Lee Sang-il’s Kokuho — a nearly three-hour period drama about the cloistered world of traditional kabuki theater — has defied all reasonable expectations to become Japan’s top-grossing domestic live-action film of all time.
The Sony-backed feature, produced by Aniplex in association with Myriagon Studio and distributed by Toho, has earned more than ¥17.37 billion ($111 million) since its June release in Japan, surpassing the ¥17.35 billion record held for 22 years by crime-comedy Bayside Shakedown 2 (2003).
The film has drawn over 12 million admissions — a feat that few would have predicted for such an artistically demanding work. But the film premiered to rave reviews in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival in May, and it has been earning effusive admirers and building momentum ever since. In April, Japan selected Kokuho as its official submission for the 2026 Oscars in the best international feature category, where it’s now considered a serious contender.
Kokuho (which translates as “national treasure”) traces five decades in the intertwined lives of two kabuki actors: an orphaned outsider and the heir of a prestigious stage family, whose friendship curdles into obsession and rivalry. Adapting a novel by Shuichi Yoshida, Lee — best known internationally for Villain (2010) and Rage (2016) — crafts what THR’s reviewer described as a “transporting and operatic” story that “blends backstage melodrama, succession saga and making-of-an-artist dynamics” into a sweeping meditation on ambition, artistry and sacrifice.
Critics have hailed the film’s visual poetry and its deep immersion in the rarefied traditions of kabuki. Sofian El Fani’s cinematography and Yohei Taneda’s lavish production design have been praised for their tactile grandeur, while stars Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama have been consistently celebrated for their “exquisitely layered performances that interweave offstage characterization and onstage theatricality,” as THR’s critic put it.
The box-office triumph is particularly remarkable given the film’s long runtime (two hours and 55 minutes) and relatively esoteric subject matter — a lavish kabuki-theater epic in an era when Japan’s box office is consistently dominated by anime and franchise fare. Local analysts have enthused that Kokuho’s success proves the enduring appeal of prestige storytelling on the big screen and the power of distinctly Japanese material among domestic audiences.
The film’s popularity has also helped drive a wave of ticket sales at real-world kabuki houses across Japan. The success of Kokuho has sparked renewed interest in the centuries-old theater form, with major venues reporting surges in attendance, younger demographics filling seats, and many first-time or lapsed patrons returning to the traditional stage performances.
Kokuho made its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, followed by a limited Oscar-qualifying run in the U.S. this month courtesy of Toho’s North American distribution subsidiary, GKIDS. The company is planning a wider U.S. release in early 2026.