It has been revealed that the box office revenue of the film "National Treasure" (directed by Lee Sang-il), starring actor Ryo Yoshizawa, which was released on June 6th, has become the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film of all time. In the 172 days since its release on November 24th, it has attracted 12,311,553 viewers and grossed over 17,377,394,500 yen. This surpasses the box office revenue of "Bayside Shakedown 2: Shut Down the Rainbow Bridge!" (released in 2003, 17.35 billion yen), breaking the previous record for the first time in 22 years.
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Shuichi Yoshida (published by Asahi Shimbun Publications). Set in post-war Japan during the period of rapid economic growth, the story follows the protagonist Kikuo (Yoshizawa), who was born into a family of yakuza but was adopted into the home of kabuki actor Hanjiro Hanai (Ken Watanabe), who meets Hanjiro's heir, Shunsuke (Ryusei Yokohama). The film depicts the two men of completely different bloodlines risking their lives to devote their lives to the art.
