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Sony’s Columbia Pictures has secured the rights to remake “366 Days,” the Japanese romantic drama that has taken the box office by storm, for English-speaking audiences.

Co-produced and co-distributed by Shochiku and Sony Pictures Japan, the film has been a major hit locally since its Jan. 10 release. Propelled by strong word-of-mouth, “366 Days” climbed to No. 1 in total admissions by its fourth weekend and has since become the highest-grossing local film produced by a Hollywood studio in Japan based on an original screenplay. The film has grossed more than $11 million.

Directed by Takehiko Shinjo with a screenplay by Kaho Fukuda, “366 Days” draws inspiration from the popular Japanese band Hy’s beloved song of the same name. Columbia’s Peter Kang is overseeing the remake on behalf of the studio.

The film follows Minato Makiya, played by Eiji Akaso (“Pending Train”), a high school senior in Okinawa who falls...

After holding the top spot for two consecutive weekends, the advance theatrical screenings of Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX -Beginning- , a re-edited version of the upcoming Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX TV series, moved down to second in its third weekend. The release collected 271 million yen (1.75 million Usd) on 180,000 admissions, decreasing by half from last weekend , according to Kogyo Tsushinsha . While exceeding the gross box office, it fell just short of the live-action film 366 nichi ("366 days"), which drew 181,000 viewers in its fourth week of release. The screenings reached one million ticket sales on January 31 according to the anime's official X (formerly Twitter) . The anime's official website also confirmed that it had earned a cumulative of 1,935,716,409 yen (12.47 million Usd) from 1,186,791 ticket sales in 17 days (January 17 - February 2) since debuting in Japanese theaters. In its seventh weeked, Gekijouban Nintama Rantaro Dokutake Ninja-tai Saikyou no Gunshi (translated to "Nintama Rantaro the Movie: The...