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, which opened in 64 theaters across Japan on Aug. 31, pulled off an astounding opening.)
The much-hyped film Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day the Movie (Anohana the Movie), which opened in 64 theaters across Japan on Aug. 31, pulled off an astounding opening. It reached third in the overall weekend box office rankings over the two-day period of Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. At the top with sales of 8.8 billion yen (88 million USD) was The Wind Rises, which has claimed the number one spot for seven weeks in a row, and behind it was Man of Steel, which had a wide release across the country on Friday, with its weekend numbers spanning three days from Friday to Sunday. Each film is aiming to be a big hit.
Though Anohana the Movie had a small-scale release in only 64 theaters, much like the TV series, it garnered the support of its dedicated fanbase who filled the seats. More than 161,000 moviegoers saw the film on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, and ticket sales totaled 198,177,700 yen (roughly 1,981,777 USD), nearly reaching 200 million. These results are visible in the strong performance numbers at the theaters. In addition to the multiple sold-out showings at the flagship Shinjuku Wald 9, theaters everywhere had full seats. The average sales among the theaters totaled 3,096,527 yen (roughly 30,965 USD), an extraordinary amount that surpassed all other films. Distributors anticipate more attendance through word of mouth and repeat viewings. It is strongly anticipated that the final box office totals will be within the range of the 10 billion yen (roughly 100 million USD) standard for hit films.
Its success is credited to the support it has gained from a wide demographic that includes people in their 20s to seniors. It has a certain popularity among women as well, with 30% of the audiences in Shinjuku being female and 70% male. Audiences were primarily people in their 20s or 30s, but there were many people in their 40s, and the film stood out for the noticeable amount of groups who attended. In each location, there were many men and women among the senior demographic who saw the film alone. It’s building a reputation as an anime tear-jerker for adults. People will be keeping an expectant eye on it to see how far its success will run.
Source: animeanime