"One Piece" Earns 1 Billion In Opening Weekend

The latest film in the "One Piece" franchise posted impressive opening numbers this past weekend. During the 2-day period starting on December 12, "One Piece Film: Strong World" took in �1.038 billion on 188 screens.

An estimated 820,000 people filled the theaters in those first two days, bringing in �553 million on the 12th and �485 million on the 13th. In comparison, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" opened this year on 844 screens and earned �990 million in its opening weekend. Last year's "Gake no Ue no Ponyo" made more than �15 billion during its theatrical run, though it opened to �1.025 billion.

The per-screen average of "One Piece Film: Strong World" was more than �5.5 million, setting the record for a nationwide release ever since regulations against standing audiences went into effect. The film also set a record for distributor Toei in the number of advance tickets sold, which was close to 300,000 as of December 6.