“Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale,” an animation based on Reki Kawahara’s so-called light novel series that has sold 19 million copies and spawned TV anime shows, comics and games, bowed at number one at the Japanese box office for the Feb. 18-19 weekend.

The film, about players of a hit game whose augmented reality technology blurs the lines between the digital and real worlds, earned $3.76 million on 308,000 admissions for its opening frame. Distributed by Sony Music’s Aniplex unit, the film is expected to finish above the $25 million mark.

Also debuting last weekend was the teen romantic drama “One Week Friends,” which landed at number three. Based on a best-selling comic by Matcha Hazuki, the film made $1.35 million, with Shochiku distributing.

Last week’s number one, Toei’s cop buddy film “Partners: The Movie IV,” slipped to second, with $2.0 million.