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Live-Action Hen na Ie Stays at #1, 2024 Doraemon Film Back at #2

The live-action film adaptation of Uketsu's Hen na Ie (The Strange House) novel stayed at #1 for its fourth consecutive weekend. The film sold 289,000 tickets for 371,338,900 yen (about US$2.43 million) over the weekend. The film has sold a total of 2,778,000 tickets for a cumulative earning of 3,459,486,550 yen (about US$22.64 million).

The film opened on March 15. The film sold 344,000 tickets and earned 474 million yen (about US$3.13 million) in its first three days.

The film stars Shōtarō Mamiya (live-action Blue Giant, Tokyo Revengers) as Amamiya, Jirō Satō (live-action Gintama) as Kurihara, and Rina Kawaei (live-action Ajin) as Yūki.

Asukashinsha published the first novel in July 2021, and the second novel on December 15. The novel tells the mystery of a house with a room that had no doors, no windows, and is tucked away, making it look like it was just a wall. But the house holds some very dark secrets.

Kyō Ayano launched novel's manga adaptation on Ichijinsha's comic HOWL web manga service in January 2023. Seven Seas licensed the manga under the title The Strange House.

The 2024 Doraemon film Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Chikyū Symphony (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Earth Symphony) film rose back up from #3 to #2 in its sixth weekend at the Japanese box office. The film sold 182,000 tickets and earned 222,435,610 million yen (about US$1.45 million) from Friday to Sunday. The film has sold a total of 3,095,000 tickets to earn 3,683,223,110 yen (about US$24.09 million).

The film opened at #1 on March 1. The film sold 538,000 tickets from Friday to Sunday for 655,555,580 yen (about US$4.37 million) in its first weekend.

The new film has a music theme, as Doraemon and friends go on an adventure to meet new buddies, connect to people with music, and save the world from a crisis.

Kazuaki Imai (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Treasure Island, Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's New Dinosaur) directed the film. Teruko Utsumi, a writer for the Doraemon television anime, penned the script for the film. The television anime's current cast members reprised their roles for the film.

Gekijōban Haikyu!! Gomi Suteba no Kessen (Haikyu!! the Movie: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump), the first film in the two-part Haikyu!! Final sequel film project, dropped from #2 to #3 in its eighth weekend. The film sold 142,000 tickets for 213,157,870 yen (about US$1.39 million) over the weekend for a cumulative total of 6,483,000 tickets sold for 9,267,707,450 yen (about US$60.63 million).

The film premiered in Japan on February 16 and is also screening in IMAX. Susumu Mitsunaka (first, third Haikyu!! television anime) both directed and wrote the script for the film.

The film sold 1,529,000 tickets and earned 2,230,465,540 yen (about US$14.83 million) in its first three days of screening. The film now has the biggest opening weekend for a film so far this year in Japan, beating Mobile Suit Gundam Seed FREEDOM anime film's 1,065,983,130 yen opening weekend earnings.

Godzilla Minus One, Takashi Yamazaki's new film in TOHO's Godzilla franchise, stayed at #7 in its 23rd weekend in the box office. The film earned 75,786,810 yen (about US$496,000) from Friday to Sunday. The film has earned a total of 7,306,634,850 yen (about US$47.82 million).

The film opened in Japan on November 3, 2023 ("Godzilla Day"), which was the anniversary of the first Godzilla film's November 3, 1954 release. The new film screened at The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) as the closing film of last year's event on November 1.

The film sold 648,600 tickets for 1,041,193,460 yen (about US$6.93 million) in its first three days in the Japanese box office. The film sold 14.7% more tickets and earned 22.8% more in its first three days than the last live-action Japanese Godzilla film, Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi's Shin Godzilla, did in its first three days in 2016. The film has earned over 6.01 billion yen (about US$39.9 million) and sold 3.92 million tickets as of March 3, its 122nd day of screening in Japan. According to Kōgyō Tsūshinsha, the film is now the #1 live-action film released in Japan in 2023 (this includes all live-action films that opened in Japan in 2023, but still earned revenue in 2024).

Godzilla Minus One also won the Best Visual Effects award in the 96th Academy Awards on March 10. It is the first Japanese film to win in this category, and the first Godzilla film to be nominated for an Oscar.

The Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM anime film dropped from #8 to #9 in its 11th weekend. The film earned 62,210,690 yen (about US$407,100) from Friday to Sunday. It has sold 2,564,398 tickets for earned a cumulative total of 4,320,960,010 yen (about US$28.2 million).

The film is screening in 353 cinemas in Japan, and added 4DX, MX4D, and Dolby Cinema screenings starting on February 9.

The film opened at #1 in the Japanese box office, selling 634,182 tickets for 1,065,983,130 yen (about US$7.20 million) in its first three days, marking the Gundam franchise's highest three-day opening in box office earnings. Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM opened in Japan on January 26. The film is planned to screen in 56 countries and territories.

Mobile Suit Gundam Seed director Mitsuo Fukuda directed the film at Bandai Namco Filmworks. Fukuda also co-wrote the script along with his late wife Chiaki Morosawa and Liu Goto. Hisashi Hirai (Mobile Suit Gundam Seed) designed the characters.

The live-action film of Fujimomo's Lovesick Ellie (Koi Wazurai no Ellie) manga dropped from #9 to #10 in its fourth weekend. The film earned 36,709,800 yen (about US$240,200) in its fourth weekend, for a cumulative earning of 510,254,460 yen (about US$3.33 million).

The live-action film opened in Japan on March 15. The film earned 128,171,750 yen (about US$858,600) in its first three days.

Ryubi Miyase (live-action Ushijima the Loan Shark, Ya Boy Kongming!) stars as Akira Ohmi, while Nanoka Hara (Suzume's title heroine, live-action Wave, Listen to Me!, Don't Call It Mystery) stars as Eriko Ichimura. The two had previously co-starred in the live-action television series Night Doctor and Murai in Love.

Miki Kōichirō (live-action 2020 Yowamushi Pedal) directed the film, with scripts by Satoko Okazaki.

Sources: Gundam press release, Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), comScore via KOFIC