Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 4th & 5th February 2017

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cinemas showing the movie:

1) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (350)

2) Doctor Strange (350)

3) Kiseki - Ano Hi no Sobito - (171)

4) Kimi no na wa (296)

5) Kimi to 100-kaime no Koi (190)

6) Koisaika Miyamoto (315)

7) Kono sekai no katasumi ni (68)

8) Hamon Futari no Yakubyougami (303)

9) Chinmoku Silence (342)

10) Shinjuku Swan II (334)

Source: Eiga.com

Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 28th & 29th January 2017

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cinemas showing the movie:

1) Doctor Strange (350)

2) Kiseki Ano hi no sobito (156)

3) Kimi no na wa (296)

4) Koisaika Miyamoto (314)

5) Hamon Futari no Yakubyougami (302)

6) Shinjuku Swan II (334)

7) Honnouji Hotel (282)

8) Chinmoku Silence (342)

9) Kono sekai no katasumi ni (68)

10) The Magnificent Seven (291)

Source: Eiga.com

First-day-screening event of new movie "Shinjuku Swan II"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Shinjuku Swan II' was held at TOHO Cinemas Shinjuku on 21 January which was attended by the director Sono Sion, producer Yamamoto Mataichiro and cast members Ayano Go, Asano Tadanobu, Fukami Motoki, Kaneko Nobuaki, Kamiji Yusuke and Hirose Arisu. The movie which is based on the manga by Wakui Ken, will feature the lead character Shiratori Tatsuhiko (Ayano) facing off with Taki Masaki, the president of "Wizard" in Yokohama this time.

Ayano thanked the audience for their love for the first movie which led to the production of the sequel. When asked to reflect on his 2016, Ayano said that it was a year when he had to run at full steam with the help of everyone around him. As he is always worried about missing out the happiness around him, he tries to live each moment to the fullest. However, he feels that this movie is something which makes him hopeful about happiness in the future and hopes that it will bring the same feeling to all who watch it.

As for his collaboration with Asano, Ayano said that his co-star has so much power and screen presence that during the scenes when they clashed , he felt a fear as if he had a gun pointed to his head. In response to this, Asano said that he felt secure working with Ayano since they had collaborated before in a NHK work and praised Ayano for being very good at his action scenes.

Source: Eiga.com

Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 21st & 22nd January 2017

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cinemas showing the movie:

1) Kimi no na wa (296)

2) Honnouji Hotel (282)

3) Shinjuku Swan II (333)

4) Chinmoku Silence (342)

5) The Accountant (272)

6) Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (353)

7) Kono sekai no katasumi ni (68)

8) Eiga Youkai Watch Soratobu Kujira to Double Sekai no Daibouken Danyan (360)

9) Gekijouban Doubutsu Sentai Juuouja VS Ninninja Mirai kara no message from Super Sentai (322)

10)  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (368)

Source: Eiga.com

Ayano Go & Hirose Arisu to star in the sequel movie "Shinjuku Swan II"

Ayano Go will be back as the lead actor in the sequel movie "Shinjuku Swan II" which will be screened in cinemas from 21 January 2017. Other than him, cast members from the first movie shown in May last year such as Iseya Yusuke, Yamada Yu, Kaneko Nobuaki, Fukami Motoki and Yoshida Kotaro will also be appearing in the sequel. New additions to the cast include Hirose Arisu who will be the heroine, Kamiji Yusuke and Asano Tadanobu who will be the boss of a rival company in the same business as the lead character.

The original movie was based on the popular manga by Wakui Ken and features Ayano in the leading role of Shiratori Tatsuhiko who was initially penniless but rose up the ranks of the underworld in Shinjuku's Kabukicho. In the new movie, the company which he works for will make inroads into Yokohama which leads to a battle between the rival gangs from there and Shinjuku. Hirose will play the role of a hostess named Mayumi while Asano will play the most feared boss in Yokohama named Taki. Shiina Kippei will play a key figure who makes the rivalry between Shinjuku and Yokohama even worse.

The movie's producer Yamamoto Mataichiro revealed that when they were making the first movie, they were already thinking of doing Part 2 since all the characters were alive and kicking. However, he suffered from a slipped disk between January and March last year so he was trying to write the script at the same time as the filming for Part 2 was going on. In the end, they ended up with a 3 hour 40 minute film which had to be condensed to 2 hours so it felt like a rollercoaster ride to him.

Sources: Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2

Winners of the 7th TAMA Movie Awards (2015)

*Movies released between October 2014 and September 2015 were eligible to take part in this year's movie awards:

Best Movie
Umimachi Diary
Kimi wa Iiko

Special Award
Director Tsukamoto Shinya and the staff & cast of "Nobi"

Best Leading Actor
Nagase Masatoshi (An / KANO)
Ayase Go (Shinjuku Swan / Piece of Cake / Tenku no Hachi / Soredake that's it / S - Saigo no Keisatsukan Dakkan RECOVERY OF OUR FUTURE)

Best Leading Actress
Kiki Kirin (An / Kakekomi Onna to kakedashi otoko / Umimachi Diary)
Ayase Haruka (Umimachi Diary)

Best New Director
Sode Yukiko (Good Stripes)
Matsui Daigo (Watashitachi no Haahaa / Wonderful World End)

Best Male Newcomer
Nakajima Ayumu (Good Stripes)
Nomura Shuhei (Ai wo tsumu hito / Hibi Rock / Biri Girl / Taifuu no Noruda)

Best Female Newcomer
Hirose Suzu (Umimachi Diary / Hakemono no Ko)
Sugisaki Hana (Toilet no Pieta / Ai wo tsumu hito / Tsukuroi Tatsu Hito)

Source: TAMA Movie Awards

Premiere event of new movie "Shinjuku Swan"

The Japan premiere event of new movie "Shinjuku Swan" was held at Kabukicho on 7 May which was attended by the cast members Ayano Go, Yamada Takayuki, Iseya Yusuke, Sawajiri Erika, Yamada Yu, Toyohara Kosuke, Kaneko Nobuaki, Fukami Motoki, the producer Yamamoto Mataichiro, the director Sono Shion and the scriptwriter Suzuki Osamu. The movie which will be shown in cinemas from 30 May, is based on the manga by Wakui En set in Kabukicho where scoutmen engage in a battle with one another. In line with the theme of the movie, the event was held at Kabukicho's Central Road where about 2,500 people had gathered.

Source: Sponichi