How well do Tarantino films do in Japan?

The Kill Bill films, in particular Volume 1, did well in the market.

Kill Bill Vol. 1 - ¥2.50 billion ($22 million)
Kill Bill Vol. 2 - ¥1.10 billion ($10 million)

Inglorious Bastards earned approx. ¥650 million ($7 million).

Kill Bill Vol. 1 was likely helped by the presence of Chiaki Kuriyama (played Gogo Yubari), who was coming off of Battle Royale just a few years earlier.

I'd figure Kill Bill Vol. 1 would be his most successful film in the Japanese market. But nothing overtly successful.

Django will probably do around Basterds numbers no doubt?

Yeah, that is a reasonable goal.

01/05-06
Weekend Forecast

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

Now entering the unpredictable weekend.

In previous years, this weekend has seen it all. There has been big increases (50%+) across the board, scattered increases/decreases, and simply acting like any regular weekend throughout the year. One reason behind this could be because there are never any wide openers the first weekend of January.

The ranking though should more or less be pretty accurate and remain mostly unchanged.

One Piece Film Z is still well ahead of the competition that it's very unlikely to be bumped off by Les Miserables, and likewise, Les Miserables is ahead of the rest of the pack that it won't budge from it's second place ranking. The only major change in the ranking from last weekend will be if Humanoid Monster gets the big family boost that launches it into the Top 5, and the possibility of Frankenweenie re-appearing and knocking Breaking Dawn Part 2 out of the Top 10.

Projected Totals after Sunday (1/5):
One Piece Film Z - ¥5.2-5.4 billion ($63-65 million) after 4 weeks.
Evangelion 3.0 - ¥4.9-5.0 billion ($60-62 million) after 8 weeks.
007: Skyfall - ¥2.2-2.3 billion ($26-28 million) after 6 weeks.
Les Miserables - ¥1.6-1.7 billion ($19-21 million) after 3 weeks.
Today, I Started Loving You - ¥1.5-1.6 billion ($18-20 million) after 5 weeks.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - ¥1.2-1.3 billion ($14-16 million) after 4 weeks.
Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard - ¥1-1.1 billion ($12-13 million) after 5 weeks.
Humanoid Monster, Bem - ¥1 billion ($12 million) after 4 weeks.

Even with The Hobbit bombing, this year has turned out to be a very strong New Year season thanks to huge performances by One Piece and Eva 3.0, and notable runs so far from Skyfall (close now to becoming the highest grossing Bond film ever), Les Mis, and Today.

Thank you. Summed up well.

Biggest Film Franchises in Japan (Revenue)

Harry Potter :: ¥96.57 billion ($903 million) [8 Films]
Pokemon :: ¥68.49 billion ($660 million) [15 Films]
Doraemon :: ¥67.76 billion ($628 million est.) [32 Films]
Detective Conan :: ¥41.34 billion ($430 million) [16 Films]
Bayside Shakedown :: ¥40.71 billion ($412 million) [4 Films]
Star Wars :: ¥40.04 billion ($323 million est.) [6 Films]
Pirates of the Caribbean :: ¥36.59 billion ($360 million) [4 Films]
Jurassic Park :: ¥27.48 billion ($253 million est.) [3 Films]
The Lord of the Rings :: ¥27.29 billion ($236 million) [3 Films]
The Matrix :: ¥26.40 billion ($231 million est.) [3 Films]
Umizaru :: ¥24.12 billion ($262 million) [4 Films]

Updated with the final totals for this year's Pokemon, Doraemon, Detective Conan, Umizaru, and Bayside Shakedown films.

Looking ahead,

>Pokemon has a new film coming out this July.
>Doraemon and Detective Conan also have new films coming out this Spring (the holy trio of Pokemon, Doraemon, and Detective Conan have new films released annually every March, April, and July).
>Bayside Shakedown is finished with the fourth film being the final entry.
>Star Wars will soon see a series of sequels released.
>Pirates of the Caribbean is suppose to have a new film coming out in 2014/2015.
>Umizaru might have one, maybe two, more film left before they'd have to create their own original storylines.

And the Kamen Rider franchise will eventually earn enough to rank in a year or two with it now releasing 3 films a year and up to... 46..47 total I think.

Biggest Film Franchises in Japan (Admissions)

Godzilla :: 99.25 million [28 Films]
Doraemon :: 97.49 million [32 Films]
Harry Potter :: 76.9 million est. [8 Films]
Pokemon :: 67.83 million [15 Films]
Detective Conan :: 34.31 million [16 Films]
Star Wars :: 30.8 million est. [6 Films]
Bayside Shakedown :: 30.02 million [4 Films]
Pirates of the Caribbean :: 27.11 million [4 Films]
The Lord of the Rings :: 20.22 million [3 Films]
Jurassic Park :: 20.1 million est. [3 Films]
The Matrix :: 18.1 million est. [3 Films]
Umizaru :: 17.65 million [4 Films]

If anyone is wondering why Godzilla is 1st here but not even on the Revenue list its because the earlier Godzilla films from the 50's and 60's were massive and much bigger than latter ones and ticket prices back then cost just ¥60 compared to the past two decades ~¥1,250 avg. The first Godzilla did over 12 million admissions in 1954 but grossed just ¥760 million, a gross films since the 90's have been able to reach with a mere 500,000 admissions.

The same is mostly true for Doraemon as well. While it hasn't lost any popularity since the 70's/80's (this past year's film was the biggest to date in gross and admissions), tickets then were only ~¥400-500 for the first several installments. The franchise should cross the 100 million uber-milestone this year.

All the other movie franchises began when avg. ticket prices were reaching ¥1,000 (early 80's) and then stabilizing at ~¥1,250 since 1993.

01/05-06
Weekend Estimates

1 (2) Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) ¥267 million ($3.1 million), +4%,Week 3
2 (1) One Piece Film Z (Toei) ¥265 million ($3.1 million), -41%, Week 4
3 (4) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.) ¥105 million ($1.2 million), +2%, Week 4
4 (5) 007: Skyfall (Sony) ¥98 million ($1.1 million), -3%, Week 6
5 (7) Humanoid Monster, Bem (Toho) ¥79 million ($925,000), -6%, Week 4
6 (3) Today, I Started Loving You (Toho) ¥69 million ($800,000), -39%, Week 5
7 (6) Blue Exorcist: The Movie (Toho) ¥63 million ($750,000), -30%, Week 2
8 (8) Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard (Toei) ¥62 million ($725,000), -9%, Week 5
9 (10) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (Kadokawa) ¥56 million ($650,000), -18%, Week 2
10 (9) Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo (T-Joy) ¥49 million ($575,000), -27%, Week 8

I caution these estimates. Due to Holidays, estimates haven't been available for three weeks meaning that comparisons to this weekend are being used from the fourth weekend of December. But the increases/decreases are compared to last weekend. A little confusing, I know, but yay estimates are finally back!

This weekend proved to be as unpredictable as ever based on these estimates with scattered small increases and regular decreases.

Amazingly, Les Miserables dropped just 9% at the usual locations compared to it's opening weekend, meaning it's third is estimated to be higher than it's second. It is in a dead heat with One Piece Film Z for the weekend crown with One Piece's primary fan base having seen it by now. It's very possible we see a split this weekend, too, with One Piece winning in admissions and Les Mis winning in gross.

Speaking of One Piece Film Z, it was just reported earlier that the film achieved ¥5.287 billion ($62 million) on Saturday, making it Toei's highest grossing film since 2000. With Sunday still unaccounted for, it's probably at ¥5.4 billion ($64 million) after just four weeks. Thanks to it breaking out more than expected, this New Year season will be up from last year. It'll begin to drop rather quickly now that New Year is over (already evident in this weekends drop), though ¥6-6.5 billion ($70-75 million) is still happening.

The Hobbit, Skyfall, and Humanoid Monster all did very well over the weekend.

Fastest Films to ¥5 billion (Since 2004)

Howl's Moving Castle - 10 Days.
Alice in Wonderland - 15 Days.
Ponyo - 16 Days.
The Da Vinci Code - 16 Days.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - 16 Days.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - 16 Days.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - 16 Days.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - 16 Days.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - 17 Days.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - 17 Days.
Rookies - 17 Days.
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - 17 Days.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - 17 Days.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - 18 Days.
Spider-Man 3 - 20 Days.
One Piece Film Z - 21 Days.
Umizaru: The Last Message - 21 Days.
Hero - 21 Days.
Tales from Earthsea - 22 Days.
Toy Story 3 - 22 Days.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 22 Days.
The Borrower Arrietty - 23 Days.
Avatar - 23 Days.
Boys Over Flowers Final - 28 Days.
Bayside Shakedown: Set the Guys Loose! - 29 Days.
Umizaru: Limit of Love - 29 Days.
Umizaru: Brave Hearts - 30 Days.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe - 30 Days.
Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World - 31 Days.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parr 1 - 33 Days.
Spider-Man 2 - 33 Days.
Bayside Shakedown The Final - 36 Days.
War of the Worlds - 37 Days.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - 40 Days.
Suite Dreams - 44 Days.
Thermae Romae - 46 Days.
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - 46 Days.
Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo - 52 Days.
The Sinking of Japan - 52 Days.
The Incredibles - 52 Days.
Mission: Impossible III - 55 Days.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - 56 Days.
Death Note: The Last Name - 60 Days.
Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: The Rise of Darkrai - 65 Days.
Letters from Iwo Jima - 67 Days.
Michael Jackson's This Is It - 72 Days.
Up - 100+ Days.
Yamato - 100+ Days.
Departures - 100+ Days.

One Piece Film Z is the third fastest animated film and sixteenth overall (since 2004) to reach ¥5 billion.

Edited to include Avatar and This Is It. Somehow forgot about those ones.

01/05-06
Weekend Cinema Chain Rankings:

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

[WARNER MYCAL]
1 One Piece Film Z (Toei) Week 4 (→)
2 Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) Week 3 (→)
3 Humanoid Monster, Bem (Toho) Week 4 (↑)
4 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.) Week 4 (↑)
5 Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard (Toei) Week 5 (→)

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

[SUNSHINE]
1 One Piece Film Z (Toei) Week 4 (→)
2 Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) Week 3 (→)
3 007: Skyfall (Sony) Week 6 (→)
4 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.) Week 4 (↑)
5 Blue Exorcist: The Movie (Toho) Week 2 (↑)

Les Miserables beat One Piece Film Z at Toho locations (the largest cinema chain), but staying in second at all the other locations probably gives One Piece it's fourth consecutive week on top.

Humanoid Monster played strongly everywhere this weekend, recovering nicely from it's slow start.

The Hobbit resurfaces after disappearing from every chain except Toho locations last week. This is a clear indicator that it's skewing towards families and children (G rating in Japan).

01/05-06
Weekend Ranking



[Admissions]
1 (1) One Piece Film Z (Toei) Week 4 (→)
2 (2) Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) Week 3 (→)
3 (4) 007: Skyfall (Sony) Week 6 (↑)
4 (5) Humanoid Monster, Bem (Toho) Week 4 (↑)
5 (6) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.) Week 4 (↑)
6 (3) Today, I Started Loving You (Toho) Week 5 (↓)
7 (8) Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard (Toei) Week 5 (↑)
8 (12) Ooku: The Inner Chambers 2 (Shochiku/Asmik Ace) Week 3 (↑)
9 (7) Blue Exorcist: The Movie (Toho) Week 2 (↓)
10 (11) Frankenweenie (Disney) Week 4 (↑)

[Revenue] (Top 5)
1 (1) One Piece Film Z (Toei) Week 4 (→)
2 (2) Les Miserables (Toho-Towa) Week 3 (→)
3 (4) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros.) Week 4 (↑)
4 (5) 007: Skyfall (Sony) Week 6 (↑)
5 (6) Humanoid Monster, Bem (Toho) Week 4 (↑)

One Piece Film Z claims it's fourth-consecutive week on top surpassing an incredible 4.5 million admissions and ¥5.4 billion ($64 million). It has become the highest grossing December release for any local film, easily beating Yamato's ¥5.09 billion total from 2005, and has already outgrossed it's predecessor, Strong World, by 12% after just four weeks.

Les Miserables saw a strong 14% increase over last weekend earning ¥287,095,000 ($3.4 million) on 220,519 admissions (only down 3% compared to it's opening weekend) to bring it's total above ¥2 billion ($24 million) after three weeks. It's quickly closing in on Skyfall to become Hollywood's biggest film so far this year (2013). I think Japan will be it's strongest market overseas as it's on track for ¥3 billion+ ($40 million+).

007: Skyfall remained strong in it's sixth weekend dropping only 6% compared to last weekend.

Humanoid Monster, Bem held very well decreasing just 12% from last weekend benefiting from families coming out for New Year, as did The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which dipped a mere 3%.

Making there way back into the Top 10 was Ooku: The Inner Chambers 2 increasing an excellent 24%, and Frankenweenie having decreased a solid 16%.

Out of the Top 10 was Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo in it's eighth week (though it might still be in the Top 10 in revenue), and Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 having only spent a single week in the Top 10 setting a franchise worst.

Upcoming Theater Counts:

1/11
WIDE:
Taken 2 (20th Century Fox) [287]

1/12
WIDE:
Hunter X Hunter: The Phantom Rouge (Toho) [257]*
*First 1 million attendees will receive Manga Volume 0. This will greatly boost it's opening weekend and will be more than enough to dethrone One Piece Film Z this coming weekend.
Looper (Gaga) [200]
Kon-shin (Shochiku) [106]

LIMITED:
Seven Souls in the Skull Castle (Village/Presido) [76]
Mr. Suzuki (Kadokawa Shoten) [36]

____________________________________________

1/18
WIDE:
Ted (Toho-Towa) [131]

1/19
WIDE:
Tokyo Family (Shochiku) [315]
Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters vs. Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger: The Movie (Toei) [274]

Note: Wide release = 100+ theaters or playing in all 47 prefectures

When does Django come out?

Taken 2 hasn't yet come out in Japan

Corpse how much did Taken make in Japan?

March 1st. Most Oscar hopefuls open in Feb/March in Japan to take advantage of any buzz they get from being nominated/winning.



Taken grossed about ¥430 million ($5 million in Fall 09).

Taken 2 is opening a bit wider and has weaker competition than the original had in August 2009, so I don't see any reason why it won't increase a little.

When does Rise of the Guardians come out?

Japan should love Ted.

I don't think it's being released to be honest. Or if it is, I doubt it's before Fall/Winter 2013.

It has no release date and I haven't seen a single poster or anything listed anywhere. If it doesn't get released in Japan, this will mark Dreamsworks' third film that distributors didn't pick up for release. Megamind was the first, and Ice Age 4 the second.

Nearly every Dreamworks film has been losing money in Japan for awhile now.

2012 Box Office Charts
As of Sunday, 01/06:

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 :: ¥4.95 / $61.27 (4.37x) :: Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo :: Nov. :: 3.59 :: 51 :: 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 :: TE :: 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 :: TE :: 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

Once Evangelion 3.0 stops being tracked, I'll stop updating this chart. The final totals for ever film above, and those that may have crawled to 1 billion yen, will be released in 3 weeks or so with the Yearly Box Office results.

***************************************************************
***************************************************************



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)}

Wow, Evangelion 3.0 was really frontloaded.

2013 Box Office Charts
As of Sunday, 01/06:

Top Grossing Films (¥500 million+)
Rank :: Revenue ¥ (billion) / $ (million) :: Title :: Release :: Admissions (million) :: Days In Release :: Distributor
01 :: ¥5.45 / $64.18 (3.97x) :: One Piece Film Z :: Dec '12 :: 4.53 :: 23 :: Toei
02 :: ¥2.41 / $28.35 (5.29x) :: 007: Skyfall :: Dec '12 :: 1.92 :: 37 :: Sony
03 :: ¥2.11 / $24.83 (7.15x) :: Les Miserables :: Dec '12 :: 1.71 :: 17 :: Toho-Towa
04 :: ¥1.50 / $17.68 (6.68x) :: Today, I Started Loving You :: Dec '12 :: 1.27 :: 30 :: Toho
05 :: ¥1.32 / $15.67 (5.99x) :: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey :: Dec '12 :: 0.910 :: 24 :: Warner Bros.
06 :: ¥1.02 / $12.01 (3.64x) :: Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Fourze & Wizard :: Dec '12 :: 0.935 :: 30 :: Toei
07 :: ¥0.936 / $11.01 (4.54x) :: Humanoid Monster, Bem :: Dec '12 :: 0.830 :: 23 :: Toho
08 :: ¥0.628 / $7.38 (3.63x) :: Inazuma Eleven Go! Vs. Danball Senkei W :: Dec '12 :: 0.601 :: 37 :: Toho

One Piece Film Z continues to do incredible business, outpacing every local and foreign animated film after four weeks except for Hayao Miyazaki releases.
Skyfall becomes the highest grossing Bond all-time in Japan.
Les Mis will surpass Skyfall very soon and will definitely exceed a multiplier of 10.
Frankenweenie also exceeded ¥500 million this past week (and might be above Inazuma Eleven) but it's the only film without an actual and I'm not holding off just for it. I'll include it on next week's update.



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

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

Update (01/06)

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. One Piece Film Z :: ¥5.45 billion ($64.1 million) (4 Weeks in Release)
14. The Incredibles :: ¥5.26 billion ($51.1 million)
15. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: The Rise of Darkrai :: ¥5.02 billion ($47.2 million)
16. Up :: ¥5.0 billion ($60.5 million)
17. Evangelion 3.0: You Can (Not) Redo :: ¥4.95 billion ($61.3 million) (8 Weeks in Release)
18. Dinosaur :: ¥4.90 billion ($42.1 million)
19. Pokemon: Spell of the Unown :: ¥4.85 billion ($45.8 million)
20. One Piece Film Strong World :: ¥4.80 billion ($58.1 million)
21. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: Giratina and the Sky Warrior :: ¥4.80 billion ($53.3 million)
22. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: Arceus and the Jewel of Life :: ¥4.67 billion ($51.6 million)
23. Pokemon Advanced: Jirachi - Wishmaker :: ¥4.50 billion ($38.4 million)
24. From Kokuriko Hill :: ¥4.47 billion ($57.8 million)
25. Pokemon Advanced: Destiny Deoxys :: ¥4.38 billion ($39.1 million)
26. Pokemon Best Wishes: White - Victini and Zekrom / Black - Victini and Reshiram :: ¥4.33 billion ($56.1 million)
27. Pokemon Advanded: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew :: ¥4.30 billion ($38.9 million)
28. The Wolf Children Ame and Yuki :: ¥4.22 billion ($53.9 million)
29. Pokemon Diamond & Pearl: Zoroark - Master of Illusions :: ¥4.16 billion ($50.3 million)
30. Wall-E :: ¥4.0 billion ($44.2 million)
31. Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance :: ¥4.0 billion ($44.2 million)
32. Ratatouille :: ¥3.90 billion ($36.3 million)
33. Pokemon: Celebi - Voice of the Forest :: ¥3.90 billion ($32.5 million)
34. Doraemon: Nobita and the Island of Miracles :: ¥3.62 billion ($46.1 million)
35. Pokemon Best Wishes: Kyurem Vs. The Sacred Swordsman :: ¥3.61 billion ($46.1 million)
36. Doraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld :: ¥3.54 billion ($30.0 million)
37. Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser :: ¥3.50 billion ($35.6 million)
38. Toy Story 2 :: ¥3.45 billion ($29.9 million)
39. Pokemon Advanced: Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea :: ¥3.40 billion ($28.2 million)
40. Detective Conan: The Phantom of Barker Street :: ¥3.40 billion ($30.3 million)
41. Doraemon: Nobita and the Green Giant Legend :: ¥3.37 billion ($32.1 million)
42. Detective Conan: The Eleventh Striker :: ¥3.28 billion ($42.3 million)
43. Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur :: ¥3.28 billion ($27.6 million)
44. Detective Conan: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital :: ¥3.20 billion ($28.6 million)
45. Detective Conan: Lost Ship in the Sky :: ¥3.20 billion ($35.2 million)
46. Doraemon: Nobita's Great Merman Sea Adventure :: ¥3.16 billion ($33.6 million)
47. Detective Conan: 15 Minutes of Silence :: ¥3.13 billion ($39.85 million)
48. Doraemon: Nobita and the Legend of the Sun King :: ¥3.05 billion ($29.0 million)
49. Doraemon: Nobita's Wannyan Space-Time Odyssey :: ¥3.05 billion ($28.9 million)
50. Detective Conan: The Private Eyes' Requiem :: ¥3.03 billion ($26.8 million)
51. Cars 2 :: ¥3.01 billion ($39.0 million)
52. Doramon: Nobita and the Winged Braves :: ¥3.0 billion ($25.8 million)

2012 New Entries
2013 New Entries

Upcoming Animated Films looking to join the list: 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.