‘Kokuho’ Becomes Highest Grossing Domestic Live-Action Film, Breaking 22-Year-Old Record

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:53 JST, November 26, 2025

“Kokuho,” which depicts the life of a kabuki actor, has become the highest grossing domestic live-action film as its box office revenue reached about ¥17.38 billion by Monday, according to an announcement by its distributor, Toho Co.

The previous record holder was “Odoru Daisosasen The Movie 2: Rainbow Bridge o Fusa Seyo!” (“Bayside Shakedown 2”) from 22 years ago.

Directed by Lee Sang-il, “Kokuho” is an adaptation of an epic novel of the same title by Shuichi Yoshida that tells the story of two kabuki actors striving to become accomplished onnagata (female role performers), played by Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama. Gorgeous kabuki performances and the tough world of traditional performing arts behind them are well represented on screen.

The film has recently opened at theaters overseas, such as in South Korea and Taiwan. It has also been selected to represent Japan in the 98th Academy Awards’ international feature film category. Whether the film will be one of the final Oscar nominees is a focus of great interest. The film is scheduled for wide release in the United States next year.

Animated films are dominate the top places in the box office revenue rankings of Japanese films overall, led by “Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha-hen” (“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Movie: Mugen Train”) in 2020, which earned ¥40.75 billion.