‘Kokuho’ Advances in Oscars Race as Sony Reshapes Film Ambition

In the world of Kokuho, the stomp of a foot can summon art into being. The blend of allegory and reality in the symbol-laden feature film continues to surprise months after its release, making it an unlikely new weapon in Sony Group Corp.’s Japanese content arsenal.

Director Lee Sang-Il’s three-hour epic is now Japan’s top-grossing live-action movie of all time, smashing a 22-year-old record, according to domestic distributor Toho Co. An adaptation of a two-volume novel by Shuichi Yoshida, the film has now been shortlisted for the 2026 Academy Awards’ international feature film category, as well as for makeup and hairstyling. The nominations are slated to be announced on Jan. 22, with Kokuho headed for a wider North American rollout in February.