Japan Box Office: ‘Big Hero 6’ Stays on Top

Big Hero 6 held on to the number one box-office spot in Japan that it took last weekend, taking its total to $48.2 million (?5.7 billion) and continuing a good start to 2015 for Disney after the studio enjoyed a record year in 2014.  

Figures for Saturday and Sunday give Big Hero 6 a take of $4.7 million (?554 million), with the Monday numbers for what was a three-day holdiay weekend yet to be announced. The Don Hall and Chris Williams-directed production continues to benefit from its Japanese themes and its premiere at the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival on Oct. 23.

Read more Japan 2014 in Review: Big Year for Disney, Tough Year for Sony

Related Stories

Movies

Oscar Winner 'All Quiet on the Western Front' Leads German Film Awards Nominations With 12

Business

Global Streamers' Original Content Spend Increase to Slow in 2023 Amid "More Cautious Approach"

Released locally as Baymax, the animated film, set in the fictitious city of San Fransokyo – a hybrid of San Francisco and Tokyo – opened in the second spot on Dec. 20 behind local anime smash Yo-Kai Watch the Movie: The Secret is Created, Nyan! Staying in the same positions for the last weekend of 2014, the two films have now switched places for the first two weekends of 2015.

Yo-Kai Watch has now taken a total of $55 million (?6.5 billion) since its hit debut.

New releases took the third to fifth spots on the weekend chart, beginning with police drama ST Aka to Shirou no Sousa File (ST Red and White Investigation File), the big-screen spinoff of the NTV network series that ran from July to September last year. It took $2 million (?234 million) on Saturday and Sunday.

Another spinoff, this time from popular anime series Psycho-Pass: The Movie, bowed in fourth place after a $1.2 million (?137 million) opening on Friday. The theatrical version is directed by Katsuyuki Motohiro and Naoyoshi Shiotani, created by storied anime house Production I.G. It has been licensed for the U.S. by Funimation.

Read more Takao Saito, Cinematographer on 18 Kurosawa Films, Dies at 85

Liam Neeson‘s Taken 3, released locally as 96 Hours/Requiem, opened in the fifth spot with $1.01 million (?121 million), below the $1.3 million bow of Taken 2. The first two installments in the franchise finished with $3.6 million and $4.7 million in Japan.  

The last Hobbit film and David Fincher‘s Gone Girl fell to eighth and ninth, respectively, both in their fifth weekend in theaters.

Twitter: @GavinJBlair