Fox’s “The Greatest Showman” held onto the top spot at the Japanese box office for a second weekend. The Michael Gracey musical earned $3.4 million on 244,000 admissions for the Feb. 24-25 frame. This was only a slight dip from its opening weekend, despite competition for audience attention from the Winter Olympics and the Tokyo Marathon.
The top opener was Chen Kaige’s period fantasy “Legend of the Demon Cat.” Distributed by Toho and Kadokawa on 307 screens, the film made $2.6 million and looks likely to finish better than $10 million mark. Given the famous Japanese names in the cast, led by co-star Shota Sometani, and the Japanese source material – Yoneyama Mineo’s best-selling four-volume novel – the result is unimpressive.
“Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms,” a fantasy animation by Mari Okada opened in fifth, with $445,000. Distributor, Showgate plans to expand the screen count from 76 to 93. 93 screens.
