Three years after the first film in 2019, Kingdom 2 Harukanaru Daichi e (To the Land of Faraway), the second live-action film adaptation of Yasuhisa Hara‘s historical adventure manga Kingdom, finally released in 373 theaters across Japan on July 15, then made its No.1 debut as expected.

The 134-minute sequel’s first Saturday-Sunday gross was a huge 797 million yen (5.76 million USD) on 527,000 admissions, which was 151 percent of that of the first film that later became the top-grossing Japanese live-action film of 2019. And it was the best performance for a live-action Japanese film since the Corona disaster began. In its first four days, including the National Holiday on Monday (Marine Day), the film drew 934,000 people and grossed 1.379 billion yen (9.98 million USD), which was 168.8 percent of the first film.

Not only from a business standpoint, the film has also received critical acclaim, ranking No.1 on Filmarks’ first day satisfaction ranking with an average rating of 4.01/5.0 based on 4,777 reviews.

Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO was down one position again to sixth in its sixth weekend. The live-action film adaptation of Non Tamashima’s romance shoujo manga Moekare wa Orange-iro / My Boyfriend in Orange, which debuted at No. 4 last week, had dropped to No. 7 in its second weekend. Laid-Back Camp: Movie ranked eighth in its third weekend.

Even in its ninth week, The Quintessential Quintuplets the Movie, a sequel to the two-season TV anime adaptation of Negi Haruba’s romantic comedy manga, ranked ninth, one position up from last week. Its cumulative box office gross has finally surpassed the two billion yen (14.47 million USD) mark to become the fifth Japanese anime film of 2022 to do so. With nearly 100 more theaters to be added at the end of this month, this number is likely to grow even more. 

The feature film edition of the live-action/anime hybrid series Aikatsu Planet!, which is screened with the Aikatsu! franchise’s 10th anniversary anime episode Aikatsu! 10th STORY ~Mirai heno STARWAY~ (Starway to The Future), failed to make its top 10 debut.

Weekend box office Top 10 in Japan (July 16-17, 2022)

(ticket sales basis)

 1 (new). “Kingdom 2” – 1.379 billion yen

 2 (new). “Minions: The Rise of Gru” – 900 million yen

 3 (2). “Top Gun: Maverick” – 9.2 billion yen

 4 (1). “Thor: Love and Thunder” – 1 billion yen

 5 (3). “Lightyear”

 6 (5). “Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO”

 7 (4). “My Boyfriend in Orange”

 8 (6). “Laid-Back Camp: Movie”

 9 (10). “The Quintessential Quintuplets the Movie” – 2 billion yen

 10 (7). “Elvis” – 340 million yen

Sources: Eiga.com, Pixiin, Filmarks

(c) Yasuhisa Hara/Shueihsa (c)2022 Movie “Kingdom” Production Committee 

©BNP/BANDAI, DENTSU, TV TOKYO, BNArts