The 48th Japan Academy Film Awards ceremony took place on March 14, 2025 at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo on March 14, 2025, with free announcer Shinichi Hatori and actress Sakura Ando hosting the show.
“A Samurai in Time” continued gathering awards after the three it netted from Nikkan Sports, Michihito Fujii cemented his place on the top of the current directors, while Yuumi Kawai highlighted that she is the next super star of the local industry. “Kingdom 4″ Return of the General” expectedly won the majority of the technical awards. Here is the full list
Best Picture
A Samurai in Time Fantasia Film Review: A Samurai in Time (2024) by Junichi Yasuda
Best Animation Film
Look Back Anime Review: Look Back (2024) by Kiyotaka Oshiyama
Best Director
Michihito Fujii – Faceless
Best Screenplay
Akiko Nogi – Last Mile Film Review: Last Mile (2024) by Ayuko Tsukahara
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Ryusei Yokohama – Faceless
Best...
“A Samurai in Time” continued gathering awards after the three it netted from Nikkan Sports, Michihito Fujii cemented his place on the top of the current directors, while Yuumi Kawai highlighted that she is the next super star of the local industry. “Kingdom 4″ Return of the General” expectedly won the majority of the technical awards. Here is the full list
Best Picture
A Samurai in Time Fantasia Film Review: A Samurai in Time (2024) by Junichi Yasuda
Best Animation Film
Look Back Anime Review: Look Back (2024) by Kiyotaka Oshiyama
Best Director
Michihito Fujii – Faceless
Best Screenplay
Akiko Nogi – Last Mile Film Review: Last Mile (2024) by Ayuko Tsukahara
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Ryusei Yokohama – Faceless
Best...
- 3/15/2025
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
The award ceremony for the 48th Japan Academy Film Prizes was held at the Grand Prince Hotel Shin Takanawa in Tokyo on March 14. From the five nominees in the animation category, Look Back won the Best Animation of the Year award. Additionally, the eight main animators of Look Back were also selected for the Creative Contribution Award, which was newly established this year to honor engineers who have made particularly outstanding contributions to the films selected for the awards. The eight animators were: Kiyotaka Oshiyama , Toshiyuki Inoue , Yuka Geshi , Takuya Ninuma , Katsuhiko Kitada , Shuichi Ohara , Tasan , and Ayako Hata . Among them, Oshiyama also served as the director, screenplay writer, and character designer of the film. Meanwhile, actor Yuumi Kawai , who voiced one of the film's two protagonists, Fujino, won the Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role award for her role as An Kagawa in the Yu Irie-directed...
- 3/15/2025
- by Mikikazu Komatsu
- Crunchyroll
London- and Paris-based production, finance and sales company Film Constellation is reporting a raft of sales from Berlin on chef drama “Grande Maison Paris,” a standalone feature film from the world of Japanese hit series “La Grande Maison: Tokyo.”
The film has sold in Taiwan (Cai Chang), South Korea (Media Castle), Mainland China (DDDream), Hong Kong and Macau (First Distributors), Thailand (Sf Cinema), Spain (A Contracorriente Films), Cis (Arna Media), and Israel (YesDBS), with additional territories in South East Asia, and Eastern Europe in negotiations.
Toho and Sony Pictures Entertainment released the film in Japan early in January, where it has now grossed over $26 million (4 billion yen), making it one of the early local hits of this year.
Sony Pictures Entertainment releases in France, with other international releases beginning in March 2025.
Set in the high-stakes world of Parisian culinary excellence, the film stars Japanese icon Takuya Kimura, reprising his lead role from the series,...
The film has sold in Taiwan (Cai Chang), South Korea (Media Castle), Mainland China (DDDream), Hong Kong and Macau (First Distributors), Thailand (Sf Cinema), Spain (A Contracorriente Films), Cis (Arna Media), and Israel (YesDBS), with additional territories in South East Asia, and Eastern Europe in negotiations.
Toho and Sony Pictures Entertainment released the film in Japan early in January, where it has now grossed over $26 million (4 billion yen), making it one of the early local hits of this year.
Sony Pictures Entertainment releases in France, with other international releases beginning in March 2025.
Set in the high-stakes world of Parisian culinary excellence, the film stars Japanese icon Takuya Kimura, reprising his lead role from the series,...
- 2/21/2025
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
The 67th edition of the Blue Ribbon Awards, presented by the Association of Tokyo Film Journalists, has announced its winners on January 28, 2025. The nominees and winners are selected from movies released in 2024 by members of the Association who are film reporters from seven sports newspapers in Tokyo. Indie movie “A Samurai in Time” was the surprise hit last year and has picked up a double win for Best Film and Best Actor. Likewise for Yu Irie‘s “A Girl Named Ann” bagging the Best Director and Best Actress awards.
Best Film
A Girl Named Ann
Abudeka Is Back
Let’s Go Karaoke!
52-Hertz Whales
A Samurai in Time
11 Rebels
Faceless
All the Long Nights
Last Mile
Look Back
Best Director
Yu Irie – A Girl Named Ann
Kazuya Shiraishi – 11 Rebels, Bushido
Ayuko Tsukahara – Last Mile, La Grande Maison Paris
Michihito Fujii – Faceless, 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days
Junichi Yasuda – A Samurai in Time
Best...
Best Film
A Girl Named Ann
Abudeka Is Back
Let’s Go Karaoke!
52-Hertz Whales
A Samurai in Time
11 Rebels
Faceless
All the Long Nights
Last Mile
Look Back
Best Director
Yu Irie – A Girl Named Ann
Kazuya Shiraishi – 11 Rebels, Bushido
Ayuko Tsukahara – Last Mile, La Grande Maison Paris
Michihito Fujii – Faceless, 18×2 Beyond Youthful Days
Junichi Yasuda – A Samurai in Time
Best...
- 2/5/2025
- by Suzie Cho
- AsianMoviePulse
Japan’s box office fell 6.5% to $1.33bn (¥207bn) in 2024 due to a large drop in takings for US features, despite strong earnings for local titles.
Overall admissions were 7.1% down to 144.4 million, according to data published by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren). The figures remain some distance from pre-pandemic 2019, when the gross box office was $1.55bn (¥242bn) from 195 million admissions.
Scroll down for the top 30 titles
It was a positive picture for Japanese films, which took $1bn (¥156bn) at the local box office, up 5.1% year-on-year and comprising 75% of total takings. Topping the chart was anime Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram,...
Overall admissions were 7.1% down to 144.4 million, according to data published by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren). The figures remain some distance from pre-pandemic 2019, when the gross box office was $1.55bn (¥242bn) from 195 million admissions.
Scroll down for the top 30 titles
It was a positive picture for Japanese films, which took $1bn (¥156bn) at the local box office, up 5.1% year-on-year and comprising 75% of total takings. Topping the chart was anime Detective Conan: The Million-dollar Pentagram,...
- 1/30/2025
- ScreenDaily
Toho Executive Officer Mitsutaka Yoshida is bullish about the box office prospects of the studio's upcoming Demon Slayer anime film series installment, believing it could be an unprecedented hit that "transcends the industry." Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle will debut in 2025.
Per Mantan Web, Toho announced its 2025 film lineup and 2024 box office revenues at Toho Cinemas Hibiya in Tokyo. Yoshida stated that Infinity Castle's Demon Slayer movie predecessor, Mugen Train, made record amounts of money worldwide for the company. "Demon Slayer recorded box office revenue of about 40.4 billion yen for its predecessor, Mugen Train," he said. The Toho exec believes the company has the capacity to make the upcoming movie even more successful. "With the cooperation of various fields, we would like to make Infinity Castle a major box office hit that transcends the industry," Yoshida added.
Related There's Even More Good News for Demon Slayer...
Per Mantan Web, Toho announced its 2025 film lineup and 2024 box office revenues at Toho Cinemas Hibiya in Tokyo. Yoshida stated that Infinity Castle's Demon Slayer movie predecessor, Mugen Train, made record amounts of money worldwide for the company. "Demon Slayer recorded box office revenue of about 40.4 billion yen for its predecessor, Mugen Train," he said. The Toho exec believes the company has the capacity to make the upcoming movie even more successful. "With the cooperation of various fields, we would like to make Infinity Castle a major box office hit that transcends the industry," Yoshida added.
Related There's Even More Good News for Demon Slayer...
- 12/28/2024
- by Nnamdi Ezekwe
- CBR
Domestic features led the Japan box office in 2024 with no live-action titles from outside the country making the top 10.
In the year since December 2023, eight of the Japan’s top 10 highest-grossing films were produced domestically, with only two US features – Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4 – making the list.
Significantly, no live-action features from outside the country made the top 10, a sign that Hollywood tentpoles are having difficulty penetrating Japan’s cinematic market.
Recent years have seen titles such as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), Top Gun: Maverick (2022), Fast & Furious 9 (2021) and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2020) perform strongly in Japan.
In the year since December 2023, eight of the Japan’s top 10 highest-grossing films were produced domestically, with only two US features – Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4 – making the list.
Significantly, no live-action features from outside the country made the top 10, a sign that Hollywood tentpoles are having difficulty penetrating Japan’s cinematic market.
Recent years have seen titles such as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), Top Gun: Maverick (2022), Fast & Furious 9 (2021) and Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2020) perform strongly in Japan.
- 12/19/2024
- ScreenDaily
The live-action film adaptation of Akane Shimizu's manga series Cells at Work! opened across Japan on December 13. The movie directed by Hideki Takeuchi ( Thermae Romae live-action film series) earned 844 million yen (5.48 million Usd) on 611,000 admissions between Friday and Sunday, making a first-place debut in the weekend box office ranking, according to the film's official website . The opening box office performance ranks third among live-action Japanese films released in 2024, behind Kingdom: Return of the Great General in July ( 1.629 billion yen ) and Last Mile in August ( 978 million yen ). Till We Meet Again on the Lily Hill , the most successful live-action Japanese film released last December, ultimately earned 4.5 billion yen from its total domestic run. The movie also ranked third in Filmarks' first-day satisfaction ranking with an average rating of 3.88/5.0 based on 2,213 reviews. Following the TV anime series and a short anime film produced by Toei Animation, a live-action film adaptation of...
- 12/17/2024
- by Mikikazu Komatsu
- Crunchyroll
As 2024 is drawing to a close, “Last Mile” by Ayuko Tsukahara still holds its place in the top-40 of this year’s highest-grossing domestic productions, despite its untimely release in late August. However, it is debatable whether such achievement should be something Japanese cinema enthusiasts should rejoice for, as this is telling of the state of health of an industry where films keep borrowing features from TV entertainment, rather than finding ways to innovate their own language.
Check also this video
With Black Friday sales around the corner, Japan’s largest shopping website calls in manager Elena Funado (Hikari Mitsushima) from Fukuoka to be in charge of the Kanto area delivery center, whose expected volume of orders threatens to make the supply chain default. Backed by somewhat skeptical yet obedient deputy Ko Nashimoto (Masaki Okada), the first day seems to be going just well, until the news of some parcel...
Check also this video
With Black Friday sales around the corner, Japan’s largest shopping website calls in manager Elena Funado (Hikari Mitsushima) from Fukuoka to be in charge of the Kanto area delivery center, whose expected volume of orders threatens to make the supply chain default. Backed by somewhat skeptical yet obedient deputy Ko Nashimoto (Masaki Okada), the first day seems to be going just well, until the news of some parcel...
- 12/16/2024
- by Giovanni Stigliano
- AsianMoviePulse
Shohei Hino, best known to anime fans as the original Japanese-language voice actor of the Great Uncle in Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron, has died at age 75.
According to Nhk, the veteran performer suffered a lumbar fracture during the summer. He reportedly passed away on Nov. 14, 2024, but his death was made public on Nov. 20, 2024. In 2023, Hino played the Great Uncle character in The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki's most recent Ghibli film.
Hino was born May 30, 1949, in Tokyo, Japan as Koichi Nihei. He entered the entertainment industry as a child actor, making his theatrical debut in Kozo Saekis Izukoe in 1966. His stage name, Shohei Hino, was given to him by novelist Shotaro Ikenami in 1973. Hinos acting career lasted nearly 60 years, with his final movie, Last Mile by Ayuko Tsukahara, released this year in Japan. In addition to his acting career, Hino was a musician...
According to Nhk, the veteran performer suffered a lumbar fracture during the summer. He reportedly passed away on Nov. 14, 2024, but his death was made public on Nov. 20, 2024. In 2023, Hino played the Great Uncle character in The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki's most recent Ghibli film.
Hino was born May 30, 1949, in Tokyo, Japan as Koichi Nihei. He entered the entertainment industry as a child actor, making his theatrical debut in Kozo Saekis Izukoe in 1966. His stage name, Shohei Hino, was given to him by novelist Shotaro Ikenami in 1973. Hinos acting career lasted nearly 60 years, with his final movie, Last Mile by Ayuko Tsukahara, released this year in Japan. In addition to his acting career, Hino was a musician...
- 11/20/2024
- by Leo Reyna
- CBR
The Boy and The Heron became a worldwide sensation at the time of its release. There were many characters in it, who caught fans’ attention, but the Great Uncle stood out for his headstrong beliefs and his domineering presence. The character wouldn’t have been nearly as convincing without Shohei Hino, the actor who played him in the film.
Mahito and the Great Uncle in The Boy and The Heron | Credits: Studio Ghibli
Unfortunately, Hino passed away on November 14th at the age of 75. While his performance as the Great Uncle undoubtedly left an indelible mark, it was not all he was known for. Hino had dabbled with everything from acting and music to theater and voice acting. Fans knew him from his different creative endeavors in life. There was no limit to his talents and he brought various characters and art forms to life with brilliance.
Shohei Hino Passes...
Mahito and the Great Uncle in The Boy and The Heron | Credits: Studio Ghibli
Unfortunately, Hino passed away on November 14th at the age of 75. While his performance as the Great Uncle undoubtedly left an indelible mark, it was not all he was known for. Hino had dabbled with everything from acting and music to theater and voice acting. Fans knew him from his different creative endeavors in life. There was no limit to his talents and he brought various characters and art forms to life with brilliance.
Shohei Hino Passes...
- 11/20/2024
- by Laveena Joshi
- FandomWire
Exclusive: Here’s first-footage of Paris-set chef drama Grande Maison Paris, the standalone feature spinoff from the world of Japanese hit series La Grande Maison: Tokyo.
Set in the high stakes world of Parisian culinary excellence, the film is led by Japanese star Takuya Kimura (Blade of the Immortal) reprising his lead role from the series, and popular Korean actor and rapper from band2PM Ok Taec-yeon (Hansan: Rising Dragon).
Three Michelin star Japanese chef Kei Kobayashi (of Paris restaurant Kei) created the film’s cuisine. Pic gets its world premiere at the upcoming San Sebastián Film Festival.
Toho will release in Japan. Sony Pictures International Productions will release in France, with London and Paris-based finance, production and sales company Film Constellation handling international sales.
The official synopsis reads: “Famous Japanese chef Obana (Takuya Kimura) opens a new restaurant in Paris in the quest for his elusive third Michelin star.
Set in the high stakes world of Parisian culinary excellence, the film is led by Japanese star Takuya Kimura (Blade of the Immortal) reprising his lead role from the series, and popular Korean actor and rapper from band2PM Ok Taec-yeon (Hansan: Rising Dragon).
Three Michelin star Japanese chef Kei Kobayashi (of Paris restaurant Kei) created the film’s cuisine. Pic gets its world premiere at the upcoming San Sebastián Film Festival.
Toho will release in Japan. Sony Pictures International Productions will release in France, with London and Paris-based finance, production and sales company Film Constellation handling international sales.
The official synopsis reads: “Famous Japanese chef Obana (Takuya Kimura) opens a new restaurant in Paris in the quest for his elusive third Michelin star.
- 9/17/2024
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s high-anticipated “The Platform 2,” the Basque director’s follow-up to Netflix mega-hit “The Platform,” will world premiere this September at the San Sebastián film festival, closing its culinary section.
Subject of a high-profile acquisition by Netflix at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, engineered by CAA Media Finance, XYZ Films and Latido Films, “The Platform” has gone on to shoot to the near top of Netflix’s chart of non-English film hits on record, now featuring as No. 5 with 82.8 million views, thanks to its terrorific mix of futurist dystopian sci-f and redolent social allegory wrapped in a brutal survival thriller. That comes from the set-up: a vertical prison, with hundreds of floors, with every day a stone dumbwaiter descending with food left over from tenants above. Higher-level inmates gorge themselves; those below face starvation, suicide or cannibalism.
That structure looks to be retained in “The Platform 2,” set for release on Netflix on Oct.
Subject of a high-profile acquisition by Netflix at the 2019 Toronto Film Festival, engineered by CAA Media Finance, XYZ Films and Latido Films, “The Platform” has gone on to shoot to the near top of Netflix’s chart of non-English film hits on record, now featuring as No. 5 with 82.8 million views, thanks to its terrorific mix of futurist dystopian sci-f and redolent social allegory wrapped in a brutal survival thriller. That comes from the set-up: a vertical prison, with hundreds of floors, with every day a stone dumbwaiter descending with food left over from tenants above. Higher-level inmates gorge themselves; those below face starvation, suicide or cannibalism.
That structure looks to be retained in “The Platform 2,” set for release on Netflix on Oct.
- 8/28/2024
- by John Hopewell
- Variety Film + TV
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