The Film Kokuho Surpasses 13.3 Billion Yen($89.11 million) at the Box Office A record-breaking epic heads overseas

Toho announced on the 8th that director Sang-il Lee’s Kokuho, starring Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama, surpassed 9.46 million admissions and earned 13.3 billion yen($89.11 million) in 94 days.

The film previously reached 7.82 million viewers and 11.01 billion yen($89.11 million) in 77 days, becoming the first Japanese live-action film in 22 years to cross the 10-billion-yen mark. It now ranks second in domestic live-action box office history, behind Bayside Shakedown 2: Block the Rainbow Bridge! (2003, 17.35 billion yen($116.25 million)). It has also been selected as Japan’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.

GKIDS takes on its first Japanese live-action release
GKIDS, renowned for distributing award-winning animated works such as Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron (winner of the 96th Academy Award for Best Animated Feature), Mamoru Hosoda’s Mirai (nominated at the 91st Academy Awards), and Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You, will distribute Kokuho in North America—its first Japanese live-action title. The release is scheduled for early 2026.

A grand story of art and destiny
Based on Shuichi Yoshida’s novel, written after three years of immersion in the kabuki world as a stage assistant, the film follows Kikuo, born into a yakuza family but raised in a kabuki household. Devoting his life to the art, he rises to become a revered “Kokuho” over a span of 50 years.

A star-studded cast Ryo Yoshizawa plays Kikuo, while Ryusei Yokohama portrays his lifelong rival Shunsuke. The ensemble cast includes Mitsuki Takahata, Shinobu Terajima, Nana Mori, Takahiro Miura, Ai Mikami, Soya Kurokawa, Keitatsu Koshiyama, Masatoshi Nagase, Kyūsaku Shimada, Emma Miyazawa, Ganjiro Nakamura, Min Tanaka, and Ken Watanabe.

Source : ORICON NEWS