Godzilla swimming through the ocean in Godzilla Minus One© Toho International / Courtesy Everett Collection
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Brennan Klein
Published 28 minutes ago
Brennan Klein (he/him) is a senior news writer at Screen Rant, host of the Attack of the Queerwolf podcast, and contributor at Alternate Ending and Horror Press. He has been writing and podcasting about pop culture (especially horror movies) for over a decade at platforms including Blumhouse, Fangoria, Dread Central, The Backlot, and Arrow in the Head.
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Kokuho has smashed an all-time box office record. The Japanese historical drama is a decades-spanning story that follows an orphan named Kikuo (Ryo Yoshizawa), who navigates the dramatic world of Kabuki theater with his surrogate brother Shunsuke (Ryusei Yokohama). The movie also stars iconic Japanese actor Ken Watanabe.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, the Japanese box office run of Kokuho has surpassed 17.37 billion yen, which is roughly $111 million, since it debuted on June 6. This means that it has surpassed 2003's Bayside Shakedown 2 (17.35 billion yen/$110 million) to become the highest-grossing live-action movie of all time in Japan.
Overall, 2025's Kokuho is the eighth highest-grossing movie in history in Japan. The country's box office chart has been primarily dominated by anime features in the 22 years since Bayside Shakedown 2 claimed its throne.
The animated titles above it at the time of writing are the Studio Ghibli titles Howl's Moving Castle (No. 7), Princess Mononoke (No. 6), and Spirited Away (No. 3), Makoto Shinkai's Your Name (No. 4), and the anime series tie-ins One Piece Film: Red (No. 5), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle (No. 2), and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train (No. 1).
This huge record for Kokuho is providing a major boost to its status as an Oscar contender. The movie, which is Japan's official submission for the Best International Feature category at the 2026 Academy Awards, comes during a time when Asian cinema has had a streak of major wins at the Oscars.
This includes the South Korean thriller Parasite winning Best Picture and the Indian historical action movie RRR winning Best Original Song. However, no Japanese movie has won an Oscar since 2024, when 2023's Godzilla Minus One won Best Visual Effects and Studio Ghibli's The Boy and the Heron won Best Animated Feature.
Given the fact that The Boy and the Heron is Japan's sixth highest-grossing animated movie worldwide and Godzilla Minus One is its second highest-grossing live-action movie, precedent shows that Kokuho's new box office record could draw the attention of the Academy in a major way.
While Kokuho is facing stiff competition from titles including the Cannes Palme d'Or winner It Was Just an Accident, the Cannes Grand Prix winner Sentimental Value, Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice, and the Brazilian historical thriller The Secret Agent, its performance is nevertheless remarkable and unprecedented in the modern age.
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Drama History Release Date November 7, 2025 Runtime 135 minutes Director David Michôd Writers Mirrah Foulkes, David Michôd Producers Brent Stiefel, Kerry Kohansky-Roberts, Sydney Sweeney, Teddy Schwarzman, John Friedberg, Michael Heimler, Justin Lothrop, Brad Zimmerman, David LevineCast
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