Variety.com
"Monkey" spells magic at Japan B.O. Print E-mail
Written by Mark Schilling
Tuesday, 17 July 2007
Story Categories: box office, Film, Fuji TV, Japan, Tokyo,
TOKYO -- "Monkey Magic," (Saiyuuki) a Fuji TV pic based on the Chinese classic "Journey to the West," scooped $6.5 million from 461 screens on its three-day opening weekend, despite a roaring typhoon and a 6.8 magnitude earthquake.
The pic, adapted from a popular mini-series that aired on the Fuji TV network from January to March 2006, is expected to finish its run with Y6 billion ($50 million), according to FujiTV, making it Fuji's biggest hit so far this year.
Starring Shingo Katori of the pop megagroup SMAP as the Monkey King and helmed by first-timer Kensaku Sawada, "Monkey Magic" opened on 461 screens -- a record for a domestic live-action pic.
During the pic's three-day opening weekend, Japan was hit by a typhoon that wreacked havoc from Okinawa to the North of the main island of Honshu. Also, on Monday, the Marine Day holiday, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Kashiwazaki City in northern Niigata Prefecture, destroying hundreds of buildings and killing at least nine people. But despite the downpours and ground trembles, punters filed into theaters across the country for "Monkey Magic," long-expected to be one of the hot titles of the summer.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 18 July 2007 )
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