Motion Pictures
December 17, 2004
Warner Bros. Japan’s Release Of “Windstruck” Becomes The Biggest Korean-Language Film Opening In Japan
(December 17, 2004 - Tokyo) – “Windstruck,” the Korean-language film released in Japan by Warner Bros. Japan, opened on December 11 to 234,257,400 yen ($2,269,954) in its two-day weekend with 166,083 admissions, making it the country’s biggest opening Korean-language film.
“We are very proud of 'Windstruck’s' phenomenal opening in Japan which is a strong indication of the country’ increasing appetite for both Chinese- and Korean-language films. Bill Ireton has led his team at Warner Bros. Japan to tremendous success opening foreign language films there, most notably with ‘Hero,’ the highest-grossing Chinese-language film ever released in Japan. With their continued efforts, we look forward to the successful release of many more quality movies from other countries in the future,” said Richard Fox, Executive Vice President, International, Warner Bros.
Besting the previous record held by the Korean-language film “Brotherhood” by 25%, “Windstruck’s" record-breaking opening follows on the heels of Warner Bros. Japan’s highly successful releases of the Chinese-language films “Hero” and “Lovers” (aka “House of Flying Daggers”) in Japan, which together grossed over $55 million in the territory. “Hero” and “Lovers” are the highest-grossing and third-highest grossing-to date Chinese-language films ever released in Japan, respectively.
Directed by Kwak Jaeyong and starring Jun Jihyun and Jang Hyuk, “Windstruck” is a heart-rending story of two people who go out of their way to love and look out for one another. “Windstruck” is produced by Academy Award winning producer Bill Kong (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” “Hero”), the Executive Director of Hong Kong-based Edko Films.
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