toho
35 :: ¥1.60 / $20.26 (8.37x) :: Connection :: Oct. :: 1.32 :: 58 :: Toho
36 :: ¥1.56 / $19.86 (3.81x) :: Kamen Rider x Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen :: Apr. :: 1.34 :: TE :: TOEI
37 :: ¥1.55 / $19.85 (4.06x) :: Space Brothers :: May :: 1.21 :: TE :: Toho
38 :: ¥1.51 / $19.68 (4.01x) :: Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: War Mega Max :: Dec '11 :: 1.30 :: TE :: TOEI
39 :: ¥1.50 / $19.28 (5.13x) :: Battleship :: Apr. :: 1.18 :: OE :: Toho-Towa
40 :: ¥1.47 / $19.01 (10.42x) :: Friends: Naki On Monster Island :: Dec '11 :: 1.10 :: TE :: Toho
41 :: ¥1.45 / $18.62 (6.41x) :: Real Steel :: Dec '11 :: 1.13 :: OE :: Walt Disney
42 :: ¥1.45 / $18.43 (18.39x) :: The Intouchables :: Sept. :: 1.17 :: TE :: Gaga
43 :: ¥1.43 / $18.22 (9.47x) :: Fleet Admiral, Isoroku Yamamoto :: Dec '11 :: 1.13 :: TE :: TOEI
44 :: ¥1.41 / $18.04 (4.67x) :: Naruto: Road to Ninja :: July :: 1.21 :: TE :: Toho
45 :: ¥1.39 / $17.87 (8.47x) :: Tale of Genji :: Dec '11 :: 1.15 :: TE :: Toho
46 :: ¥1.37 / $17.37 (5.57x) :: Sadako 3D :: May :: .969 :: TE :: Kadokawa Pictures
47 :: ¥1.36 / $17.93 (4.87x) :: Outrage 2: Beyond :: Oct. :: 1.02 :: TE :: Warner Bros.
48 :: ¥1.28 / $15.86 (5.54x) :: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo :: Feb. :: .996 :: TE :: Sony
49 :: ¥1.27 / $15.86 (4.96x) :: Kamen Rider Fourze: Everyone, Space is Here! :: Aug. :: 1.04 :: TE :: TOEI
50 :: ¥1.22 / $15.41 (6.78x) :: A Chorus of Angels :: Nov. :: .952 :: TE :: TOEI
51 :: ¥1.20 / $15.36 (7.04x) :: Puss in Boots :: Mar. :: .925 :: OE :: Paramount
52 :: ¥1.18 / $15.19 (5.84x) :: Robo-G :: Jan. :: 1.01 :: TE :: Toho
53 :: ¥1.14 / $14.61 (9.47x) :: Chronicle of My Mother :: Apr. :: .876 :: TE :: Shochiku
54 :: ¥1.12 / $14.02 (8.11x) :: Inazuma Eleven GO :: Dec '11 :: .926 :: TE :: Toho
55 :: ¥1.09 / $13.93 (4.96x) :: The Adventures of Tintin :: Dec '11 :: .754 :: TE :: Toho-Towa
56 :: ¥1.05 / $13.44 (6.76x) :: Eight Ranger :: July :: .880 :: TE :: Toho
57 :: ¥1.03 / $12.90 (5.28x) :: Crayon Shin-chan (2012) :: Apr. :: .963 :: TE :: Toho
58 :: ¥1.03 / $12.87 (5.88x) :: Hugo :: Mar. :: .732 :: TE :: Paramount
59 :: ¥1.02 / $12.75 (5.23x) :: Pretty Cure All Stars New Stage: Friends of the Future :: Mar. :: .881 :: TE :: TOEI
60 :: ¥1.01 / $12.68 (4.69x) :: Total Recall :: Aug. :: .800 :: TE :: Sony

The list is nearing completion with just three films left in release. Once tracking ends for them, the final totals chart for every film above 1 billion (as well as yearly data) will be released by the GMPPAJ which is usually around the end of January.

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Top Opening Weekends [FINAL] (2-Days ONLY, ¥250 million+)
Rank :: Revenue ¥ (million) / $ (million) :: Title :: Release :: Admissions (thousand) :: Screen Count :: Distributor
01 :: ¥1,133.0 / $14.05 :: Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo :: Nov. :: 771.76 :: 224 :: T-Joy
02 :: ¥878.23 / $11.08 :: Umizaru: Brave Hearts :: July :: 686.98 :: 450 :: Toho
03 :: ¥804.27 / $10.29 :: Bayside Shakedown THE FINAL :: Sept. :: 604.09 :: 452 :: Toho
04 :: ¥676.99 / $8.58 :: Resident Evil: Retribution :: Sept. :: 433.94 :: 779 :: Sony
05 :: ¥629.74 / $7.82 :: Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker :: Apr. :: 540.98 :: 351 :: Toho
06 :: ¥583.89 / $7.61 :: The Amazing Spider-Man :: June :: 426.16 :: 1,092 :: Sony
07 :: ¥581.04 / $7.48 :: Kaibutsu-Kun: The Movie :: Nov '11 :: 431.09 :: 446 :: Toho
08 :: ¥573.57 / $7.35 :: Men in Black 3 :: May :: 372.97 :: 979 :: Toho-Towa
09 :: ¥573.22 / $7.34 :: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol :: Dec '11 :: 437.75 :: 636 ::Paramount
10 :: ¥555.62 / $7.22 :: ALWAYS: Sunset on Third Street '64 :: Jan. :: 421.27 :: 473 :: Toho
11 :: ¥552.62 / $6.86 :: Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles :: Mar. :: 485.47 :: 359 :: Toho
12 :: ¥509.94 / $6.42 :: Pokemon B&W: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman - Keldeo :: July :: 489.86 :: 351 :: Toho
13 :: ¥500.93 / $6.34 :: The Avengers :: Aug. :: 326.11 :: 844 :: Disney
14 :: ¥468.70 / $5.81 :: SPEC: The Movie :: Apr. :: 351.47 :: 279 :: Toho
15 :: ¥432.55 / $5.40 :: Thermae Romae :: Apr. :: 325.69 :: 304 :: Toho
16 :: ¥410.04 / $5.16 :: Kamen Rider x Super Sentei: Super Hero Taisen :: Apr. :: 355.99 :: 292 :: TOEI
17 :: ¥405.07 / $5.10 :: The Floating Castle :: Nov. :: 323.22 :: 328 :: Toho/Asmik Ace
18 :: ¥404.53 / $5.07 :: Dark Shadows :: May :: 311.16 :: 571 :: Warner Bros.
19 :: ¥399.53 / $5.05 :: Rurouni Kenshin :: Aug. :: 295.32 :: 327 :: Warner Bros.
20 :: ¥382.32 / $4.87 :: Space Brothers :: May :: 285.34 :: 322 :: Toho
21 :: ¥378.03 / $4.84 :: Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Fourze & OOO: War Mega Max :: Dec '11 :: 333.13 :: 301 :: TOEI
22 :: ¥372.02 / $4.75 :: The Dark Knight Rises :: July :: 269.17 :: 546 :: Warner Bros.
23 :: ¥365.15 / $4.67 :: The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki :: July :: 276.33 :: 381 :: Toho
24 :: ¥316.31 / $4.08 :: K-ON! The Movie :: Dec '11 :: 237.82 :: 137 :: Shochiku
25 :: ¥314.89 / $3.97 :: We Were There: Part II :: Apr. :: 242.92 :: 297 :: Asmik Ace/Toho
26 :: ¥314.70 / $3.96 :: Liar Game: Reborn :: Mar. :: 242.19 :: 318 :: Toho
27 :: ¥313.66 / $3.95 :: Glow of Fireflies :: June :: 242.82 :: 316 :: Toho
28 :: ¥303.35 / $3.87 :: Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows :: Mar. :: 237.98 :: 464 :: Warner Bros.
29 :: ¥302.49 / $3.84 :: Prometheus :: Aug. :: 200.18 :: 768 :: FOX
30 :: ¥302.08 / $3.81 :: Naruto: Path to Ninja :: July :: 254.03 :: 262 :: Toho
31 :: ¥301.78 / $3.80 :: Snow White and the Huntsman :: June :: 234.87 :: 572 :: Toho-Towa
32 :: ¥298.85 / $3.79 :: Holy Scripture of Evil :: Nov. :: 215.06 :: 309 :: Toho
33 :: ¥295.31 / $3.75 :: We Were There: Part I :: Mar. :: 227.24 :: 295 :: Asmik Ace/Toho
34 :: ¥292.16 / $3.68 :: Battleship :: Apr. :: 237.87 :: 545 :: Toho-Towa
35 :: ¥279.24 / $3.67 :: Outrage 2: Beyond :: Oct. :: 206.61 :: 225 :: Warner Bros.
36 :: ¥277.13 / $3.63 :: In Time :: Feb. :: 203.05 :: 427 :: FOX
37 :: ¥276.41 / $3.62 :: Shizanmono: The Movie :: Jan. :: 217.18 :: 377 :: Toho
38 :: ¥254.17 / $3.25 :: Kamen Rider Fourze: Everyone, Space is Here! :: Aug. :: 217.66 :: 304 :: TOEI

The 2012 Box Office Year is over so the Opening Weekend Chart is finalized.

_{-KEY-
New Entry
Indicates a film still in release or being tracked.
Days in Release: TE (Temporary Estimate) / OE (Official Estimate) / FT (Final Total)}[/quote]

Top 10 Most Attended Films (2012)

01 Umizaru: Brave Hearts - 5,752,645 [Avg. ticket - ¥1,274 ($15.96)]
02 Thermae Romae - 4,714,309 [Avg. ticket - ¥1,268 ($15.92)]
03 Bayside Shakedown: The Final - 4,650,007 [Avg. ticket - ¥1,280 ($16.02)]
04 Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - 4,239,485 [Avg. ticket - ¥1,269 ($15.98)]
05 Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo - 3,800,000 - 3,900,000 [Avg. ticket - ¥1,355 ($16.98)] (projection)
06 Pokemon Best Wishes: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman: Keldeo - 3,431,674 [Avg. ticket - ¥1,052 ($13.18)]
07 The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki - 3,422,955 [Avg. ticket - ¥1,232 ($15.44)]
08 Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles - 3,348,346 [Avg. ticket - ¥1,081 ($13.54)]
09 Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker - 2,746,079 [Avg. ticket - ¥1,194 ($14.97)]
10 Always: Sunset on Third Street '64 - 2,703,971 [Avg. ticket - ¥1,272 ($15.94)]

The only 3D release here is Always: Sunset on Third Street '64. If practically every 3D release in 2012 disappointing/bombing wasn't enough evidence that 3D is/has become a hindrance here, the fact that just one 3D release barely made the Top 10 admissions of 2012 should be.

I also notice, to your point, that that one 3D film did not even have the highest average price - in fact it was lower than 4 of the top 5, and the one it "beat" it was all of 4 yen higher. I assume this means any or all of the following is also true: 3D percentage was rather lower, No 3D premium worth mentioning existed, 3D premium was eliminated by heavy discounting, non 3D had heavy discounting to attract compensating revenue. So not only a hindrance, but not even providing the revenue justification 3D was supposed to provide.

I love me some schadenfreude in the morning. Thanks.

Two reasons its avg. ticket was normal:

First, it's 3D share was terribly low, 30% on opening weekend despite 80% of it's total screen count being 3D screens. It's avg. ticket prices kept decreasing every week, so that 3D share more than likely dipped under 20% before the end. And second, the Always series skews very old (I'm thinking something like 20-30% were 50+ opening weekend, I posted the breakdown last year) meaning it saw a lot of senior discount tickets.

Toei reports that One Piece Film Z exceeded 4 million admissions on Thursday, it's 20th day in release.

As of Wednesday, it had 3,931,200 admissions for a 19-day gross of ¥4.713 billion ($56 million). That means from just the past 3 days (Mon-Wed) it earned ¥481 million ($5.7 million) on 401,000 admissions, 9% stronger than its gross this past weekend.

Corpse, can you please explain to me the concept of Roadshow?

I am looking at some tickets on eBay for old movies and the tickets have full pictures of the movie on them. Do all tickets come like in Japan? even in their 10th week of normal release? That must be quite expensive for cinemas to produce. Or is it only Roadshow tickets?

I've seen posters and Roadshow seems to mean that the movie comes out a couple of days prior to the national release. Is that right? Is Roadshow a company? I don't really get it, and I don't understand the tickets thing.

Here is a link to one: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OCTOPUSSY-MOO ... 5aec0f6f01

Roadshow doesn't mean the film is opening at certain locations before going nationwide. I think it has, or had, this definition in some other countries, but in Japan it simply means opening day. For films with Roadshow on their posters or tickets, though, the cast and crew go around to different cinemas for stage shows, meet and greets, etc.

Ticket stubs with artwork or pictures included are generally advance tickets only, but can also be available shortly after debuting as well. In addition to collecting the stubs, there are sometimes more you can do with them when taken to a cinema either opening weekend or for a limited time (like the first month).

For one example, if you buy a Pokemon ticket in advance, you can use the stub at the cinema to download an exclusive Pokemon to your handheld game.



Here is a advance ticket stub from 2011's Pokemon film. If you bought a ticket to the film anytime between April 16 - August 31, you could download a Victini with an exclusive moveset when attending the film that was unavailable anywhere else.