Japan Data

Kabuki Epic “Kokuhō” Becomes Japan’s Top Grossing Domestic Live-Action Film

Cinema Entertainment Culture

The movie Kokuhō, which tells the story of two friends and rivals in the world of kabuki, has become Japan’s top-grossing live-action film at the domestic box office, setting a new record for the first time in more than 20 years.
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On November 25, movie studio Tōhō announced that the film Kokuhō had earned ¥17.38 billion at the box office, edging ahead of the 2003 feature Bayside Shakedown 2 at ¥17.35 billion to set a new record as the all-time highest grossing Japanese live action movie in the domestic market. Attendance figures topped 12.3 million, equivalent to one in ten of the Japanese population.

The film is an adaptation of a novel of the same name by Yoshida Shūichi, and is directed by Lee Sang-il. Yoshizawa Ryō stars as Kikuo, who was born into a yakuza family, but raised by a kabuki actor from a prestigious lineage alongside the actor’s son Shunsuke, played by Yokohama Ryūsei. The epic storyline covers 50 years as the two friends and rivals follow their artistic paths. The kokuhō of the title means a “national treasure”; the greatest kabuki performers are formally recognized and revered as living national treasures.

Kokuhō has been chosen to represent Japan in the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards, and it is set to open in movie theaters across North America in 2026.

Highest-Grossing Japanese Films in Japan

Data from Kōgyō Tsūshinsha, as of November 24, 2025. Starred titles are animated films.

  1. ★ Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Mugen Train (2020), ¥40.8 billion
  2. ★ Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle (2025), ¥38.2 billion
  3. ★ Spirited Away (2001), ¥31.7 billion
  4. ★ Your Name (2016), ¥25.2 billion
  5. ★ One Piece Film Red (2022), ¥20.3 billion
  6. ★ Princess Mononoke (1997), ¥20.2 billion
  7. ★ Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), ¥19.6 billion
  8. Kokuhō (2025), ¥17.4 billion
  9. Bayside Shakedown 2 (2003), ¥17.4 billion
  10. ★ The First Slam Dunk (2022), ¥16.7 billion

(© Yoshida Shūichi/Asahi Shimbun Publications; © Kokuho” Film Partners)
(© Yoshida Shūichi/Asahi Shimbun Publications; © “Kokuho” Film Partners)

Data Sources

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Yoshida Shūichi/Asahi Shimbun Publications; © 2025 Kokuhō Production Committee.)

cinema movie kabuki