"Hero" Strikes Box Office Gold

Wednesday October 17, 2007 Japan



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"Hero", a film starred by Japanese No.1 Lady-Killer Takuya Kimura, is now in its sixth week of being the top box office winner in Japan, website Sina.com.cn reports.

Released on September 8, the movie has already attracted 5.5 million cinema-goers, profiting over 7 billion Japanese yen (about 450 million yuan).

It scored the highest out of all the Japanese movies this year, defeating another Kimura's production "Bushi no ichibun".

Box office takings for the movie are expected to keep growing, exceeding "Limit of Love: Umizaru", which recorded the highest box office in 2006.

In 2001, Kimura starred in Hero's drama series, setting a record with its high TV rating of about 37 percent.

"HERO" still shows its strength

Wednesday September 26, 2007 Japan

The "HERO" drama franchise, starring Takuya Kimura and Takako Matsu, is still running strong, according to recent numbers.

On the 23rd, Fuji TV aired "Drama Legend HERO," a director's cut that added new scenes to last year's special episode. While ratings failed to meet the original's 30.9% viewership, the program still averaged a healthy 22.1%.

Meanwhile, the film version topped the box office for its third consecutive week. So far, it has grossed about 4.8 billion yen on 3.75 million admissions.

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Fuji's "Hero" gets Asia-wide release

Monday September 3, 2007 Japan


http://www.varietyasiaonline.com/content/view/2010/1/

TOKYO -- "Hero," Fuji TV's suspense/drama about a rebel prosecutor that will open in Japan on September 8, is also getting a wide release around Asia, Fuji sources have revealed.

The pic, which is headlined by Japanese megastar Takuya Kimura in the prosecutor role, will open in Korea on October 25 on 250 screens -- a local record for a Japanese pic. Keowon Film, which handled also "Sinking of Japan" -- a made-in-Japan hit in Korea last year -- is the distrib.

Panasia Films, a subisdiary of Golden Harvest Entertainment Holdings, will distrib the pic both Hong Kong, starting on October 18, and Taiwan, while Encore Films is handling it in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

The pic will also bow in Hong Kong on October 18, as well as in Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. "Hero" will open on 20 screens or more in most of these territories, a large number given the small local market share of Japanese pics. Finally, the pic will not be dubbed anywhere, on the assumption that fans will want to hear Kimura's real voice.

"Hero" is based on a Fuji TV series, starring Kimura as a rule-breaking delinquent-turned-prosecutor, that racked up stupendous 30-plus ratings for every episode when it was broadcast from January to March 2001. Instead of signing Kimura and company to another season, however, Fuji dropped the show for five years, reviving it for a special that aired in July of 2006 -- and also scored over 30.

By this time, Fuji producer Chihiro Kameyama -- the mastermind behind the smash "Bayside Shakedown" cop thriller franchise and many other hit films, was developing a "Hero" feature. Set for release on 470 screens on September 8, "Hero" is expected to equal or surpass the spectacular take of the two "Bayside Shakedown" films, the second of which grossed Y17.35 billion ($151 million) in 2003, more than that year's "Harry Potter" entry.

In August Kimura signed to star in the Anh Hung Tran psychothriller "I Come with the Rain," a pan-Asian production that is expected to raise his regional profile. He also appeared in Wong Kar-wai's mood romance "2046," as well Yoji Yamada's period drama "Love and Honor," a major hit for Shochiku in 2006.