TOKYO – “Attack on Titan,” Shinji Higuchi’s two-part dark fantasy, based on Hajime Isayama’s best-selling comic about teens battling human-eating giants, debuted atop the Japanese box office for the August 1-2 weekend.

Opening on 427 screens, with Toho distributing, part one earned $5.1 million on 467,000 admissions. Part two, “Attack on Titan: End of the World,” will open on Sept. 19.

The film, which takes considerable liberties with Isayama’s original, has divided fans and critics, with one writing he hoped the giants would devour all the teenaged protagonists before the credit crawl. Director Higuchi has responded in kind on Twitter, stirring up a media storm in the process.

In second place was “Minions,” distributed by Toho-Towa, which scored $4.4 million on 449,000 admissions. The first “Despicable Me” film earned $10 million in 2010 and the second $20 million in 2013.

Last week’s number one, “Hero,” fell to third place while driving total admissions past the two million mark.