Japanese films, Q1 2025: the quarter in review

Released on February 7 by Toho. Fifteen years into her marriage, Kanna (Takako Matsu) loses her husband Kakeru (Hokuto Matsumura) in an accident; traveling back in time to just before they first met, she searches for a way to save him. Ayuko Tsukahara directed from an original screenplay by Yuji Sakamoto, not based on any source material. Riho Yoshioka, Nana Mori and Lily Franky co-star.

Its gross of 2.88 billion yen was the highest of any Japanese live-action film released in the first quarter. It opened at No. 1 with 174,000 admissions and 254 million yen on its first weekend, and returned to No. 1 on its fourth weekend (February 28–March 2). At the 49th Japan Academy Film Prize, it received Awards of Excellence including Picture of the Year, Director (Ayuko Tsukahara), Leading Actress (Takako Matsu) and Supporting Actor (Hokuto Matsumura).

Released on January 10, distributed jointly by Shochiku and Sony Pictures. A pure-love story inspired by HY's song of the same name, it follows Minato (Eiji Akaso) and Miu (Moka Kamishiraishi), high-school sweethearts in different year groups, brought together by music in Okinawa in 2003, as they confront the promise they made to each other over the 20 years after they part. Takehiko Shinjo directed from a screenplay by Kaho Fukuda, with Tina Tamashiro and Yuto Nakajima co-starring.

Its gross of 2.58 billion yen is the highest of any Japanese live-action film released in January. On its fourth weekend (January 31–February 2), it ranked No. 1 in weekend admissions with 181,000 (it was third in box office revenue that weekend). At the 49th Japan Academy Film Prize, it received Awards of Excellence for Screenplay (Kaho Fukuda), Music and Sound Recording, and Columbia Pictures in the U.S. acquired the rights to an English-language remake.

Released on February 14 by Toho. It is a sequel to the 2023 TBS drama based on the manga by Riichiro Inagaki and Ryoichi Ikegami. Haru (Ren Meguro) and Gaku (Hayato Sano), whose goal is to make a trillion dollars, this time take on a contest involving the global casino king Wolf Lee (Ryo Ishibashi). Yoshiaki Murao directed from a screenplay by Daisuke Habara, with Mio Imada and Riko Fukumoto co-starring.

Starring Ren Meguro of Snow Man, the film opened at No. 1 with 438,000 admissions and 616 million yen on its first weekend, held the top spot for two consecutive weeks, and grossed 2.05 billion yen. It placed fifth in Kinema Junpo's readers' Best Ten for Japanese films.

Released on January 24 by Toho. Based on Kengo Hanazawa's manga serialized in Young Magazine, it was written and directed by Yuichi Fukuda. Among the ninjas who, though disbanded after the war, remain hidden throughout Japan, Kuro (Kento Yamazaki), a low-ranking ninja with no work, is assigned to infiltrate a high school. The cast includes Minami Hamabe, Shotaro Mamiya, Mai Shiraishi and Jiro Sato.

It opened at No. 3 on its first weekend and went on to gross 1.59 billion yen. Because Fuji TV was involved in its production, it showed the unusual pattern of climbing the chart in its sixth week, after sponsors pulled their commercials from Fuji TV and the resulting gaps sharply increased the airtime given to ads for films the network produced. Reviews were mixed.

Released exclusively on Netflix worldwide on February 27. Shuhei Sakata (Toma Ikuta), a former hitman who lost his family and lay in a coma for 12 years, wakes up and sets out for revenge on the men in oni masks. Based on Masamichi Kawabe's manga Oni Goroshi, it was written and directed by Seiji Tanaka, with music by Tomoyasu Hotei. Masahiro Higashide, Mio Tanaka and Ami Toma co-star.

In the week ending March 2, it reached No. 2 on Netflix's global Top 10 for non-English films, and it was No. 1 in Japan the same week. It stayed in the global Top 10 for four weeks, with a peak of 10.3 million views in a single week (the week ending March 9) and a total of 24.9 million views across those weeks.