Toho Announces Revised Box Office Total for Record Holder ‘Spirited Away’

Soul” continues to charm China with sales of $13.8 million over its second weekend, more than double its $5.5 million Christmas debut, thanks to strong word of mouth. It was the highest-grossing foreign import of the New Year weekend, far outstripping “Wonder Woman 1984” and even Hayao Miyazaki’s older but beloved animation “Ponyo.”The weekend was huge.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe New Year weekend rankings give a bizarre indication of the havoc currently being wreaked on the Korean box office by the coronavirus, audience caution and stay at home orders. For a start, a Hollywood title scored a rare victory.“Wonder Woman 1984,” the most recently released film of international significance, took the top spot for the second weekend.

It's official: North American box office revenue plummeted 80 percent in 2020 amid the novel coronavirus pandemic and unprecedented theater closures, while global revenue tumbled more than 70 percent. As predicted, domestic movie tickets sold between Jan.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and Media“Wonder Woman 1984” used its lasso of truth to rope in a modest $5.5 million over the New Year’s holiday. The sequel also ensnared another $10.1 million from overseas markets, bringing its global total to a ho-hum $118.5 million.Wonder Woman may be an iconic comic book character, but the film’s lackluster results aren’t that surprising given how severely coronavirus has upended the movie business.

As 2021 dawned, China shot straight out of the box office gate with a new record. On Friday, the market hit a milestone for New Year’s Day.

ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — and at a time when many movie theaters weren’t open — North American box offices are anticipated to hit a shocking new low.Following five years of annual ticket sales in excess of $11 billion, they’re expected to reach just $2.3 billion this year, the Associated Press reported. That’s not only down 80 percent from 2019, according to data firm Comscore, but also an almost 40-year low, the AP notes.

It was supposed to be a year when the playing field became even.

Sony’s Will Smith sequel “ Bad Boys for Life ” has stayed in first place in North America since its January release with $206.3 million. Globally it’s in second place to the Chinese film “The Eight Hundred” — the first time that the top worldwide film originated outside of Hollywood.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentSavaged by COVID-19, global box office plunged between 57% and 76% in major markets outside the U.S., with the U.K. and Ireland leading the rout, crashing 76% against 2019, according to a Comscore study, published Wednesday.Also hit hard were China (-70%), South Korea (-71%), and Italy and Spain (both down 72%).

Jamie Lang In today’s Global Bulletin, Netflix picks up the rights to Spanish feature “Sky High” for a series adaptation, French crime series “Balthazar” posts record audience numbers for TF1, Mexican filmmaker Juan Ernesto Regalado Morales receives this year’s Guillermo del Toro-backed Jenkins-Del Toro Scholarship, and French journalist Augustin Trapenard announces he’s leaving Canal Plus.Netflix has acquired global rights to the feature film “Sky High,” the leading Spanish film at the

Nintendo has revealed the first Super Smash Bros Ultimate event of 2021 will kick off on January 1.The game frequently runs weekly events to give players themed bonuses, and this news confirms Nintendo will continue them next year. The first event is a star based tournament, to be called “The Star Tournament That Sparkles The Galaxy” in Japan.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentBox office in Spain crashed 72% in 2020 to a total €169.7 million ($207 million), with COVID-19 wiping over half a billion dollars from box office sales this year, Comscore announced Tuesday.By way of comparison, 2019 total box office in Spain stood at €605 million ($738 million).

Hayao Miyazaki's nearly two-decade reign atop Japan's all-time box office rankings has come to an end. Runaway anime blockbuster Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train became Japan's biggest box-office hit of all time over the weekend, pushing Miyazaki's beloved classic Spirited Away (2001) into second place.

Mark Schilling Japan Correspondent“Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train,” the animated film that has become the Japanese entertainment world tsunami of 2020, pushed its cumulative earnings to $313.7 million (JPY32.5 billion) over the Dec. 26-27 weekend.

Refresh for latest…: There was a bit more varied action at the international box office this weekend, including the continued rollout of Warner Bros/DC’s Wonder Woman 1984, a sizable start for China’s Shock Wave 2, the debut of Disney/Pixar’s Soul, The Croods: A New Age nearing $100M global, and a brand new milestone for Japan’s Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train which, according to estimates, has overtaken Spirited Away to become the highest-grossing film ever in the market.

Two years after his death, the Navy veteran who became the oldest survivor of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor will have a post office named in his honor. President Trump signed a bill Monday ordering the main post office in Poway, a San Diego suburb, to bear Ray Chavez’s name, according to NBC News.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefWhile the North American box office pulls in less than $5 million per weekend due to COVID-19, the China and Japan markets are not only open, but also capable of breaking theatrical records. It may feel logical to hurry more U.S.

Kid Cudi has scored a new U.S.

Rebecca Davis editorUniversal Music Japan has appointed Rui Suzuki as its Tokyo-based chief financial officer starting on Jan.

new strain, which is causing concern due to its infectiousness, is much more widespread currently in London and the south east of England.However, it is also present in Scotland and Nicola Sturgeon has announced sweeping preventative measures to stop it spreading further.Dr Smith told the daily media briefing he had been in contact with Public Health Scotland, adding: “They were able to tell me that the current figure for Scotland is 18 cases who meet this case definition.