Oscar Entry ‘Kokuho’ Breaks 22-Year-Old Japan Box Office Record

Surprise hit Kokuho grossed more than ¥17.37 billion ($111 million), becoming the first movie in 22 years to break Japan’s box office record for a domestic live-action film.

Based on the novel of the same name by Shuichi Yoshida, director Lee Sang-il’s three-hour-long epic about kabuki theater surpassed the ¥17.35 billion record set by Bayside Shakedown 2 in 2003.