Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 17th & 18th June 2017

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cinemas showing the movie:

1) 22 Nenme no Kokuhaku Watashi ga satsujinhan desu (328)

2) Beauty and the Beast (372)

3) Hirugao (312)

4) Kodomotsukai (250)

5) Gekijouban Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Hoshi wo yobu shoujo (59)

6) King Arthur (326)

7) Hanaikusa (353)

8) Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru (285)

9) LOGAN (359)

10) Meitantei Conan Karakurenai no Love Letter (354)

Source: Eiga.com

Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 10th & 11th June 2017

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cinemas showing the movie:

1) 22 Nenme no Kokuhaku Watashi ga satsujinhan desu (328)

2) Hirugao (312)

3) Beauty and the Beast (372)

4) LOGAN (359)

5) Hanaikusa (353)

6) Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru (285)

7) KING OF PRISM PRIDE the HERO (56)

8) Meitantei Conan Karakurenai no Love Letter (354)

9) Kazoku wa tsurai yo 2 (327)

10) Peach Girl (302)

Source: Eiga.com

Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 3rd & 4th June 2017

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cinemas showing the movie:

1) Beauty and the Beast (372)

2) LOGAN (359)

3) Hanaikusa (353)

4) Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru (284)

5) Kazoku wa tsurai yo 2 (325)

6) Meitantei Conan Karakurenai no Love Letter (354)

7) Peach Girl (302)

8) Teiichi no Kuni (291)

9) Kimi no Manazashi (177)

10) Fast & Furious 8 (355)

Source: Eiga.com

First-day-screening event of new movie "Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru"

The first-day-screening event of new movie "Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru" was held at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills on 27 May which was attended by the director Narushima Izuru and cast members Fukushi Souta, Kudo Asuka, Koike Eiko and Yoshida Kotaro.  The movie features Kudo Asuka in the role of Aoyama Takashi, a young man who has just started his first full-time job and is so stressed by the tough sales targets set by his company and power harassment that he wants to commit suicide by jumping onto a railway track. However, in the nick of time, he is saved by a mysterious man named Yamamoto (Fukushi) who is very cheerful for no reason and keeps speaking Kansai-ben to him. Through their interaction, Aoyama starts to feel the positive energy from Yamamoto rub onto him and things at work improve. Unexpectedly, Aoyama finds out that Yamamoto had actually committed suicide three years ago.

Towards the end of the event, Fukushi was about to make his parting comments when the host said that the director had something to say to Fukushi and Kudo. Narushima revealed that when he first met the two actors, he had a bad feeling that they probably wouldn't do well in his movie thus he pushed them to their limits during the filming. Although he could see that there were times when they were about to buckle under the pressure, he was glad to see that they managed to pull through and grow as actors. Narushima praised them for their hard work and that the viewers can see for themselves in this movie how the two of them can become leading actors in Japanese movies in time to come. He ended his speech by saying thank you to them for the first time.

After being given a hug by Narushima, Fukushi said that he should be the one saying thank you and tried hard to hold back his tears. He then commented that it was tough on the director too to be so demanding of them but he felt that the effort was worth it and he would never forget about how Narushima helped him grow as an actor. On the other hand, Kudo also revealed his worry when he first heard of the offer and said that Narushima offered him support like a father whenever he was unsure of what to do. He pledged to return the favour to Narushima next time when he appears in the latter's work.

Sources: Eiga.com / Sponichi / Oricon

Top 10 movies box office ranking for the weekend of 27th & 28th May

Numbers in brackets indicate the number of cinemas showing the movie:

1) Beauty and the Beast (372)

2) Kazoku wa tsurai yo 2 (325)

3) Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru (284)

4) Meitantei Conan Karakurenai no Love Letter (354)

5) Peach Girl (301)

6) The Fate of the Furious (355)

7) Kimi no Manazashi (177)

8) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (347)

9) Teiichi no Kuni (291)

10) Arrival (198)

Source: Eiga.com

Premiere screening event of new movie "Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru"

The premiere screening event of new movie "Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru" was held on 21 May which was attended by cast members Fukushi Souta and Kudo Asuka as well as Kobukuro who sings the theme song "Kokoro" for the movie. During the event, Kobukuro performed the song "live" for the first time which also happened to be their first at a movie event in 9 years. Fukushi expressed his joy at being able to listen to Kobukuro's performance live as he has been a fan since he was a student and thanked them for the song which was very touching. Kudo revealed that his family members are also fans of the duo and his father keeps playing their songs the whole day.

Kobukuro were generous with their praise for the movie of which Kobuchi Kentaro who had worked as a company employee before, said that he could identify with the theme of the movie which was very realistic. As for Kuroda who comes from Osaka, he commented that Fukushi's first attempt at speaking Kansai-ben was pretty good. With regard to how they came up to the song, Kobuchi revealed that he was taking notes while watching the movie and completed the song about 5 minutes later after he finished it.

Fukushi mentioned that each person may develop different views about the movie after watching it but he hopes that they will be getting a positive vibe by the end of it in order to take their next step in life. Kudo also echoed the view that this is not just about working life but also how people are connected to one another and family love.

The movie will be released in cinemas from 27 May while the single will be released as Kobukuro's first single in 18 months on 24 May.

Sources: Eiga.com / Sponichi

Completion screening event of new movie "Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru"

The completion screening event of new movie "Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru" was held at TOHO Cinemas Roppongi Hills on 9 May which was attended by the director Narushima Izuru and cast members Fukushi Souta, Kudo Asuka, Kuroki Haru, Koike Eiko and Yoshida Kotaro. The movie will be shown in cinemas from 27 May and take part in the Shanghai International Film Festival which will be held between 17th and 26th June.

The story features Kudo in the role of Aoyama Takashi, a young man who has just started his first full-time job and is so stressed by the tough sales targets set by his company and power harassment that he wants to commit suicide by jumping onto a railway track. However, in the nick of time, he is saved by a mysterious man named Yamamoto (Fukushi) who is very cheerful for no apparent reason and keeps speaking Kansai-ben to him. Through their interaction, Aoyama starts to feel the positive energy from Yamamoto rub onto him and gradually sees an improvement in his career. One day, Aoyama is shocked to learn that Yamamoto actually died three years ago due to a suicide.

With regard to their first collaboration in this movie, Fukushi remarked that Kudo is a very energetic and sporty guy since they first met and his impression of the latter has not changed at all even though they know each other better now. On the other hand, Kudo said that he was in awe when he first saw Fukushi and realised why girls are all so besotted with him.

In line with the movie's theme, the cast were asked what they would like to quit doing. Fukushi said that he's very shy in front of strangers and people who he hardly knows as he has very little confidence in himself. When he is the lead actor in a production, he feels the responsibility to become a leader on the set so would try to approach others and strike up a conversation. Upon hearing this, his co-stars teased him that this must be the reason why Fukushi only takes leading roles which led him to clarify that this is not what he means.

Sources: Nikkansports / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi / Eiga.com

Kobukuro to sing the theme song for new movie "Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru"

Kobukuro will be singing the theme song for new movie "Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru" starring Fukushi Souta which will be shown in cinemas from 27 May. The movie features Kudo Asuka in the role of Aoyama Takashi, a young man who has just started his first full-time job and is so stressed by the tough sales targets set by his company and power harassment that he wants to commit suicide by jumping onto a railway track. However, in the nick of time, he is saved by a mysterious man named Yamamoto (Fukushi) who is very cheerful for no reason and keeps speaking Kansai-ben to him. Through their interaction, Aoyama starts to feel the positive energy from Yamamoto rub onto him and things at work improve. Unexpectedly, Aoyama finds out that Yamamoto had actually committed suicide three years ago. Co-stars include Kuroki Haru, Koike Eiko and Yoshida Kotaro.

Kobukuro's Kobuchi Kentaro used to be a salaryman for four years between the ages of 18 and 22 and even became a supervisor at 21 before he became a musician. As such, he tapped on his past experience to write the song titled "Kokoro" (Heart) which describes how to live on when the heart and body are not in sync. During those tough days when he was busy with visiting clients, although there were happy things he experienced, he also found that it was not fulfilling and felt as if his soul was not with him at work. During that period, he began performing live on the streets of Sakai, Osaka, as a form of therapy for himself and met his singing partner Kuroda Shunsuke there. As such, when Kobuchi saw the movie, he was reminded of his past memories thus giving birth to the song.

Source: Eiga.com

Fukushi Sota to star in new movie "Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru"

Fukushi Sota will be starring in the new movie "Chotto ima kara shigoto yametekuru" (I will go to quit my job now) which will be directed by Narushima Izuru and due to be shown in cinemas in summer 2017. The movie is based on the same-titled novel by Kitagawa Emi which has sold more than 500,000 copies to date.

The movie features Kudo Asuka in the role of Aoyama Takashi, a young man who has just started his first full-time job and is so stressed by the tough sales targets set by his company and power harassment that he wants to commit suicide by jumping onto a railway track. However, in the nick of time, he is saved by a mysterious man named Yamamoto (Fukushi) who is very cheerful for no reason and keeps speaking Kansai-ben to him. Through their interaction, Aoyama starts to feel the positive energy from Yamamoto rub onto him.

As Fukushi is from Tokyo, he finds having to speak in Kansai-ben a huge challenge for him that his intonation mistakes were frequently pointed out since rehearsals started in March. As a result, the producer Ikeda Hiroyuki once thought of changing all of Yamamoto's lines to the standard speech instead. However, Fukushi made huge improvements by watching the manzai DVDs of the late Yokoyama Yasushi and Nishikawa Kiyoshi at the recommendation of the director and practising his lines repeatedly. Fukushi commented that he hopes that Yamamoto will be an encouraging presence to the young people who are struggling in society through this movie.

Co-stars also include Yoshida Kotaro who plays Aoyama's manager and keeps subjecting the latter to verbal abuse, Kuroki Haru who plays Aoyama's senior at work and Koike Eiko who plays a mysterious woman that knows Yamamoto's past.

Source: Yomiuri Hochi