The much-anticipated anime film adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Look Back manga earned 227 million yen (US$1.4 million) on the back of 135,000 tickets sold in its first opening weekend, according to Mantan Web and Kogyo Tsushin. The film took the number two spot in the Top 10 Japan box office rankings, with the latest Anpanman film that opened on the same weekend and taking number one with 172 million yen (US$1.06 million) box office on 137,000 tickets sold. The money difference is due to ticket prices for Anpanman being lower for its target audience, settling at around an average of 1,000 yen for three to six-year-olds. Look Back also has a flat rate of 1,700 yen for all theaters (tickets in Tokyo are usually around 2,000 yen for non-premium screenings), making it uncommon for two lower-ticketed films to top the box office charts.Despite the rankings, Look Back only opened in 119 theaters compared to over 300 for Anpanman. A few weeks ago, BOCCHI THE ROCK! Re: made headlines for opening to number one despite only opening in 132 theaters across Japan with 218 million yen (US$1.39 million). Look Back not only opened in even fewer theaters but additionally made more money, showing that the Fujimoto adaptation could reach unprecedented heights for a theatrically limited release.
Kiyotaka Oshiyama (FLIP FLAPPERS) directs Look Back at Studio Durian. Oshiyama also wrote the script and provided the character designs. Kiyoshi Sameshima is the art director with haruka nakamura providing the music and Avex Pictures distributing the film, set to be released in Japan on June 28, 2024.Tatsuki Fujimoto released the Look Back one-shot in July 2021 on Shonen Jump+. An English language version of the manga is released by VIZ Media, which describes Look Back as such:
The overly confident Fujino and the shut-in Kyomoto couldn’t be more different, but a love of drawing manga brings these two small-town girls together. A poignant story of growing up and moving forward that only Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of Chainsaw Man, could have crafted.
Sources: Kogyo Tsushin, Mantan Web
