You Are Akin to the Stars Climbs to No. 2 as Seventh Rebel 3199 Film Debuts at No. 10

The live-action adaptation of Yuu Nagira’s You Are Akin to the Stars (Nanji, Hoshi no Gotoku) advanced from third to second in Japan. Its fourth weekend brought 107,000 admissions and 150,719,900 yen (about US$954,000) from Friday through Sunday.

The film has sold 1.15 million tickets and earned 1,682,672,700 yen (about US$10.65 million). It opened on October 9 at No. 4, drawing 234,000 admissions and 350,531,400 yen (about US$2.23 million) over three days.

The film stars Ryūsei Yokohama as Kai Aono and Suzu Hirose as Akimi Inoue. Yokohama played Kazuaki Ōmae in Detective Conan: Highway no Datenshi. Hirose played Chihaya in the live-action Chihayafuru films and Kaede in The Boy and the Beast.

Michihito Fujii, director of the live-action Last Samurai Standing, directed the adaptation. Naoko Adachi wrote the screenplay; her credits include live-action Daytime Shooting Star and Un chocolatier de l’amour perdu.

The novel begins on an island in the Seto Inland Sea, where resident Akimi meets newcomer Kai. They connect through shared doubts about their families and lives.

Akimi’s father repeatedly cheats, straining her home life. Kai’s mother keeps moving them to pursue new relationships. Over 15 years, Akimi and Kai develop a complicated relationship built on mutual support and codependence.

The live-action Resident Evil reboot rose from fifth to third in its fourth weekend. Based on CAPCOM’s survival horror games, it sold 81,000 tickets and earned 126,605,100 yen (about US$801,300) from Friday through Sunday.

Its totals reached 1.18 million admissions and 2,000,748,000 yen (about US$12.66 million). The film opened in Japan on October 9 at No. 2. Its first three days brought 356,000 admissions and 626,567,150 yen (about US$3.97 million).

The U.S. release began on September 18. It topped the domestic chart with an estimated US$60 million opening weekend.

Austin Abrams, whose credits include Weapons, Euphoria and Wolfs, stars as Bryan. The cast also includes:

• Zach Cherry
• Kali Reis
• Paul Walter Hauser, whose credits include Richard Jewell, Black Bird and The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Zach Cregger, director of Barbarian and Weapons, directed the reboot.

Chiikawa the Movie: The Secret of Mermaid Island (Eiga Chiikawa: Ningyo no Shima no Himitsu) fell from second to fifth in its 15th weekend. The first anime film based on Nagano’s Chiikawa manga earned 92,808,300 yen (about US$587,400) from Friday through Sunday.

Its cumulative sales reached 12.77 million tickets and 18,662,616,000 yen (about US$118 million). It remains Japan’s highest-grossing film this year and now stands 12th on the country’s all-time box office chart.

The film opened on July 24 at No. 1. Its opening day brought 990 million yen (about US$6.05 million). Across its first three days, it sold 1,508,500 tickets and earned 2,240,333,500 yen (about US$13.70 million).

Special screenings included:

• 4DX screenings beginning September 5
• One-day-only cheering screenings on September 11
• Penlight screenings on September 23

The story adapts the manga material posted on X, formerly Twitter, from March through November 2023. Readers call it the “Siren Arc” or “Island Arc.”

Nagano supplied the original story and wrote the screenplay. Kei Oikawa directed at Cygames Pictures under Nagano’s supervision. His credits include:

• Three seasons of Uma Musume Pretty Derby
• Hinamatsuri
• My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU TOO!
• My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax

QTORY inc. managed production, and TOHO handles distribution.

Studio Ghibli’s 4K restoration of Whisper of the Heart climbed from tenth to sixth in its second weekend back in theaters. Its first three days earned 112,466,900 yen (about US$713,200).

The live-action adaptation of Mika Yamamori’s In the Clear Moonlit Dusk (Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki) dropped from fourth to seventh in its second weekend. It earned 61,363,800 yen (about US$388,400) from Friday through Sunday, bringing its total to 334,113,100 yen (about US$2.11 million).

The film opened in Japan on October 23. Its first three days brought 141,000 admissions and 200,272,200 yen (about US$1.27 million).

Shunsuke Michieda stars as Kohaku Ichimura. His credits include the live-action My Love Mix-Up! television series and The Kindaichi Case Files series.

Seira Anzai plays Yoi Takiguchi. She previously appeared in the live-action Insomniacs After School film and Trillion Game television series.

The supporting cast includes:

• Rintarō Mizusawa as Takuto Ohji
• Yuna Hoshino as Nobara Tone
• Sayu Suzukawa as Kotobuki Hibiya
• Takato Ōkura as Sentarō Akane
• Tatsumi Asa as Shun Kuwabatake
• Yūki Yoda as Yoshiko
• Naohito Fujiki as Seiichi Takiguchi, Yoi’s father

Kentarō Takemura, whose credits include the live-action Trillion Game television series, directed. Yuichi Tokunaga, a writer on the live-action Densha Otoko television series, wrote the screenplay.

Shū Kanematsu composed the score. His credits include My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! and Aquarion: Myth of Emotions. TBS TV oversaw production at TBS Sparkle, with TOHO distributing.

Made in Abyss: Awakening Mystery (Made in Abyss: Mezameru Shinpi) slipped from sixth to eighth in its second weekend. It is the first installment in the new Made in Abyss anime film series.

The film opened in October 2023 and earned 145,525,480 yen (about US$922,900) in its first three days.

Returning staff include:

• Director Masayuki Kojima, whose credits include Black Bullet and Tibetan Dog
• Scriptwriter Hideyuki Kurata, whose credits include Samurai Flamenco and The World God Only Knows
• Character designer Kazuchika Kise, whose credits include Ghost in the Shell: Arise Alternative Architecture and xxxHOLiC
• Character designer Yuka Kuroda, whose credits include Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun (Made in Abyss: Retsujitsu no Ōgonkyō)

Kinema Citrus, whose credits include My Happy Marriage and The Rising of the Shield Hero, animated the film. Kadokawa announced a sequel to Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun in January 2023.

Rainbow-Colored Reincarnation (Nijiiro no Rinne) debuted at No. 10 after opening in Japan on October 30. Its first three days earned 72,323,820 yen (about US$457,700).

It is the seventh film in Star Blazers: Be Forever Yamato - Rebel 3199 (Yamato yo Towa ni: Rebel 3199). The project is the latest entry in the Space Battleship Yamato remakes.

The anime’s theatrical release spans seven films. Crunchyroll streams it as Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato 3199. Character designer Nobuteru Yūki illustrated the main visual.

The sixth film, Blue Labyrinth (Aoi Meikyū), opened on June 26. Its story sends the Yamato through a space-time node, taking the main characters to Tokyo in 2026 during the present-day Reiwa era.

The fifth film opened in Japan on February 20.