"Genghis Khan" got 425 screens for opening

Haruki Kadokawa's hitorical spectacle of Mongolian hero "Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea" (I previously called it "Blue Wolf", direct translation of the Japanese title) will be released in 425 screens, the biggest ever among J-movies, on March 3.  The previous record was 408 made by "Bayside Shakedown 2" (2003), which eventually recorded the historical box office record of 17.35 billion yen.  The second place was last year's "Love and Honor" with 353 screens.

Kadokawa was planning to get around 350 screens, but when he took theater owners to Mongol to show them the filming of Khan's enthronement ceremony with 20,000 Mongolian extras, they were so impressed that they flocked to get this film at the opening.  Hmmm, so his marketing strategy is working!

The film is directed by Shinichiro Sawai, and the cast include Takashi Sorimachi, Rei Kikukawa, Ara (Korean actress) and many other well-known stars.  For my own interest, arguably the biggest rising Japanese star Kenichi Matsuyama ("DEATH NOTE" series) and ever-so-cute-and-great-acting Sosuke Ikematsu (that boy Higen at "The Last Samurai") are also in the cast.  There was a bit of info before that Koyuki is in it, but I cannot find her in the cast list.  Sorry to Koyuki fans.

You can see more info on its Website.  After you enter the site, in the bottom menu bar, click the far left  "映画情報", then in the subcategory bar that appears newly, the 3rd from the left "キャスト・人物相関図" for the cast list.  In the main menu bar, second from the left "予告編" is for trailers.

Seeing the trailer, I felt a bit strange that these Mongolian dressed people speak Japanese and act like Japanese dramas.  It is a new experience for me, although for Hollywood movies, it is not unusual to see this type of situation.  I am curious how I would feel when I actually see the film.

Another curious aspect for me is that this huge-for-J-movie budget (3 billion yen) film is not backed up by any TV station (although it has some other media partners such as newspaper, music label and FM radio), and the distribution partner is Shochiku, not mighty Toho (who has totally dominated the hoga distribution for some time).  After the success of "Love and Honor", Shochiku seems to be in the groove, and I am really excited to see different players play in different styles.  For your reference, Kadokawa's previous hit in 05-06 "YAMATO" was distributed by Toei.

See a related article on TWITCH as well.  They have the links to trailers as well.

Source:  Hochi

Comments

[Michi]

I only have seen the trailer, and I have a bit mixed feeling. The scenery and the scale look nice and big, but acting and conversations did not really give too much impression. But, again, I personally didn't like Kadokawa's "YAMATO" so much, but it did well in the box office. "Ginghis Khan" is getting so much publicity, and it probably will at least reach breakeven, but after that, I really cannot tell.

[erica_lee]

thanks for your information.
by the way, what is your take in this movie? do you think it would be blockbuster? With 300million production cost, do you think it stands a chance to break even?