'Ted' Tops 'Jack Reacher' in Japan, While 'Les Miz' Hits $45 Million

TOKYO – Ted led the Japanese box office for the third consecutive weekend, bringing in a total of $18.4 million (1.7 billion yen) and keeping Jack Reacher off the number-one spot for the Tom Cruise-starrer’s debut.

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Japan’s contribution to Ted’s international takings had already brought it over the $300 million mark last Friday.

Jack Reacher, released locally by Paramount as Outlaw, took $3.6 million Friday to Sunday.

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Strawberry Night, a spin-off from a Fuji TV series about a female detective (Yuko Takeuchi), both directed by Yuichi Sato, was the only local movie in the weekend top five, an unusually good performance by foreign films. Last year saw imports take only 34.3 percent of the box office, the lowest level for over 45 years.

Life of Pi dropped one spot to fourth place in its second week of release, while Les Miserables was in fifth after seven weeks in the chart. Les Miz, released by Toho-Towa, has now taken more than $45 million (4.1 billion yen), a record for an imported musical in Japan.
 

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