{"id":7244,"date":"2025-09-02T21:59:50","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T04:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.west-coaster.com\/?p=7244"},"modified":"2026-04-12T23:54:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T06:54:30","slug":"20250902_kokuho-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.west-coaster.com\/en\/20250902_kokuho-us\/","title":{"rendered":"\"KOKUHO\" will be released\u00a0in North American theaters in Feb 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

GKIDS has acquired the North American distribution rights to KOKUHO<\/strong><\/em> (directed by Lee Sang-il), starring Ryo Yoshizawa, Ryusei Yokohama, and Ken Watanabe. GKIDS plans a theatrical release across North America in early 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the wide North American release is slated for 2026, the film is scheduled to screen at AFI Fest on October 24, 2025, and a limited run in select theaters beginning November 14, 2025 has also been announced. For full details see the GKIDS’s site<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Japan, following its June 2025 release, KOKUHO<\/strong><\/em> surpassed \u00a517.0 billion<\/strong> in box office receipts as of November 10, 2025 \u2014 marking it as a huge hit and the second-highest grossing live-action Japanese film to date<\/strong>, with momentum to challenge the top film (“Bayside Shakedown 2 \/ \u8e0a\u308b\u5927\u635c\u67fb\u7dda THE MOVIE 2 \u30ec\u30a4\u30f3\u30dc\u30fc\u30d6\u30ea\u30c3\u30b8\u3092\u5c01\u9396\u305b\u3088\uff01”,<\/em> 2003 release, \u00a517.35 billion).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The film premiered in the Director\u2019s Fortnight at Cannes and is also scheduled to make its North American festival debut at the Toronto International Film Festival. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

KOKUHO<\/strong><\/em> has been selected as Japan\u2019s official entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The shortlist of five nominees will be announced on January 22, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Japanese Films Playing in U.S. Theaters in 2026<\/p>

Japanese films in U.S. theaters 2025 \u2014 schedules, distributors, and where to buy tickets. Updated lineup and festival screenings.<\/p><\/div><\/dd><\/dl><\/div><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GKIDS will release KOKUHO in North America in early 2026. Read our updated report on the film\u2019s Japan box-office success, festival screenings, and Oscar bid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7081,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_locale":"en_US","_original_post":"https:\/\/www.west-coaster.com\/?p=6907","footnotes":""},"categories":[111,134],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-notice","category-movie","en-US"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t