'Ponyo on the Cliff' tops Japan B.O.

Film scores $14.8 mil over three-day weekend TOKYO -- Anime auteur Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" scored $14.8 million on nearly 1.25 million admissions over the three-day weekend of July 19-21. This opening was 96.6% of the similar three-day holiday bow of the helmer's 2001 toon "Spirited Away," which finished with a record $285 million. "Spirited," however, was released on 336 screens, compared with 481 for "Ponyo" -- another record. Distrib Toho did not release a day-by-day B.O. breakdown, but a rep said the pic earned "nearly 10 billion yen" ($9.4 million) on Saturday and Sunday. This compares with $13.9 million on 448 screens for the opening weekend of "Howl's Moving Castle," the previous Miyazaki pic, which finished its first run in 2005 with $184 million. Toho has refused to project a final total for... [read full story]