Disney no longer has any hold in Japan, except works like Aladdin & Frozen which were widely accepted by people. I think they should focus on bring animation works to theatres rather than streaming. I believe Luca &Soul could easily have performed ¥5B+ business here. But, Disney shifting to streaming service is their first mistakes. Well, recent foreign works other than F9, NTTD &GvK has not touch ¥1B, barely passing ¥500M in fact, I no longer enjoy MCU, Phase IV is completely unknown here. People do not know the original cast well. No promotion and no marketing. Shinjuku took 3 days for complete booking in special screening scheduled tomorrow (18:30 local time) Umeda is at 50%. I don't know what will be the future of Disney (non animated works)

My hero academia sits at 36.45M total
https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/ ... an-weekend

Numero reports that World Heroes’ Mission came in fifth place over the weekend behind the 20th Century Studios animated feature Ron's Gone Wrong. It made AU$226,748 (US$169,268) over the weekend. It did not rank in the top 10 in New Zealand.

World Heroes’ Mission also did not rank in the top ten in the United Kingdom and Ireland, though Screen Daily reports that the film made £215,000 (US$293,000) over 260 theaters.


Should end up at the 40M range. big increase over the previous two films!

Disney is in a bind in the market. They went from the second biggest distributor (in terms of revenue) in the market (behind Toho), to around 7th or 8th in an alarming, pretty immediate timeframe. They're at small, independent studio/distributor levels now and might be losing money. They STILL don't have a single successful film since 2019.

Theatrical windows, be it 30-day or 45-day, isn't going to work either.

1.) That forces a day-and-date release in Japan, which is typically a hinderance unless the film is from a very well known franchise. (And even then, those have put up questionable numbers in recent years.) This gives no time to market their films, and many are just seen as unknowns. Japanese audiences usually ignore films they don't have prior knowledge of in some way. This has been happening with many (or most) Hollywood releases this past year.

2.) Japan is a very leggy market, and most films still have plenty left in the tank after 30 or even 45 days. Japanese audiences don't normally rush out to see many films, opting to have the choice to see them weeks or months later when they can fit them into their busy work/school schedules. So they're forcing a premature stall/loss in earnings in the market, and can pretty much forget about casual moviegoers (who often make or break a film) which are the least likely to come out to see films early.

3.) They're still likely to face boycotts from theaters in the market (see Encanto's unknown theatrical status). It won't be as extreme as the boycotts on the same-day streaming releases, but theaters that decide to play them will drop them once they reach that 30/45-day window. Theaters that decided to play the same-day streaming releases are still dropping them after 5 weeks.

If Disney wants Japan to become one of their strongest markets again, they'll have to make an exception for it by abandoning the streaming model here. But I doubt they will given how popular Disney+ is. Losing 80-90% of their yearly box-office earnings in Japan (both in 2020 and 2021 now), while a lot, is probably a drop in the bucket, so to speak, on a global scale.

It's a shame because it definitely makes the Japanese box office slightly less dynamic.

It also puts a significant cap on their worldwide grosses, too. Take Lightyear for example. The Toy Story films are very popular in Japan, both 3 and 4 breaking ¥10 billion ($94 million and $130 million). I wouldn't expect Lightyear to put up those numbers, but it'd still probably be good for $50-75 million, or perhaps more (TS4 did sell more tickets than TS3).

If Lightyear opens day-and-date on June 17th, it's going to fail though. It's a full month away from any holidays (summer vacation isn't until the third week of July in Japan), and this is why most Disney films that open in June in the US are instead released in July/August in Japan. This is especially true for their Pixar/animated June releases since they skew younger.

And if it has a theatrical window of 30 or 45-days before it goes on Disney+, it's going to be DOA, I feel. Even if it didn't receive any boycotts, its full theatrical run will basically be in the off-season which is really bad for family and younger-skewing films. Family/young-skewing films are very reliant on holidays in Japan, and rarely, almost never, open outside of July, August, December, March, April and sometimes late-November.

Not sure it's missing something; at first I thought of Ao no Exorcist and Nanatsu no Taizai, but I think those were distributed by Toho and Toei respectively, with aniplex only being part of the committee.

Also, it's honestly pretty funny to me how Aniplex both barely has any movies breaking 2b (I think excluding DS only HF3 and SAO crossed that mark), and also holds the biggest movie of all time in the market by a huge margin.

When I double-checked a few films earlier, I had Aniplex listed as the distributoe for the Blue Exorcist film. But it opened below ¥100 million either way.

And yes, Aniplex releases generally don't earn too much. Little/no general audience appeal, pretty much limited exclusively to the fanbase of each franchise. To reach up to ¥1.5 billion/¥2 billion, they require a substantial number of repeat viewings. But that's fine. Their films aren't expected to be huge hits or anything. For the most part, their films do good/great numbers for what they are.

Demon Slayer being the obvious outlier here, probably earning something like 3x their entire filmography. Demon Slayer itself was an outlier film for the entire box-office industry, really. Makes one wonder what the result would have been if they didn't partner with Toho for its release.

I'll have Aniplex's full Box-Office History posted in the next day or two now that nothing seems to be missing from the Opening Weekend list above. And if any are found to be missing, and would make the list, I'll add them later on. Also, I'll edit Magi MadokA Magica to Puella Magi MadokA Magica, Emiya!

The 30/45-day theatrical window seems to be the norm for all of the U.S. studios moving forward except Sony, who don't have a streaming platform of their own. As an example, F9 hit PVOD a month after its theatrical release in the U.S. but seemed to have a normal run in Japan. Is the issue for Disney films here that it goes straight to Disney+ right after whereas WB, Universal, etc don't have their own streaming services launched in Japan yet?

Is there anything stopping Disney from delaying the availability of their films on Disney+ in Japan to accommodate a different release date schedule? Some streaming platforms like Netflix already have different release dates for certain shows/films depending on the market.

The only Hollywood films to have suceeded in 2021 have been F9, Godzilla vs. Kong, No Time to Die, and Monster Hunter. That's it. Only 4 films. And they all share common reasons for their success.

F9, No Time to Die, and Monster Hunter were released by Toho-Towa in Japan. And Godzilla vs. Kong was released by Toho. None of them were available on streaming, and besides NTTD, all were also delayed releases which is normal in the market. They were effectively released and marketed as traditional theatrical films.

Warner Bros. has a reliable local film production, so they're fine in the market due to their domestic releases. But all their imported films bombed/disappointed. HBO Max doesn't exist in Japan (yet), but all their imported films were released day-and-date anyway presumably because of HBO Max. That's caused many (all) of them to bomb or disappoint.

Disney hasn't had one successful film since 2019 for many reasons, but they're all linked to Disney+. They either didn't release their films theatrically (Mulan, Soul, Luca) or released them same-day as Disney+ which caused them to be boycotted (Reya, Black Widow, Jungle Cruise, Cruella). Shang-Chi was their only film to receive a proper wide release, and while it disappointed, it became their top grossing film since 2019.

So, clearly releasing films day-and-date, and especially on streaming at the same time, has proved devastating to Hollywood in Japan. And the upcoming theatrical window strategy isn't going to work either. Japan is a leggy market. And as evident from the past 1.5 years, day-and-date releases don't work. They'll probably still get boycotted (as Encanto is potentially facing as the only November release with no theater listings yet.)

They could delay their releases theatrically like in the past, but I don't know how that'd work with Disney+. Would they be willing to delay films by several months on Disney+ in Japan? Take Lightyear as an example again. Ideally, it'd open in mid-July in Japan (like nearly all summer Pixar releases) and be theatrically exclusive until October. Will Disney do that for it, or similarly with their other releases? We'll have to wait and see, but it seems unlikely since they've left a lot of money on the table, surely knowingly, already. Japan is a major market for Disney, often times their biggest international market. It'd be a shame if they don't make release schedule/Disney+ adjustments in Japan.

Hollywood films with delayed release in Japan have often released after having hit the home market in other markets already, so I think it is feasible to do the same now with Disney+. Since piracy is non-existent in Japan, Disney should have their films run for a longer theatrical window solely for Japan while the rest of the markets with Disney+ get earlier access. Although this does seem unfair to Japanese subscribers specifically.

I don't see any unfairness her if D+ release is delayed because we (me personally) enjoy IMAX &4DX more than streaming at my home theatre. Further, Disney+ is not a big VOD streamer here, it just come after Amazon Prime & Netflix. Longer release period &delayed D+ can couple up all the short coming here.

Subscribers in VOD Japan
Amazon Prime Video = 15M+
Netflix = 6.4M
Hulu Japan = 3.2M
Disney+ = 1.9M

https://twitter.com/SonyPicsEiga/status ... 8949691392


Spider-Man: No Way Home 1/07 FRI. Release Date.

Figured it was being bumped to 2022 since it still didn't have a release date going into November.

Janurary 7th is a little weird though. The weekend after the New Year holiday period isn't always bad (sometimes it's strong as it sees a "rush" of people going to the theaters before school/work begin again), but it's sort of the start to a "cooldown" period. Besides a few individual holidays, it's 2.5 months away from the next holiday period (Spring Break in late March).

But, as an established franchise with a fanbase, it should still do fine. (Would have preferred March/April.)

Are the MCU Spider-Man films on Disney+, and is No Way Home expected/already announced for it?

First Jujutsu Kaisen 0 PV! Went up a little over an hour ago, and it already has over 125,000 likes (almost 100,000 retweets) and has been watched almost 1 million times.

Not announced but NWH is expected to arrive at D+ after Netflix release period ends. So far, as concern neither Marvel nor Disney announced simultaneous release on day-date release in D+ & Spiderman is distributed by Sony. Sony doesn't have any streaming platform as their own. Therefore it will goes to Netflix first before arriving at Disney+

Here's the "complete" Aniplex Box-Office History charts now. Again, if something is missing, I'll add it in a later date, but it seems agreed upon that nothing is missing.

Aniplex Box-Office History

OPENING WEEKENDS:
¥3.354 billion ($31.9 million) / 2,509,986 [1,400+] - Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020)
¥490.5 million ($4.5 million) / 276,795 [131] - Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel II - Lost Butterfly (2019)
¥474.9 million ($4.5 million) / 274,017 [156] - Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel III - Spring Song (2020)
¥425.7 million ($3.8 million) / 308,376 [151] - Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale (2017)
¥413.0 million ($3.7 million) / 247,507 [128] - Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I - Presage Flower (2017)
¥400.0 million ($4.2 million) / 271,279 [129] - Puella Magi MadokA Magica III - The Rebellion Story (2013)
¥349.6 million ($3.1 million) / 225,333 [233] - Sword Art Online Progressive: Aria of a Starless Night (2021)
¥257.1 million ($2.3 million) / 179,780 [251] - City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes (2019)
¥198.2 million ($2.1 million) / 161,225 [x64] - Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2013)
¥173.9 million ($1.5 million) / 118,411 [135] - Natsume's Book of Friends (2018)
¥171.6 million ($2.2 million) / 117,413 [x43] - Puella Magi MadokA Magica II - Eternal (2012)
¥171.5 million ($1.6 million) / 103,649 [178] - Fate/Grand Order - Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot Part 1 (2020)
¥149.9 million ($1.4 million) / x81,262 [x39] - The Idolmaster Movie: Beyond the Brilliant Future! (2014)
¥140.6 million ($1.2 million) / x99,082 [142] - The Anthem of the Heart (2015)
¥138.5 million ($1.8 million) / x91,193 [x43] - Puella Magi MadokA Magica I - Beginnings (2012)
¥136.3 million ($1.3 million) / x89,758 [121] - Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (2019)
¥106.9 million ($1.0 million) / x87,206 [169] - Let Me Eat Your Pancreas (2018)
¥102.8 million ($0.9 million) / x71,000 [100] - Fate/Grand Order - Final Singularity Grand Temple of Time: Solomon (2021)
¥101.0 million ($0.9 million) / x66,630 [x31] - Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl (2019)

Note: Openings excludes sub-¥100 million opening weekends.

TOTALS:
¥40.33 billion ($385.3 million) / 29.04 million - Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020)
¥2.52 billion ($22.4 million) / 1.77 million - Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale (2017)
¥2.08 billion ($21.5 million) / 1.50 million - Puella Magi MadokA Magica III: The Rebellion Story (2013)
¥1.95 billion ($18.4 million) / 1.20 million - Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel III - Spring Song (2020)
¥1.66 billion ($15.0 million) / 1.07 million - Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel II - Lost Butterfly (2019)
¥1.53 billion ($13.8 million) / 1.05 million - City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes (2019)
¥1.50 billion ($13.0 million) / 1.00 million - Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel I - Presage Flower (2017)
¥1.12 billion ($9.2 million) / 0.82 million - The Anthem of the Heart (2015)
¥1.04 billion ($10.6 million) / 0.80 million - Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2013)
~¥800 million ($7.0 million) / 0.55 million - Natsume's Book of Friends (2018)
~¥720 million ($6.8 million) / 0.49 million - Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend (2019)
~¥660 million ($6.2 million) / 0.36 million - The Idolmaster Movie: Beyond the Brilliant Future! (2014)
~¥550 million ($6.9 million) / 0.37 million - Puella Magi MadokA Magica II: Eternal (2012)
~¥500 million ($4.7 million) / 0.34 million - Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl (2019)
~¥500 million ($6.3 million) / 0.33 million - Puella Magi MadokA Magica I: Beginnings (2012)

Note: Any total below ¥1 billion is estimated; sub-¥500 million Totals excluded.

Friday for the The Eternals was about 17% higher than Shang-Chi. Don't want to give Angelina Jolie all the credit there, but she's a notable draw in Japan, so having her certainly didn't hurt.

Encouraging start, probably suggesting an opening weekend around ¥250 million ($2.2 million or so). If it can come in there, or higher of course, it *should* reach the ¥1 billion (~$9/10 million) milestone to break Disney's two-year streak of having no successful films in Japan. It'll be a small win, but certainly a long needed one. The biggest international distributor not having a single film appear on Eiren's Yearly Data for a second straight year would be pretty devastating.

This is assuming The Eternals isn't going to Disney+ in the next month because theaters will drop it after 5 weeks if it does. November only has one single holiday (the 23rd), so it will need a full 4/5 weeks to get to ¥1 billion off a ~¥250 million debut.

Eternals isn't going D+ before 45 days so that should be enough time. That's a great start for Eternals, hopefully it crosses the billion mark but the WoM might be a hindrance though fantasy elements are generally a big sell in Asian markets.

Eternals removed from my local theatre because neighbours have concern that Jolie might attempt to brainwashed their children. Lol I have not watched any MCU either than Iron Man Trilogy &Endgame. I am planning to watch JJK Movie 0 more than 40x over various formats. So, saving money from watching Western Release.

Getting mixed messages here.

Eternals sat looks pretty good, SAO's drop is awful though. Hardly see it cross 2b now. Thinking a finish closer to 1.5B is more likely even if it gets giveaway push at this point.

Eternals is up about 16/17% or so again versus Shang-Chi for Saturday. Assuming it behaves similarly again tomorrow, it should hit/break ¥250 million (~$2.2 million) this weekend. And since it'll have at least 6 weeks in theaters (if it holds well enough until that point, I guess), that should be enough to get it a little above ¥1 billion ($9/10 million).

Not going to guarantee it though, it's just likely, because Shang-Chi's opening weekend (¥217 million) should have been enough to get to the mark, yet it fell just short due to poor weekdays, bad weekend holds, and was dropped from theaters quickly after its fifth weekend. Shang-Chi also had more holidays (Silver Week) back in September versus the single, lone holiday November gives Eternals (which isn't until the 23rd).

English sub version of the PV:



Also just realized that the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons that takes place in the story is the same day that the film opens (December 24th). Talk about a perfect release date! Might skew some of the weekend business to Friday, since some fans will probably want to catch it on the anniversary date. But in turn, assuming an abnormally strong Friday due to this, sell outs will probably boost the weekend frame a bit too. So...win-win!

The December 24th release date also makes its first 17 days (or three weeks) occur over holidays/holiday periods, including weekends. Dec. 24-31 (Christmas Week), Jan. 01-09 (New Year, Bank Holidays). Make that first 18 days, actually, since Jan. 10th is a holiday as well (Coming of Age Day).

I haven't seen anything myself about it being removed anywhere in Japan. Are you living in Japan, Kanroji? I know it's been cancelled in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, but haven't heard any issues elsewhere.

Japan plays pretty much anything. (Overly violent/gory films, or films that feature a lot of drug or gang-related violence and bullying are the only ones that sometimes get slapped with the R18+ rating and miss most theaters.) Gay romance/characters has becoming increasingly common (and handled respectfully) in the market. What Did You Eat Yesterday?, which also opened this weekend, features a lead gay couple. So two of the Top 3 films this weekend features gay characters.

Double Post somehow.