Box office booms in 'off' season

Box office booms in 'off' season
2009 releases earning big, but why?
By PAMELA MCCLINTOCK
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Domestic B.O. for January and February was up 13%. Admissions rose nearly 10%. With a slew of high-profile projects set to open in the next two months, Hollywood hopes to maintain this torrid pace.

But the studios' good fortune comes with vexing questions: Why is this happening, and how on earth do they keep it up?

The past few weeks have been full of theories as to why the public has taken an interest in the normally dormant early months of the year. The most frequent explanation is that a recession-weary populace has been anxious for an escape. But there's also the fact that studios, flush with product from the days when hedge fund money flowed into Hollywood, just needed a place to put their movies -- and audiences welcomed the product.

In the past four years, private equity money flowed into Hollywood, creating a surplus of movies and forcing studios to rethink their long-established release patterns.

It has required Hollywood to start something it had previously paid lip service to: a genuine year-round calendar, where high-profile releases are dispatched on weekends that used to be box office dumping grounds.

Traditionally, studios have saved their heavyweight titles for Easter, summer and year-end holidays.

Partly this is due to timidity -- with huge sums of money riding on a film, you have to play it safe -- and partly it's because talent always insisted on long-established key opening dates.

But with an overcrowded release schedule, studios have begun launching more prominent films in off-peak months, and audiences have responded with enthusiasm.

For the first time ever, three films -- Warners' "Gran Torino," Sony's "Paul Blart Mall Cop" and 20th Century Fox's "Taken" -- made more than $100 million between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28. Fox Searchlight's "Slumdog Millionaire" nearly hit that mark, and its overseas tallies sent it soaring past $200 million.

While conventional wisdom says showbiz is recession-proof, many doubted whether the current economic crash would lead to a surge in moviegoing, because audiences have so many other entertainment options.

Studios hope that the increased filmgoing will maintain its momentum.

"You are going to have a lot of goodwill built upon on the part of moviegoers," said Disney prexy of domestic distribution Chuck Viane. "It also means more people are seeing trailers for summer films."

But before you think that the studios have found the formula for a year-round box office nirvana, consider this: The fiscal crunch has slowed up hedge-pics, and the 2008 WGA strike, along with fears of a SAG walkout, have severely slowed production. That means next year's slate may be underpopulated.

So Hollywood will have to confront the fact it may have created its own speed bump for the fast-moving B.O. buildup.

Moreover, the idea of a year-round box office will be tested further in the near term, as studios release a spate of films in the coming months that approach the level of summer blockbusters.

"The audience has gotten into the rhythm of going to the movies. There's been a constant flow of attractive product since Christmas," Paramount co-chair Rob Moore says.

Hot on the heels of the March 6 bow of Zack Snyder's "Watchmen," there are Dwayne Johnson family pic "Race to Witch Mountain" (March 13), Julia Roberts-Clive Owen starrer "Duplicity" (March 20), DreamWorks Animation's "Monsters vs. Aliens" (March 27), "Hannah Montana: The Movie" (April 10), and "State of Play" (April 17).

Over the decades, there have been plenty of winter and spring hit pics, but Hollywood usually dismissed them as flukes. There's never been this sort of sustained winning streak. Films are seeing huge multiples, since they have less competition than they would in summer.

Partly the studios have been emboldened by the success of other pics in off-peak slots.

Warner Bros.' "300," which looked an awful lot like a summer tentpole, debuted in early March 2006 to $70 million, with a domestic cume of $210.6 million and $456.1 million worldwide -- the biggest number ever for a March pic. Last year, Warners went for it again, opening Roland Emmerich's "10,000 B.C." the same weekend in March. The pic cumed $94.8 million domestically and $269.8 million worldwide.

This year, studio opened Snyder's "Watchmen" in the same frame.

In January, Twentieth Century Fox caught the competish off-guard by opening "Taken" over Super Bowl weekend. No one had ever dared open a male-driven actioner on that date. Yet it worked.

"Now, every studio is going to look at Super Bowl weekend differently," one exec says.

Fifteen years ago, summer box office began post-Memorial Day. Now, the season begins the first weekend in May.

Last year, when Jeffrey Katzenberg announced Paramount would release the 3-D "Monsters vs. Aliens" on March 27, he quipped that summer now begins the end of March.

Katzenberg's hand was forced to some degree. "Monsters" was scheduled to open in May, but then Fox dated James Cameron's 3-D "Avatar" for the same month, meaning too few 3-D screens for one of the films. (Fox subsequently pushed "Avatar" back to December.")

There's a huge silver lining to the move: "Monsters" gets out of the way of Fox's family pic "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," which opens May 22.

Fox helped pioneer the spring toon-tentpole with the "Ice Age" duo and last year's "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who." The three films respectively cumed $195 million, $176.4 million and $154.2 million domestically.

Universal prexy of distribution Nikki Rocco has been a longtime proponent of a year-round calendar. She has no misgivings about the studio's decision to move the release of "Fast and Furious 4" from June 12 to April 4.

"Why not? With a sequel that's a built-in franchise, it gives you playability that the summer doesn't afford because it's such a crowded marketplace," Rocco says.

U also opted to debut Russell Crowe-Ben Affleck-Rachel McAdams topliner "State of Play" on April 17.

One exec maintains that a key remaining challenge is convincing filmmakers and talent that it can be a good thing to avoid summer. "Part of the issue is perception. Talent thinks that a studio doesn't believe in their movies."

Last year, Disney had a blockbuster hit with the 3-D limited run "Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: The Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour," which opened to $31.1 million in early February on its way to $65.3 million domestically.

This year, Disney followed with "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience," which had a solid, but unspectacular, opening of $12.5 million over the Feb. 27-March 1 weekend. The Mouse House opens "Hannah Montana: The Movie" on April 10. The studio also has "Race to Witch Mountain."

'The Wrestler' tops Spirit Awards

"The Wrestler" took top honors at Saturday's Film Independent Spirit Awards.

The drama about a washed-upped professional wrestler also saw Mickey Rourke pinning the competition in the lead male category. The thesp who is enjoying his own career revival will compete tomorrow night for the same award at the Academy Awards.

"Frozen River's" Melissa Leo bested Summer Bishil, Anne Hathaway, Tarra Riggs and Michelle Williams for best actress kudos. Otherwise, the awards show that honors independently financed films went with largely recognizable names and projects, including Penelope Cruz for best supporting actress in "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and James Franco for best supporting actor in "Milk."

The ceremony, held on the beach in Santa Monica, drew a phlanx of A-list stars, who gave Rourke the afternoon's only standing ovation.

Rourke received most of the afternoon's laughs during his disjointed self-depricating acceptance speech, where he butchered a number of names including Fox Filmed Entertainment topper Jim Gianopulos. When "The Visitor" helmer Tom McCarthy was named best director following Rourke's speech, he joked, "I think they should have stopped the show after Mickey; who can follow that?"

List of winners:

Supporting male
James Franco "Milk"

First screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, "Milk"

First feature
Charlie Kaufman's "Synecdoche, New York"

Supporting female
Penelope Cruz, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

John Cassavetes Award given to the best feature made for less than $500,000
Alex Holdridge's "In Search of a Midnight Kiss"

Documentary
James Marsh's "Man on Wire"

Female lead
Melissa Leo, "Frozen River"

Acura Someone to Watch Award
Lynn Shelton, "My Effortless Brilliance"

Piaget Producers Award
Heather Rae, "Frozen River"

Lacoste Truer Than Fiction Award
Margaret Brown, "The Order of Myths"

Screenplay
Woody Allen, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"

Foreign film
Laurent Cantet's "The Class"

Cinematographer
Maryse Alberti, "The Wrestler"

Robert Altman Award, given to film's director, casting director and its ensemble cast
"Synecdoche, New York"

Male lead
Mickey Rourke, "The Wrestler"

Director
Tom McCarthy, "The Visitor"

Picture
"The Wrestler," producers Darren Aronofsky, Scott Franklin

Could 2009 be the biggest year in US box-office history?

Last weekend broke the President's Day holiday box-office records, following the first $1bn month in history in January. With an impressive slate of massive blockbusters still to come, 2009 could prove that filmgoing is recession-proof

If Hollywood could be equated to a basketball or American football season, Tyler Perry would be Lionsgate's Most Valuable Player. The studio's been releasing this savvy entertainer's pictures at least once a year for quite a while now and has scored almost every time. The latest slice of family-friendly sermonising opens this Oscar weekend with Madea Goes to Jail and should easily entice his predominantly female African-American demographic into the cineplexes.
Lionsgate has stuck by the writer-director-producer-star ever since it introduced Perry and the Madea character in the comedy Diary of a Mad Black Woman in 2002, culminating in a first-look deal signed last summer, which means that Perry gives Lionsgate first option to board his upcoming projects. Madea Goes to Jail should rule the roost this weekend and is expected to sell in the region of $25m (£17.5m) worth of tickets. It could gross as much as $60m in cinemas before it sets sail for far more lucrative DVD and TV waters in its journey into profit.

The other wide release is a blah-sounding comedy called Fired Up! With the alarmingly lazy premise of a pair of libidinous high-school footballers getting themselves into cheerleading camp to satiate their sex drives, it has no stars and will do well to pass $10m in its first three days. 'Nuff said.

A strong debut by Madea Goes to Jail means that Friday the 13th and the romcom He's Just Not That Into You will have to scrap for second place in the $15-18m region. That would mean a roughly 60% drop in box office for the horror remake, which is about par for the course. Nonetheless, last weekend's $40.6m debut will linger long in the memory because it scored the biggest three-day horror launch in history and played a key role in propelling the President's Day holiday weekend to an all-time high too.

This weekend is expected to surpass the same period in 2008, when the top 12 releases took just over $90m and Vantage Point opened at No 1 on $22.9m. It's Oscar weekend and grosses are never huge, but what's worth noting is that confidence levels are sky-high at the North American box office these days. Last weekend's records follow the first $1bn month in history in January, proving that even during a recession, filmgoing remains a strong business. Yes, ticket prices have risen year-on-year (I'll get the exact figures at next month's annual ShoWest convention in Las Vegas) and, yes, the actual number of attendances are declining; but they're not declining by much (again, I'll try to get that data from Vegas next month) and it's true to say that during these tough times cinema is prospering because it's arguably the cheapest form of public entertainment out there.

I'm going to stick my neck out and say that 2009 will be the biggest year in US box-office history. Maybe this will be true of the international marketplace, too. In the US, box-office receipts are already tracking some 20% ahead of the same year-to-date portion of 2008, and if you look at what's coming up over the next 10 months it seems reasonable to assume this year will be the biggest we've seen. Consider the evidence: in less than two weeks Warner Bros releases Watchmen, which is shaping up to be one of the bigger non-franchise movies of the year. Others, I would venture, include James Cameron's 3-D sci-fi spectacular Avatar, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (a franchise spin-off with franchise potential of its own), another sci-fi extravaganza in the form of District 9 (backed by Peter Jackson), Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy Bruno, Pixar's Up and the action adaptation GI Joe.

And don't be surprised if Quentin Tarantino's second world war romp Inglourious Basterds parlays a wild reception at its world premiere at Cannes in May into a solid autumn run through the Weinstein Company. Then there are the sequels, offering latest twists to such successful sagas as Harry Potter, Twilight, Star Trek, Transformers, The Da Vinci Code, Ice Age, Night at the Museum, The Fast and the Furious, and Hannah Montana. With this lineup, Hollywood can't lose. Now, the studio chiefs must be thinking from their lofty perches, if only those pesky Screen Actors Guild members could sign away their lives and end the contract dispute. Then 2010 and 2011 wouldn't look so terrifyingly barren.(guardian)

Oscar quotes

For your pleasure on awards weekend, a list of quotes I collected for an Oscar party invite a few years back:

“In the mythology of the cinema, the Oscar is the supreme prize.”
– Federico Fellini

“It’s the intellectual rutting season, a thoroughly awful and debasing time.”
– Dalton Trumbo

“If you win, by the end of May it’s not such a big deal. If you don’t win, it’s not such a big deal either.”
– Billy Wilder

“You can’t eat awards-nor, more to the point, drink ‘em.”
– John Wayne

“I don’t care about the Oscars. I make movies to support the causes I believe in, not for any honors.”
– Jane Fonda

“If you have no hope of getting one, they’re very despised. But if you have, then they’re very important.”
– David Lean

“Prizes are nothing. My prize is my work.”
– Katherine Hepburn

“If you’re lucky enough to win an Oscar, never polish it with cleaning solvents. Dusting him off now and then is all you need to do.”
– Scott Seigel, president of Chicago-based Oscar manufacturer R.S. Owens

“These two ritualistically dumpy men reassure us that, in spite of the vast rewards to be gained by irregularity, our interests as a people are being protected. There still may be a surprise winner; God and the Devil still exist.”
– David Mamet, On Price Waterhouse Managing Partners Frank Johnson & Dan Lyle

“I cannot abide by the judgment of other people, because if you accept it when they say you deserve an award, then you have to accept it when they say you don’t.”
– Woody Allen

“It was just a small group getting together for a pat on the back.”
– Janet Gaynor, Best Actress [For Wings], 1928

“After the Oscar I was convinced producers would come pounding on my door with all sorts of exciting parts.”
– Rita Moreno, Best Supporting Actress [For West Side Story], 1961

“It might be a good career move to be present.”
– Sydney Portier, Best Actor Nominee [For Lilies Of The Field], 1963

“I want that Oscar. I want to be the first to win three!”
– Bette Davis, Best Actress Nominee [for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?], 1962

“Just think, you can actually see the losers turn green.”
– Bob Hope, On The First Ceremony Televised In Color, 1965

“I would rather have a good three-man basketball game than sit here in my monkey suit.”
– Elliott Gould, Best Actor Nominee [For M*A*S*H], 1969

“Thanks. You’re applauding my stamina.”
– Cary Grant, Honorary Oscar Recipient, 1969

“Peculiar as it may seem, I mean no disrespect to the academy. I simply do not wish to be involved.”
– George C. Scott, best actor nominee [for Patton], 1970

“Oh my God, the winner is George C. Scott!”
– Best Actor Presenter Goldie Hawn, 1970

“Nothing would disgust me more morally than winning an Oscar. Nothing in the world would make me go accept it. I wouldn’t have it in my home.”
– Luis Bunuel, Director Of Best Foreign Film Nominee Tristana, 1970

“Hello, my name is Sacheen Littlefeather.”
– Bit-Part Actress [And Miss American Vampire 1970] Maria Cruz, Declining Marlon Brando’s Best Actor Award [For The Godfather], 1972

“In recent years there has been a great deal of criticism about this award, and probably a great deal of the criticism is very justified. But I’d just like to say that I think it’s one hell of an honor and I am thrilled.”
– Jack Lemmon, Best Actor [For Save The Tiger], 1973

“The Academy should fold its tent and go back to baking apple strudel or whatever they can do well. The Exorcist is head and shoulders the finest film made this year or in several years.”
– William Peter Blatty, 1973

“Watching it in my hotel suite, I kept telling myself that I ought to turn it off and go to bed. I felt disgusted with myself.”
– Glenda Jackson, Best Actress [For A Touch Of Class], 1973

“Just think: The only laugh that man will get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings.”
– Presenter David Niven, Post-Streaker, 1973

“It’s ironic to get a prize for a war movie while the war is still going on. I hope my children grow up in a better atmosphere and in a better country.”
– Peter Davis, Best Documentary Feature Winner [For Hearts And Minds], 1973

“If only half the actresses with whom he’s had affairs vote for him, he’ll win by their ballots alone.”
– Unidentified Actress, On Best Actor Nominee [For Chinatown] Jack Nicholson, 1974

“The Academy Awards are obscene, dirty, and no better than a beauty contest.”
– Dustin Hoffman, Best Actor Nominee [for Kramer vs. Kramer], 1974

“If Dustin wins, he’s going to have a friend pick it up-George C. Scott.”
– Bob Hope, 1974

“He has no genitalia and he’s holding a sword.”
– Dustin Hoffman, Best Actor, 1974

“It’s all a lot of crap, but as long as it’s there….”
– Robert Duvall, Best Supporting Actor Nominee [For The Godfather], 1974

“It was like pumps trying to say that they’re more important than the well and the water. Last night, it was pumps giving pumps awards for being good pumps.”
– One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest Author Ken Kesey, 1975

“I can’t believe it. They went for Fellini instead of me.”
– Non-Nominee [For Jaws] Steven Spielberg, 1975

“We want to thank all of you for watching ourselves congratulate ourselves tonight.”
– Warren Beatty, 1976

“I think you should be very proud that in the last few weeks you have stood firm and you have refused to be intimidated by the threats of a small bunch of Zionist hoodlums whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world and to their great and heroic struggle against fascism and oppression.”
– Vanessa Redgrave, Best Supporting Actress [For Julia], 1977

“I would like to suggest to Miss Redgrave that her winning an Academy Award is not a pivotal moment in history, does not require a proclamation, and that a simple thank you would have sufficed.”
– Paddy Chayevsky, 1977

“It’s insane to have winners and losers in art. To say that one performance is better than another is just plain dumb. You wouldn’t think of comparing two colors in a painting, would you? ‘This blue is better than that blue’?”
– Meryl Streep, Best Supporting Actress Nominee [For The Deer Hunter], 1978

“I accept this for every guy in a wheelchair.”
– Jon Voight, Best Actor [For Coming Home], 1978

“It’s done wonders for my sex life.”
– Ron Kovic, 1978

“I want to take this opportunity to say how proud I am of my little brother, my dear, sweet, talented brother. Just imagine what you could accomplish if you tried celibacy.”
– Shirley Maclaine, On Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, And Best Adapted Screenplay Loser [For Heaven Can Wait] Warren Beatty, 1978

“Make no mistake about it, the Oscar ceremony is now intentionally designed to inflict as much pain and suffering as possible on both its participants and its viewers.”
– Vincent Canby, 1982

“This is all connected to Oscar nominations-we may as well be honest about it. I was paid $50,000 for Garp, and now I make half a million. That may not be much if you’re Robert Redford, but that’s a lot of money to me.”
– John Lithgow, Best Supporting Actor Nominee [For The World According To Garp], 1983

“I hate tooting my own horn, but after Steven [Spielberg] saw Yentl, he said, ‘I wish I could tell you how to fix your picture, but I can’t. It’s terrific. It’s the best film I’ve seen since Citizen Kane.’ ”
– Non-Nominee Barbra Streisand, 1983

“I’m up against two Orientals-one of them an amateur-a black guy, and a dead man.”
– John Malkovich, Best Supporting Actor Nominee [For Places In The Heart], 1983

“AIDS action! 102,000 dead!”
– Ceremony Disrupter David Lacaillade, 1983

“I’m gonna cry, because this show has been as long as my entire career.”
– Shirley Maclaine, Best Actress [For Terms Of Endearment], 1984

“All you rock people down at the Roxy and up in the Rockies, rock on!”
– Jack Nicholson, Best Supporting Actor [For Terms Of Endearment], 1984

“It’s like chasing a beautiful woman for 80 years. Finally she relents and you say, ‘I’m terribly sorry, I’m tired.’ ”
– Paul Newman, Best Actor [For The Color Of Money], 1986

“If New York is the Big Apple, then tonight Hollywood is the Big Nipple.”
– Bernardo Bertolucci, Best Director [For The Last Emperor], 1987

“It’s very easy for people to trivialize what we do. They say, ‘If it’s such a big deal, how come nobody remembers who won the Oscar last year?’ But I’ve got a real flash for you. I will never forget what happened here tonight. My family will never forget. And my Native American brothers and sisters across the country will never forget.”
– Kevin Costner, Best Director And Best Producer [For Dances With Wolves], 1990

“Much as I love the Oscar- night pageantry, it’s just a silly bingo game.”
– Jodie Foster, Best Actress [For Silence Of The Lambs], 1992

“My God, they’ve put in everything but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”
– Anonymous Publicist, On Best Picture Nomination For Ghost, 1991

RIAN JOHNSON WANTS YOU TO HAVE A SUPER RARE BRICK POSTER

Rian Johnson is not only programming a really fun film festival at LA's New Beverly Cinema, he's doing some good while he's at it. And you can still be a part of it, even if you live outside of LA.

Rian has donated an ultra rare painted Brick poster that was used to advertise the film at Sundance. How rare is this canvass edition? Only people who worked on the movie have one. That's right - you can't buy this painting anywhere. The only other way to get this painting is to break into Joseph Gordon-Levitt's house and steal his. That's how rare it is.

But you can become the proud owner of this amazing historic movie collectible AND you can help out the good people at AIDS Project Los Angeles by placing a bid on the painting at this eBay auction. AIDS Project Los Angeles does a ton of good work with and for people with AIDS, including helping them get medical care, improving their quality of life, helping them find and maintain safe and secure housing and more.

Place a bid now. This is an exciting opportunity for you as a film lover to own a unique collectible and a beautiful piece of art, and to make someone else's life just a little bit better.

And if you're in LA, come out tonight for the double feature of House of Games and The Spanish Prisoner. Rian will be there in person introducing both films!

'Slumdog Millionaire' boosts Mumbai tourism

Nominated for 10 Oscars and a best-picture favorite heading into Sunday's Academy Awards, the popular Slumdog Millionaire is translating to more rubberneckers in the Mumbai, India, slum where it was filmed — and is re-igniting a debate over the ethics of "poverty tourism."

British director Danny Boyle's feel-good flick follows an orphan who grows up in Dharavi, one of the world's poorest and most densely populated neighborhoods, and who finds improbable success on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

VIDEO: Watch the 'Slumdog Millionaire' trailer

The movie's recent premiere in Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay) sparked complaints among some of Dharavi's estimated 1 million residents, who live and work in an area smaller than New York's Central Park. But it also has boosted business for Reality Tours and Travel, which leads eight to 15 tourists a day on guided tours of the slum.

Reality Tours co-founder Chris Way estimates that sales are up by about 25% since Slumdog Millionaire's release. Though he credits some of the increase to a gradual rebound in tourism after terrorist attacks in Mumbai killed more than 170 people in November, publicity surrounding the film has played a big role.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: New York | New Orleans | India | Oscars | Academy Awards | New Delhi | Mumbai | Central Park | Nairobi | Johannesburg | post-Katrina | Rio de Janiero | Brit | Who Wants | Slumdog Millionaire | Danny Boyle | Ninth Ward | Mira Nair | Dharavi | Salaam Bombay

In India, "a lot of people think the movie is 'poverty porn,' " says Way, a Brit who has lived in Mumbai since 2004. But any criticism of his tours "comes from misunderstanding what we are trying to do … break down the negative image of slums, (and) highlight the industry and sense of community." Reality Tours charges $10 or $20 a person, depending on length of the tour, and pledges to donate 80% of after-tax profits to local charities. Though the business hasn't yet cleared a profit, it paid for a community center.

Mumbai is one of several destinations to offer "poorism" options. In New Delhi, the non-profit Salaam Baalak Trust, spearheaded by Salaam Bombay! filmmaker Mira Nair, leads tours focusing on children living in and near the city's train station. Other forays take visitors to slums in Rio,Nairobi and Johannesburg. In New Orleans, companies offered post-Katrina tours that included the hard-hit Ninth Ward.

"If one takes such a tour out of a genuine desire to learn and a passion for social justice, the experience can be valuable, eye-opening, even life-changing. If one goes as a spectator, it's little different than a visit to the zoo," says Jeff Greenwald, executive director of EthicalTraveler.org.

"Part of the key is interaction," he adds. "Do visitors get to speak with these individuals, and gain a sense of their lives? … If not, this is the modern equivalent of watching people suffer in public coliseums." (usatoday)

Departures sweeps Japanese academy awards

Yojiro Takita's Departures picked up ten prizes, including best picture of 2008, at the 32nd Japan Academy prize awards ceremony, held Friday evening at the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa in Tokyo.

The film, which had thirteen nominations, also won best director, best actor (Masahiro Motoki), best supporting actor (Tsutomu Yamazaki), best supporting actress (Kimiko Yo) and best screenplay (Kundo Koyama), along with wins for cinematography, lighting, sound and editing.

Released last September by Shochiku, the $3m drama has grossed over $32m at the box office as one of the most successful local films of 2008.

Shochiku widened Departures' extended release this month in the run up to its Oscar bid for best foreign-language film on February 22. US distributor Regent Releasing will open the film theatrically later this year.

Departures previously won best film in Montreal and Palm Springs and a cluster of domestic victories, including top honours at the Kinema Junpo magazine awards, Japan's oldest.

In a unexpected result Tae Kimura won best actress for her role in All Around Us, her first leading role, beating veteran actress Sayuri Yoshinaga (Kabei – Our Mother).

The year's biggest box office hit, Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea, was awarded best animated film and best music (Joe Hisaishi).

Late director Kon Ichikawa and late actor Ken Ogata, who both passed away in 2008, were given special recognition.

The Dark Knight picked up the prize for best foreign film in a category that included Red Cliff Part 1, No Country For Old Men, The Bucket List and Lust Caution.

Japan Academy Prize Winners:

Best film: Departures

Best director: Yojiro Takita (Departures)

Best actor: Motoki Masahiro (Departures)

Best actress: Tae Kimura (All Around Us)

Best supporting actress: Kimiko Yo (Departures)

Best supporting actor: Tsutomu Yamazaki (Departures)

Best screenplay: Kundo Koyama (Departures)

Best animated film: Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea

Best foreign film: The Dark Knight

Best music: Ponyo On The Cliff By The Sea

Best cinematography: Departures

Best lighting: Departures

Best art direction: Paco And The Magical Picture Book

Best sound: Departures

Best editing: Departures

Special award from the chairman: Kon Ichikawa, Ken Ogata

Topical award (actor): Kenichi Matsuyama

Topical award (film): Suspect X