The live-action adaptation of Ajin: Demi-Human (亜人) and Hollywood pet drama A Dog’s Purpose knocked The Miracle of the Namiya General Store (ナミヤ雑貨店の奇蹟) off the top of the Japan box office.

Opening on 413 screens (including IMAX and other premium format screens), Ajin earned ¥272 million (US$2.41 million) from 210,000 admissions over its first two days on release.

Based on the manga series by Gamon Sakurai, The Katsuyuki Motohiro (The Bayside Shakedown 踊る大捜査線 series) film stars Takeru Sato as a man who discovers that he’s part of a race of immortal beings called Ajin that is considered dangerous by the government. Go Ayano co-stars as another Ajin who wants to gather a force to take over Japan.

Ajin is expected to cross the ¥1 billion at the box office, making it the seventh consecutive film featuring Sato in a starring role to do so.

Released locally by Toho-Towa, A Dog’s Purpose earned ¥163 million (US$1.44 million) from 139,000 admissions on 311 screens over its first two days on release.

Ryuichi Hiroki’s The Miracle of the Namiya General Store fell to third place, earning an additional ¥130 million (US$1.15 million) from 114,000 admissions on Saturday and Sunday. The tearjerker fantasy drama, based on the novel by Keigo Higashino, has made ¥541 million (US$4.8 million) after two weekends.

Fox’s Hidden Figures opened in seventh place in a moderate-scaled release. From 63 screens, the Oscar-nominated drama earned ¥65.4 million (US$579,000) over its first three days on release.

Dunkirk and The Third Murder (三度目の殺人) have made ¥1.46 billion (US$12.9 million) and ¥1.26 billion (US$11.2 million) after four weekends, respectively. Alien: Covenant has made ¥720 million (US$6.38 million) after three weekends.

Outrage: Coda (アウトレイジ 最終章), Narratage (ナラタージュ), and Wilderness: Part 1 (あゝ、荒野 前篇) open this weekend.