Weekend movie attendance rankings announced

According to the September 12-14 movie attendance rankings (surveyed by Kogyo Tsushinsha) released on September 16, the new Demon Slayer: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle Arc Chapter 1: Akaza Returns (directed by Haruo Tonozaki), based on the popular manga by Koyoharu Gotouge, topped the box office for the ninth consecutive week. It attracted approximately 523,000 viewers over the three-day weekend, grossing approximately ¥830 million. Cumulative results as of September 15 show attendance of 23.04 million and grossing over ¥33 billion, surpassing Spirited Away and placing it second in the all-time box office rankings behind Demon Slayer: Spirited Away Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train. Released overseas since August, it opened in North America this weekend, achieving the highest opening weekend of any Japanese animated film. Its worldwide gross, including Japan, has reached ¥68 billion.

Among the first-time entries was "Black Showman" (directed by Tanaka Ryo), a reunion of Higashino Keigo's original work and starring Fukuyama Masaharu from the "Galileo" series. It attracted approximately 396,000 viewers and grossed approximately ¥556 million in the first three days of its release, placing it second. Coming in fourth was the film version of the popular anime "PreCure" series, "You and Idol Pretty Cure The Movie: Sorry to Keep You Waiting! A Sparkling Live for You!" (directed by Ogawa Koji). Within four days of its release, it attracted 380,000 viewers and grossed over ¥400 million. Coming in sixth was "Beethoven Fabrication" (directed by Seki Kazuaki), a live-action film based on the biggest scandal in music history that took place in 19th-century Vienna, with a screenplay by Bakarhythm.

"Exit 8" (directed by Genki Kawamura), in its third week of release, drew approximately 368,000 viewers over the three-day weekend and grossed approximately 540 million yen, placing it third. Cumulative totals reached 2.26 million viewers and exceeded 3.1 billion yen. "National Treasure" (directed by Lee Sang-il), in its 15th week of release, came in fifth, drawing a cumulative total of 10.13 million viewers and grossing over 14.2 billion yen. It placed 19th on the all-time box office rankings.

1st place: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Infinity Castle Arc Chapter 1 - Akaza Returns 2nd place: Black Showman 3rd place: Exit 8 4th place : You and Idol Pretty Cure: Sorry to Keep You Waiting! A Sparkling Live Show Delivered to You! 5th place: National Treasure 6th place: Beethoven Fabrication 7th place: Tokyo Mer: The Movie - Running Emergency Room - South Sea Mission 8th place: Body Search: The Last Night 9th place: Jurassic World: Resurrection 10th place: How to Train Your Dragon