After a very strong opening weekend, Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University continued to rule the Japanese box office for the second weekend in a row. The movie managed to bring in nearly $7.5 million (750 million yen) over the three-day holiday, crossing the $20 million mark during its first nine days playing in the country. The Hollywood Reporter says the movie will probably match the performance of Monsters, Inc. which made over $75 million in 2002.
Following its $8.5 million debut last weekend, which is the biggest opening of the year in Japan, Monsters University was able to knock the new Pokemon movie off the top spot. Pokemon the Movie: Extreme Speed Genesect (Gekijōban Pocket Monster Best Wishes! Shinsoku no Genosekuto: Myuutsū Kakusei), the latest in the long-running Pokemon series, took $4.86 million in its first two days.
With summer break yet to start for most schools in Japan, both sets of monsters should have some strong box office weeks ahead. Monsters University looks well positioned to match the $75 million that Monsters, Inc. grossed in Japan in 2002. Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama, the new Pokemon movie features Genesect, the Paleozoic Pokémon and final Pokémon in the fifth generation, as well as Mewtwo, the star of Mewtwo Strikes Back and Pokémon: Mewtwo Returns.
