Questions Arise Within Fuji TV About the Decision to Turn ‘Run for Money’ into a Movie Amid Criticism of Its Screening Experience
The theater version of the game variety show ‘Run for Money: Tosochu (commonly known as Tosochu),’ which has been airing irregularly on the Fuji TV network and celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, ‘Run for Money: The Movie – Tokyo Mission,’ has been in theaters since July 19th, just as the summer vacation season began.
The film’s plot involves six former high school track teammates receiving an invitation email to participate in ‘Run for Money,’ which promises a total prize amount exceeding 100 million yen. After reuniting for the first time in a long while by participating, they find themselves caught up in a deadly game as ‘Run for Money’ spirals out of control, turning into a death game that throws them and the other contestants into chaos.
The six main cast members are played by popular boy group members among young women, including Takumi Kawanishi (25), Syoya Kimata (24), and Sukai Kinjo (24) from ‘JO1,’ and Sota Nakajima (24), Leiya Seguchi (28), and Taiki Sato (29) from ‘FANTASTICS from EXILE TRIBE.’ The film is directed by Masaki Nishiura (56), a former Fuji TV employee who directed the hit series ‘Code Blue: Doctor-Heli Emergency Lifesaving’ starring Tomohisa Yamashita (39), and whose 2018 theater version became a massive hit with box office revenue of 9.3 billion yen. It was expected that many fans of both ‘JO1’ and ‘FANTASTICS’ would flock to theaters.
“With a large-scale release in 348 theaters nationwide, the movie debuted at 5th place in the first week’s ‘Domestic Film Ranking’ (provided by Kōgyō Tsūshinsha). However, by the following week’s ranking, it had already dropped out of the top 10. Box office revenue has been sluggish, and by the fourth week of release, it has yet to reach 500 million yen. It seems the project was pushed through in the hope of generating revenue from the film business, but for Fuji’s upper management and those involved, it has completely missed the mark,” said a source in the film industry.
