Fuji TV Struggles to Produce New Popular Dramas

The sequel to the blockbuster movie, “Tonde Saitama: With Love from Lake Biwa,” which was released on November 23rd last year, announced during a thanksgiving stage greeting held in Tokyo on the same day that it has surpassed 1.25 million in audience attendance and 17.2 billion yen in box office revenue by December 19th.

The previous work extensively ridiculed Saitama Prefecture, becoming an unexpected blockbuster with 3.76 billion yen in revenue. In this sequel, GACKT (50) and Fumi Nikaido (29) continue to co-star, relentlessly mocking Shiga Prefecture, and the box office revenue has currently surpassed 22 billion yen.

While the final box office revenue is expected to fall short of the previous installment, it is reported that, similar to the first film, the sequel is bringing significant profits to Fuji Television, a member of the production committee.

In the films released last year that Fuji invested in, the theatrical version of the Monday 9 PM drama “Mystery to Iunakare,” starring Masaki Suda (30), earned 4.74 billion yen at the box office. Additionally, the live-action film series adaptations of the popular manga “Tokyo Revengers 2: Blood Halloween Arc – Unmei” and “Kessen” collectively grossed 50 billion yen.

Since the appointment of Koichi Minato as president at the end of June 2022, Fuji established a new department to adapt TV dramas into movies with the aim of achieving success. “Mystery to Iunakare” can be considered a successful outcome of this strategy. However, the theatrical version of the drama “Ichikei no Karasu,” starring Yutaka Takenouchi (53), released in January last year, earned around 11 billion yen. Although it surpassed the benchmark of 10 billion yen for a major release hit, it was unexpected given the high expectations for the film.

In the theatrical versions of TV dramas released after President Minato’s appointment, both of which were released in 2022, the film “Galileo” series starring Masaharu Fukuyama (54), titled “Silent Parade,” achieved a box office revenue of 30 billion yen, and “Dr. Koto’s Clinic” starring Hidetaka Yoshioka (53) recorded a hit with 25 billion yen. However, for Fuji Television, it seems that these successes were somewhat anticipated and factored into their plans.