One Piece Film Z Opens with a Bang in Japan

Joseph Luster December 18, 2012

The results are in for the opening weekend of One Piece Film Z, which premiered in Japanese theaters this past Friday. The film, to which series creator Eiichiro Oda contributed heavily, debuted with a whopping ¥1,372,050,000 (about $16,339,700), topping Evangelion 3.0‘s opening take, as well as that of every other film that opened in Japan in 2012.

When Oda promised to top the 2009 blockbuster One Piece Film Strong World, he wasn’t kidding. Film Z‘s opening weekend box office was 132% higher than Strong World‘s, which opened to the tune of ¥1.038 billion ($11.7 million).

The monster opening of Film Z also marks it as the fastest domestic film to sell a million tickets in 2012. For comparison, this feat took Brave Hearts Umizaru and Evangelion 3.0 three and four days to accomplish, respectively. According to film journalist Hiroo Otaka, who reported the film’s earnings, Toei is projecting a final box office of anywhere between ¥5-6 billion ($60-70 million).

Via ANN