The R15+ version of The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe (known as Kitaro Tanjou: GeGeGe no Nazo in Japan), subtitled Shinsei-ban (“genuine edition”), opened in 331 theaters across Japan on October 4, and earned 156 million yen (1.05 million USD) on 97,700 admissions in its first three-day weekend, making its third place debut in the weekend box office ranking according to Kogyo Tsushinsha. The opening weekend performance was almost close to that of the original version, which made 160 million yen (1.09 million USD) on 111,500 admission in the weekend of November 17-19, 2023.To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the original GeGeGe no Kitaro manga author Shigeru Mizuki’s birth, the original version of The Birth of Kitaro released in Japan on November 17, 2023, under the rating of “PG12” (Viewing by children under 12 years of age requires the advice and guidance of a parent or guardian). The 104-minute movie earned 2.79 billion yen (18.83 million USD) on 1.95 million admissions from its initial domestic run.Under the rating of “R15+” (No one under 15 years of age allowed to see), Shinsei-ban is now screened with 327 shots retaken and sound re-dubbed to express “the horror story as originally envisioned by the production team.
Fureru, a new original film created by director Tatsuyuki Nagai, screenwriter Mari Okada and character designer Masayoshi Tanaka — who worked together on the “youth” trilogy that consists of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2011, 2013), The Anthem of the Heart (2015), and Her Blue Sky (2019) — released in 320 theaters in Japan on October 4. The 107-minute movie earned 103 million yen (695,570 USD) on 69,000 admissions, ranking fifth in its opening weekend. The team’s previous film, Her Blue Sky made 166 million yen (1.13 million USD) on 126,000 admissions in its first four-day weekend of October 11-14, 2019.The movie ranked ninth in Filmarks’ first-day satisfaction ranking with an average rating of 3.41/5.0 based on 1,230 reviews.
In the last weekend of its three-week limited theatrical run ahead of the TV broadcast, The Quintessential Quintuplets ＊, a new TV special episode from the The Quintessential Quintuplets anime franchise, moved up two places from last weekend to seventh place.
In its fourth weekend, Wonderful Precure! The Movie! Dokidoki ♡Game no Sekai de Daibouken! (translated to “Heart-Pounding — A great adventure in the world of games!”), the 33rd film in the Precure franchise, dropped five places from last week, coming in at No.8. As reported, the film’s cumulative total box office gross had already surpassed a milestone of one billion yen (6.76 million USD) on 800,000 admissions by October 5, in three weeks since debuting in Japanese theaters on September 13. It has now become the top-grossing non-crossover Precure film, surpassing DokiDoki! Precure the Movie: Mana’s Getting Married!!? The Dress of Hope Tied to the Future!.
OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom, an-all new film from the OVERLORD anime franchise, ranked nineth in its third weekend, seven positions down from last weekend’s second.Meanwhile, Given The Movie: Umi e, the final installment of the given anime series, held the No.1 spot for three consecutive weeks in Kogyo Tsushinsha’s mini theater ranking. The 80-minute film opened in 30 theaters in Japan on September 20.
The official X (formerly Twitter) for the KING OF PRISM franchise has confirmed that KING OF PRISM -Dramatic PRISM.1-, the compilation film based on the KING OF PRISM -Shiny Seven Stars- TV series that aired in 2019, now has accumulative of 300 million yen (2.08 million USD), since debuting in theaters on August 16, and that the overall KING OF PRISM anime film series has sold 1.44 million tickets in total to date. As reported, the movie will be screened in large formats such as 4DX, ULTRA 4DX, and ScreenX from October 25.
Weekend box office Top 10 in Japan (October 4-6, 2024)
(ticket sales basis with notes in parentheses marking previous week’s placement)
Rank
Title
Weekends since Release
1 (new)
Civil War
1
2 (1)
Last Mile
7
3 (new)
The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe:
Shinsei-ban
1
4 (new)
JUNG KOOK: I AM STILL
1
5 (new)
Fureru
1
6 (5)
All about Suomi
4
7 (9)
The Quintessential Quintuplets*
3
8 (3)
Wonderful Precure! The Movie!
4
9 (2)
OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom
3
10 (4)
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
2
Sources: Eiga.com, Kogyo Tsushinsha, Kogyo Tsushinsha mini theater ranking, Filmarks, “KING OF PRISM” official X (formerly Twitter)©”The Birth of Kitaro: The Mystery of GeGeGe” Production Committee
