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Honey So Sweet Live-Action Film Debuts at #9 at Japanese Box Office
posted on by Jennifer Sherman
The live-action film of Amu Meguro's Honey So Sweet manga debuted at #9 at the box office in Japan. The film opened in 145 theaters last Saturday.
Yūna Taira (seen right) played Nao Kogure in the film, while Shō Hirano of the Johnny's Jr. idol group Mr. KING played Taiga Onise. Ryūsei Yokohama played Ayumu Misaki. Kōji Shintoku and Junpei Yamaoka, the director and writer for the live-action Peach Girl film, worked together again on Honey So Sweet. Sonar Pocket performed the theme song "108~Towa~" (108~Eternity~).
Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Takarajima (Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Treasure Island), the Doraemon franchise's 38th film, sold 289,00 tickets and earned 311,681,300 yen (about US$2.94 million) to remain at #3 in its fifth weekend. The film has now sold a cumulative total of 3.71 million tickets for 4,238,236,000 yen (about US$39.6 million).
The film sold 717,000 tickets for 843,148,500 yen (about US$8 million) at #1 in its opening weekend. The film earned 22% more than the first weekend of Eiga Doraemon: Nobita no Nankyoku Kachi Kochi Daibōken, the previous year's film, which is the highest-earning film in the franchise with around a US$42 million gross, and was the second highest-grossing domestic film in Japan last year.
The latest Doraemon film is inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island novel. In the film's story, Doraemon, Nobita, Shizuka, Gian, and Suneo set out on an adventure in the Caribbean Sea. Nobita is the captain of a ship and fights his enemies on board. Shizuka gets kidnapped, and a storm impedes their journey. Mini-Dora robots help Nobita and friends on their journey. When the adventurers finally find the mysterious Treasure Island, they discover it is more than just an ordinary island.
Chihayafuru: Musubi (Chihayafuru: Conclusion), the third live-action film of Yuki Suetsugu's Chihayafuru manga, sold 124,000 tickets and earned 137,043,300 yen (about US$1.29 million) to stay at #4 in its third weekend. The film has now sold a cumulative total of 1.02 million tickets for a cumulative total of 1,193,917,000 yen (about US$10 million).
The film sold 210,000 tickets for 257 million yen (about US$2.42 million) to rank #3 at the Japanese box office in its opening weekend. It earned 18.8% more in its first weekend than the previous Chihayafuru: Shimo no Ku film, which eventually earned 1.22 billion yen (about US$11.4 million). The new film opened on March 17 in 306 theaters.
The film takes place two years after the first two films, and depicts Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata in their third year of high school.
The Precure Super Stars! anime film dropped from #6 to #8 in its third weekend. The film earned 64,691,600 yen (about US$610,600) from Friday to Sunday, and has now earned a cumulative total of 646,218,000 yen (about US$6.10 million).
The film sold 202,750 tickets for 226,236,600 yen (about US$2.13 million) to rank #4 at the box office on its opening weekend. It earned 43.5% more in its opening weekend than last year's Eiga Precure Dream Stars! film, which eventually earned 700 million yen (about US$6.6 million). The latest film also has the highest-earning opening weekend for Precure films in eight years, since the 2010 Precure All Stars DX2: Kibō no Hikari—Rainbow Jewel o Mamore! film. The new film opened in Japan on March 17 in 213 theaters.
The film centers on the characters of the new Hugtto! Precure television anime series, and also features characters from Kirakira ☆ Precure a la Mode as well as Maho Girls Precure!. The film is part of the 15th anniversary celebrations of the Precure franchise.
The Kalafina 10th Anniversary Film ~Yume ga Tsunagu Kagayaki no Harmony~ documentary film ranked #1 in the Japanese mini-theater rankings. The film celebrates the singing group Kalafina's 10th anniversary, and is screening in select theaters in Japan from March 30 to April 12. Shigeru Katō directed the documentary.
Sources: Eiga.com, Kōgyō Tsūshin (link 2), comScore via KOFIC
