TOKYO – The 36th entry in the “Doraemon” animation series about the adventures of a blue robot cat and its boy companion topped the Japanese box office for the March 5-6 weekend.

Debuting on 374 screens with Toho distributing, “Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan 2016” earned $5.6 million on 544,816 admissions. This was nearly the same take as the series’ previous installment which finished with $35 million in 2015. Aimed squarely at the family market and released to hit the box office crest of the upcoming Golden Week holiday, “Doraemon: Birth: is expected to do as well or better.

The highest ranking newcomer was “The Big Short.” Distributed by Towa Pictures, the film bowed on 214 screens and recorded $1.02 million from 84,000 admissions. Boosted by its best screenplay Oscar, the film is predicted to clear the JPY1 billion ($8.8 million) mark.

Sliding from second to third place on the chart was Fox’s “The Martian,” now in its fifth week on release. The film’s cumulative total passed the JPY3 billion ($26 million) milestone on 2.1 million admissions.