Potter magic sinks warship epic at Japan Box Office
Showbiz Desk

TOKYO—One of most expensive Japanese films ever made, the World War II patriotic epic “Yamato,” dwindled in second place on its opening weekend, with audiences preferring “ Harry Potter.” Some 350,000 people went to see “Yamato: The Last Battle,” a heavily promoted movie about a once dreaded warship destroyed by the United States in 1945, distributor Toei said on Tuesday.
It was far below the 462,000 people who bought tickets for “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” the latest instalment about the boy wizard, according to Warner Entertainment. “Harry Potter” generated 556 million yen (4.8 million dollars) last weekend, despite being out since November 26, compared with 300 million yen (2.58 million dollars) for the opening of “Yamato.”
“Yamato” salutes the sacrifice of the warship’s sailors and draws parallels to the prosperity of modern Japan, controversial ideas at a time that Japan’s relations with its neighbours are strained over history.
The two-and-a-half-hour production stars some of Japanese cinema’s biggest names and cost 2.5 billion yen (21 million dollars) to make.
“King Kong,” the remake of the classic ape tale, came in third at the Japanese box office, followed by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s “Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” according to film ranking group Kogyo Tsushinsha. “Memoirs of a Geisha,” the Hollywood tale of one of Japan’s traditional entertainers, released here as “Sayuri,” continued to flop, trailing in seventh place on its second weekend in theatres.
The 65,000-ton Yamato was built to be the world’s largest battleship. In April 1945, with Japan’s defeat imminent, it launched a failed suicide attack on a US fleet. It was instead destroyed by almost 400 US planes, killing some 2,500 of Yamato’s crew.