Even the film’s distributor had low expectations when a three-hour drama focusing on a legendary Kabuki actor hit the screens nationwide in June.
But “Kokuho” quickly started packing theaters following a slow initial weekend and is now approaching the record box office receipts for a Japanese live-action film.
“Classical performing arts as a theme limits the audience, and we didn’t expect it to appeal to younger generations,” said Minami Ichikawa, director and senior managing executive officer at Toho Co., the film’s distributor. “Even now, I still don’t understand how it became such a hit.”
When the film opened on June 6, it placed only third in the box office rankings for the weekend of June 6 to 8.
Since then, “Kokuho” has surpassed 15 billion yen ($100 million) by Sept. 23, second only to “Bayside Shakedown 2: Save the Rainbow Bridge,” released 22 years ago, which took in 17.35 billion yen at the box office.
“Kokuho” has sold 10.66 million tickets in the first 110 days of its release. It is also becoming a social phenomenon, with fans even visiting film locales.
“Kokuho” is based on a novel of the same title written by Shuichi Yoshida, which had been serialized in The Asahi Shimbun. The film was directed by Sang-il Lee.
The story follows Kikuo (played by actor Ryo Yoshizawa), who is born into a yakuza family but becomes a Kabuki actor.
He competes and grows alongside Shunsuke (played by Ryusei Yokohama), a son of a prestigious Kabuki family, ultimately rising to become a Living National Treasure.
In the Japanese live-action film industry, it has long been believed that without an overwhelmingly popular original work or large-scale promotion by a TV network, achieving a major box office milestone is impossible.
However, “Kokuho” broke the mold in the industry.
Takanori Matsumoto, editor-in-chief of Bunkatsushin Journal, an entertainment industry magazine, believes that “Kokuho” initially had little name recognition among young people.
“But as positive reviews have spread through word-of-mouth on social media, it gained recognition among young demographics and beyond, leading to an unexpected boost in box office revenue,” Matsumoto said.
The Asahi Shimbun analyzed 315,006 randomly selected posts on X, formerly Twitter, about the film from June 1 to Sept. 7, which had been provided by data analytics firm User Local Inc.
Among all posts, 32.2 percent mentioned either “Yoshizawa” or “Yokohama,” the two stars of “Kokuho.”
The film’s highlight is a stage performance scene featuring the two actors. The popularity of their performances and active posting by their fans likely contributed to the buzz.
In addition, the number of posts peaked not immediately after the release, but on June 15, the second weekend after the film hit the screens.
On June 11, four days before the peak of posts, popular Kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro posted a message praising the film on X that went viral, saying, “Applause to everyone involved.”
Such a positive review for the lead actors is believed to have gradually introduced the film to a wider audience within X over the first week after the film’s release.
Then, around late July, when an account tracking box office estimates on X began suggesting “Kokuho” would likely exceed 10 billion yen, posts mentioning “10 billion yen” increased.
In addition, posts mentioning something like “Make Ryo Yoshizawa the 10-billion-yen man” increased in succession.
The phrase mirrored “Make Toru Amuro the 10-billion-yen man” from seven years ago, during the success of the anime “Detective Conan: Zero the Enforcer.”
This comment among some of the leading actors’ fans seemed to have boosted momentum for the film “Kokuho.”
As a result, the film saw its box office receipts increase by 28 percent compared to the previous week during the weekend it surpassed 10 billion yen.
(This article was compiled from reports by Haruto Hiraoka, Hinata Noda and Hiroki Yamauchi.)
AloJapan.com