Lee Sang-il’s kabuki epic Kokuho has become Japan’s highest-grossing local live-action film of all time, after reaching $111.5m (¥17.38bn) over the country’s recent holiday weekend (November 22-24).
The film broke the record previously set by 2003’s Bayside Shakedown 2 and is now Japan’s 11th-highest-grossing feature of all time.
Kokuho opened in Japan on June 6, beginning a long run in which it initially outperformed its previous weekend takings for several weeks.
The film, which premiered at Cannes in Directors’ Fortnight, has drawn a total of 12.3 million admissions in Japan and is the country’s submission to the upcoming Oscars. It is distributed in the US by Toho-owned Gkids, where it has been playing in Los Angeles and New York ahead of expanding nationwide in 2026.
The story centres on the son of a yakuza boss, played by Ryo Yoshizawa, who is taken under the wing of a renowned kabuki actor, played by Ken Watanabe, following the death of his father. The young man dedicates his life to the art of kabuki – a classical form of Japanese theatre known for its costumes and elaborate makeup – alongside the biological son (Ryusei Yokohama) of the veteran actor.
The story is adapted from Shuichi Yoshida’s 2017 novel of the same name with a screenplay written by Satoko Okudera, known for her work on Mamoru Hosoda’s animated hits Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children.
In July, Kokuho producer Chieko Murata told Screen: “We know that Cannes films tend to have difficulty in achieving commercial box office success but Kokuho has good balance of quality and entertainment, so we are thrilled the film has been accepted by a wide audience.”
At number one during Japan’s long holiday weekend was Tokyo Taxi (Shochiku), the latest feature from 94-year-old director Yoji Yamada, who shared the stage with Kokuho director Lee at a talk session at this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival. The film, which stars Takuya Kimura (La Grande Maison Paris) and Chieko Baisho (Plan 75), earned $1.88m (¥293m) on 214,000 admissions over its first three days, and $2.56m (¥400m) on 290,000 admissions including the Monday holiday. It marks Yamada’s 91st feature film.
In second place was Suzuki=Bakudan (Warner Bros), a domestic crime thriller in its fourth week, which has so far earned a total of $12.2m (¥1.9bn), while at third was new entry Scarlet, the latest animated film from Oscar-nominated Mamoru Hosoda (Mirai).
Scarlet, which is distributed by Toho and Sony, earned $1.35m (¥210m) on 136,000 admissions Friday to Sunday and $1.7m (¥270m) on 170,000 admissions including Monday’s holiday. It will have an awards-qualifying run via Sony Pictures Classics in the US this December followed by an Imax-exclusive release on February 6 and a wide release on February 13.
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