After acquiring the U.S. rights at TIFF earlier this year, GKids will release Japan’s smash hit drama “Kokuho” in a limited awards-qualifying run in Los Angeles and New York this November, with a nationwide release still to come.
The coming-of-age film — starring Ryo Yoshizawa and Ken Watanabe and directed by Sang-il Lee — will play for one week at the AMC Universal CityWalk in Universal City, Calif. starting November 14, followed by a one-week run at the Angelika Film Center in New York City on November 21.
Set in Nagasaki in 1964, “Kokuho” follows Kikuo, the 14-year-old son of a slain Yakuza leader who is taken under the wing of a Kabuki master. Over the next two decades, he dedicates himself to the ancient theatrical art form alongside his mentor’s son, Shunsuke.
Ryusei Yokohama, Mitsuki Takahata and Shinobu Terajima also star in the Japanese drama.
Premiering at Cannes in the Director’s Fortnight section, “Kokuho” has grossed $104 million at the Japanese box office. That’s second behind only the 2003 film “Bayside Shakedown 2” among Japanese live action films.
GKids was acquired last year by Toho, and “Kokuho” marks the first live-action release by the distributor, which historically has released anime films — with its highest grossing film being Studio Ghibli’s “The Boy and the Heron” with $46.8 million in the U.S.
GKids released the poster for “Kokuho” on Instagram amid the U.S. release news, where they described the film as “a story of glory and heartbreak.”
The company added, “Japan’s official selection for Best International Feature and the second-highest grossing Japanese live-action film of all time, KOKUHO screens in one-week-only theatrical engagements in NY & LA this November.”
AloJapan.com