Annie's live-action record means 10 million...History written by National Treasure Director Lee Sang-il (Roundup)

By Jeeyoung, Jo

Nov 14, 2025

Annie's live-action record means 10 million...History written by National Treasure Director Lee Sang-il (Roundup)
Photo=Media Castle



Director Lee Sang-il (51), who showed the power of live-action films in Japan, expressed his sincerity about the film.

Director Lee Sang-il, who directed the Japanese film 'National Treasure', met with Sports Chosun at the distributor NEW in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the afternoon of the 14th to talk about his life as a Korean director in Japan from the directing process of 'National Treasure'.

'National Treasure' is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by novelist Shuichi Yoshida. The film, which depicts the half-life of a Kabuki actor until he was selected as a human national treasure for his talent, deeply dealt with the loneliness and tenacity of a man who devoted his life to art and how art enhances human existence, and above all, it was well received for its masterpiece that beautifully expressed the scene of a traditional Japanese play Kabuki performance.




The national treasure', a genre that appeared for the first time in a long time since Chen Kaiger's 『KingbyulHee"(93), a traditional Chinese opera based on Peking Opera, is called the Japanese version \"KingbyulHee" and is the longest-running movie in Japan, and it is also receiving a lot of attention in Korea as a new work by Lee Sang-il, a Korean director in Japan who was recognized for his directing ability through the movie 『Hula Girls"(06)』"The Badman"(10)"The Unforgiven"(13)"Fury"(16).

In particular, 'National Treasure' was released in Japan on June 6 and surpassed 10 million cumulative audiences in 102 days, achieving 16.4 billion yen (about 154.4 billion won) in box office profits, and surpassed 12.07 million in 158 days until the 10th of this month, recording a phenomenal number of 17 billion yen (about 1608 billion won). It is the second 10 million movie in the history of Japanese live-action films and a monumental work that has set a new record in the Japanese film industry with an unprecedented achievement of being the second biggest live-action film in history, following the "Dancing Grand Investigation Line 2: Block the Rainbow Bridge" (03, hereinafter 'Dancing Grand Investigation Line 2', directed by Motohiro Katsuyuki). 'National Treasure' beat the owner 'Dancing Grand Investigation Line2' and is about to break the record of the number one live-action movie in Japan. Moreover, this record adds special meaning not only in Japan but also in Korea in that it is directed by Korean director Lee Sang-il in Japan.

Annie's live-action record means 10 million...History written by National Treasure Director Lee Sang-il (Roundup)
Director Lee Sang-il drew attention by meeting with director Bong Joon-ho in Korea ahead of the release in Korea, and on the morning of the same day, to film a video of a dialogue. Director Lee said "Director Bong had a lot of trouble for me, right?He laughed. There are not many films based on Kabuki in Japan, and he comforted me that it must have been very difficult in that he made a stage play into a movie. He also comforted her, saying that he knows the pain he suffered while making a three-hour movie. Of course, the box office was also celebrated in Japan. He jokingly said he beat coach James Cameron. I also asked for advice on how to respond to the questions that will come up in the future because it was my first movie to attract 10 million viewers."




Regarding the meaning of exceeding 10 million viewers with live-action films in Japan, he said, `In Japan, animation movies have great power, and box office profits often exceed 20 billion yen. It is the first time in nearly 20 years that a live-action movie will become a 10 million movie in Japan. In addition, it was the power of animation that allowed people to return to the theater after people did not go to the movie theater for a while during the COVID-19 pandemic. At that point, the achievements of animated films cannot be ignored. However, live-action films are acted by actors.Through the actor, the audience faces humans. I think it's a movie for humans to see humans. So I think it means a lot to me that 10 million viewers watched our movie," he replied honestly.

As for the changes in the Japanese film industry since the 'national treasure', it is actually a difficult question. However, in fact, many diversity films were created in the Japanese film industry two to three years ago. Not only animation, but also live-action movies of various genres are coming in. No one thought that the 'national treasure' would be so successful. Rather, it was a work that had difficult box office conditions. However, it seems that the possibility that the audience likes a variety of things rather than what we think, including the production company and the movie maker, has been discovered through 'National Treasure'`"Honestly, I wanted to make a movie of 'National Treasure' right after the novel came out, but it was difficult to invest. It was a time when investment sentiment in movies also fell, so I had time to wait until my investment interest increased again. In a way, 'national treasure' was invested by an animation company, and it is also a movie made because it has the power of animation."

Annie's live-action record means 10 million...History written by National Treasure Director Lee Sang-il (Roundup)
He also expressed his views on Korean movies. Recently, Japanese animation has been rapidly emerging in domestic theaters as Korean movies have suffered ups and downs, and director Lee said, `It's a little sad. When I first started the movie, I was in my 20s, and at that time, it was a time when the Korean movie form was rising a lot, that is, when the energy was rising. So, as a movie director in Japan, I sometimes felt jealous of the Korean movie director. It was a time when directors, such as Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Kim Ji-woon, and Lee Chang-dong, thought that Japanese film directors should learn from Korean film directors. But it's a pity to see the situation now. It seems that it is difficult not only for the Korean film industry but also for the film industry around the world. If there is an upward trend, there is a downward trend. It's a difficult situation now, but on the other hand, it feels like it's coming up again. Isn't OTT content fancy in Korea now? "The power that has been focused on the movie for a while is going to OTT, but I think the power that arises from it is likely to return to the movie again."




As for the plan for the Korea-Japan joint venture project "Strangely, there are not many proposals. The most recent Korean movie I watched was 'Victory'. Lee Byung-hun and Song Kang-ho would also like to work together if they have a chance. If you look at Korean OTT, the level is really strong. Most of them deal with revenge or gangster stories, but if I have a chance, I want to make a work dealing with beauty," he said of the wind.

Annie's live-action record means 10 million...History written by National Treasure Director Lee Sang-il (Roundup)
Photo=Media Castle
The reason why the Japanese audience was enthusiastic about the 'national treasure' was that director Lee watched 'national treasure' in the second week and the third week was better than the second week. And this is the case where the box office hit properly in the fifth week. It's an unusual case. At the beginning of its release, as expected, most of the middle-aged audiences were. However, from the second week, a young audience who is not interested in Kabuki watched it and received attention. The actors' performance was well-received, and the movie itself received a lot of favorable reviews. Most of them responded that time went by even during the three-hour running time and felt a new experience. There were also many audiences who learned that Kabuki is such an interesting and easy-to-understand culture through 'national treasure'. Even the elderly in their 90s don't usually go to the theater, but word of mouth spread and they came to the theater. It was an opportunity to recognize again, saying, "This is our culture." Thanks to this, it was able to become a box office hit. Indeed, it seems that 'national treasure' has come this far with the audience's attraction,' he said. `Some people say 'Japanese version of 'Wangbyul-hee', but I wasn't conscious when I actually made the movie. Of course, I was so shocked when I saw 'Wangbyulhee' when I was in school, and I still have a great deal of work to this day. However, when making 'Onnagata (a male actor playing a female role)' based on Kabuki, there may be some parts naturally inspired by it, but I will make 'National Treasure' from the beginning 'Wangbyulhee' I didn't think about it", he confessed.

'National Treasure' features Yoshizawa Ryo, Yokohama Ryusei, Takahata Mitsuki, Terajima Shinobu, Morinana, Kurokawa Soya, and Watanabe Ken, and director Lee Sang-il of 'Hula Girls'The Evil'The Unforgiven' took the megaphone. 'National Treasure', which was released in Japan on June 6, will be released in Korea on the 19th.





soulhn1220@sportschosun.com