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Weathering With You, Akira 4K Remaster Rank at Japanese Box Office
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
With the release of many new films postponed, the top 10 rankings at the Japanese box office for this weekend include seven previously released films. Japanese theater chains began to shut down in March due to the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Box office performance fell 90% by the first week of April compared to the same period last year, and all theaters closed by mid-April after Japan declared a nationwide state of emergency.
100 theaters reopened in Japan three weeks ago. Tokyo recently entered the second phase of its multi-phase recovery road map last week, which includes the reopening of theaters (among other establishments). Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die and Luc Besson's Anna join Bloodshot and Shinrei Kissa Extra no Himitsu: The Real Exorcist as the only major new films playing. (The films opened on June 5, June 5, May 29, and May 15, respectively, though Bloodshot did not place on the top 10 this weekend) Shinrei Kissa Extra no Himitsu: The Real Exorcist ranked #1 for the past four weekends, while The Dead Don't Die and Anna opened at #2 and #5, respectively. The rest of the box office's top 10 are all older films.
The 4K remaster of Katsuhiro Ōtomo's Akira anime film ranked at #4. The film ranked at #9 when theaters began to reopen three weeks ago. The film opened in 36 Japanese IMAX theaters on April 3. The anime was originally scheduled to debut at Tokyo Anime Award Festival (TAAF) 2020 event on March 14, but organizers cancelled the event due to COVID-19. The 4K remaster will also receive a release in the United States.
Makoto Shinkai's Weathering With You film dropped from #2 to #7. The film opened in 359 theaters and 448 screens in Japan last July. It became the #7 highest-earning domestic film of all time in Japan and was the highest-grossing film in Japan in 2019.
The film centers on a runaway high school boy named Hodoka. He ends up working at an occult magazine in Tokyo to support himself. One day, Hodoka meets a girl who can control the weather, and they start a new business together.
The film debuted in North America on January 15 and ranked at #2 at the box office in North America in its first two days. The film had earned an estimated total of US$6,552,876 in North America as of January 26.
Sources: Kōgyō Tsūshin, Eiga.com