The small island country of Japan boasts roughly 400 movie theaters that house approximately 3,600+ screens. However, as with most cinemas around the world, theaters in Japan have been closed since late-January/early-February due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. However, Japan took a big step towards returning to normalcy this past weekend as it opened exactly 100 theaters- although cinemas in Japan's most densely populated regions remained closed.
While the 100 theaters opened, there was only 1 new movie screened, which took the top spot. Moviegoers instead flocked to past celebrated films like Weather With You (which came in at #2), Your Name (#5), Shin Godzilla (#6), a 4K remaster of Akira (#9). The 4K-remaster of Akira was previously slated to also receive a theatrical release in North America but those plans appear to be in flux due to COVID-19.
This past Thursday, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe officially lifted the state of emergency in Japan, though heavily populated metropolitan areas such as Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa, Hyogo, and Hokkaido remain on lockdown.
As the world looks to recover, how Japan is handling the re-opening of its theaters could serve as a case study for the rest of the world. Stay tuned to AnimeMojo for future updates as we track Japan's box office in its second week of operating since re-opening.