Japanese films, Q3 2025: the quarter in review
Editors Β· 2026-10-07
In the third quarter of 2025, the anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba β The Movie: Infinity Castle (Part 1), released on July 18, set a new opening record for a Japanese film with 3.84 million admissions and 5.52 billion yen on its first weekend, and held No. 1 at the weekend box office for nine consecutive weeks into mid-September. Among live-action films released in the quarter, Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room β Nankai Mission, the second film based on the drama Tokyo MER, and the game adaptation Exit 8 had grossed 5.29 billion yen and 5.17 billion yen respectively by the end of January 2026. September saw the release of A Pale View of Hills, selected for the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes. Unless otherwise noted, box office figures are as tallied by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan as of the end of January 2026.
Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room β Nankai Mission β the drama's second film
Released on August 1 by Toho. The second film based on the TBS drama Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room (2021), it follows the newly launched Nankai MER as it mounts a rescue operation across the sea at the site of a massive eruption on Suwanosejima, an island in Kagoshima Prefecture. Aya Matsuki directed from a screenplay by Tsutomu Kuroiwa. The cast includes Ryohei Suzuki as Kota Kitami, along with Yosuke Eguchi, Nanao, Mahiro Takasugi, Meru Nukumi and Kento Kaku.
Its gross of 5.29 billion yen surpassed the first film (4.53 billion yen) and was second only to Kokuho among Japanese live-action films released from January to November 2025. A third film, CAPITAL CRISIS, has also been announced.
Tokyo MER: Mobile Emergency Room - Nankai MissionView title details βExit 8 β a live-action film based on an indie game
A 95-minute film released on August 29 by Toho. Trapped in an endlessly repeating underground passage, a man (Kazunari Ninomiya) makes his way toward Exit 8 by spotting "anomalies." Based on the game by KOTAKE CREATE, it was directed by Genki Kawamura, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kentaro Hirase. Yamato Kochi, Nana Komatsu and Kotone Hanase are also in the cast.
Ahead of its release, it screened in the Midnight Screenings section at Cannes on May 19 and won the poster prize (Prix Luciole). It grossed 5.17 billion yen in Japan; NEON handled distribution in the U.S., and it opened in Korea on October 22. It also won Best Music at the Sitges Film Festival, and at the 49th Japan Academy Film Prize it received Newcomer of the Year (Yamato Kochi) and an Award of Excellence for Film Editing.
Exit 8View title details βBlack Showman β a mystery based on a Keigo Higashino novel
Released on September 12 by Toho. When the father of Mayo (Kasumi Arimura), who is about to get married, is murdered, her uncle Takeshi (Masaharu Fukuyama), a former magician, sets out to uncover the truth before the police do. Based on Keigo Higashino's novel Black Showman and the Murder in an Obscure Town, it was directed by Akira Tanaka from a screenplay by Natsu Hashimoto. Ryo Narita, Erika Ikuta and Subaru Kimura co-star.
It grossed 2.40 billion yen. Masaharu Fukuyama performed the film's magic tricks himself, without CGI.
Black ShowmanView title details βKINKI β based on Sesuji's horror novel
Released on August 8 by Warner Bros. Japan. Two people (Miho Kanno and Eiji Akaso) who take over the materials of a missing occult magazine editor discover that scattered records of strange incidents all lead to "a certain place in the Kinki region." Based on Sesuji's horror novel, it was directed by Koji Shiraishi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Tetsuya Oishi. It grossed 1.56 billion yen, following the second quarter's Dollhouse (1.91 billion yen) as another horror film to pass 1 billion yen.
KINKIView title details βA Pale View of Hills β from Kazuo Ishiguro's novel to Cannes' Un Certain Regard
A JapanβUKβPoland co-production released on September 5 by GAGA. Etsuko, who lives in England, recalls for her daughter a summer she spent in postwar Nagasaki with Sachiko (Fumi Nikaido), a woman she met there. Based on Kazuo Ishiguro's debut novel, with Ishiguro serving as executive producer, it was written and directed by Kei Ishikawa. Suzu Hirose plays Etsuko in the 1950s and Yoh Yoshida plays her in the 1980s, with Camilla Aiko and Tomokazu Miura co-starring.
It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes on May 15. Although its gross fell short of 1 billion yen, Suzu Hirose won Best Actress at the Blue Ribbon Awards, the Nikkan Sports Film Awards and the Yokohama Film Festival for this and other films, and received an Award of Excellence for Leading Actress at the 49th Japan Academy Film Prize. The film placed 10th in Kinema Junpo's readers' Best Ten for Japanese films.
A Pale View of HillsView title details β