{"id":367020,"date":"2025-12-23T16:30:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T16:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/367020\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T16:30:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T16:30:11","slug":"argentina-germany-italy-india-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/367020\/","title":{"rendered":"Argentina, Germany, Italy, India, Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWhen the box office books for 2025<\/a> close in markets around the world, many a country will feature Hollywood hits at the top or among the top performers of the year. After all, the likes of A Minecraft Movie<\/a>, Lilo & Stitch, Wicked: For Good<\/a>, Superman, Jurassic World: Rebirth and Zootopia 2<\/a> made a mark around the globe.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut there were also local breakout hits igniting the box office<\/a> in key markets and driving audiences to the cinema<\/a>. Some of these titles are household names in their respective countries, but may not ring a bell for folks elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnyone up for a German slapstick comedy Western parody blockbuster? Or how about a historical action epic from India soaring at the multiplex? If not, there is also an Argentinian satire anthology and more.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo, sit back, get comfortable and check out select local box office hits of 2025.<\/p>\n

\t\tChhaava, India\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tChhaava, courtesy of Maddock Films<\/p>\n

\n\tDirector Laxman Utekar\u2019s Chhaava\u00a0quickly became one of India\u2019s biggest blockbusters of 2025, the top Hindi movie of the year and the biggest hit for star Vicky Kaushal.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Hindi-language\u00a0historical\u00a0action epic, also starring Akshaye Khanna\u00a0and\u00a0Rashmika Mandanna, is\u00a0based on the life of\u00a0Sambhaji, the second ruler of the\u00a0Maratha Empire.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe plot is twisty, but the story starts off with a messenger informing\u00a0Mughal\u00a0Emperor\u00a0Aurangzeb\u00a0of the death of\u00a0Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, leading him to announce a celebration amid confidence that the\u00a0Maratha Confederacy, so far led by the deceased,\u00a0will soon collapse. However, Shivaji\u2019s son and successor,\u00a0Sambhaji, quickly takes charge and continues his resistance fight.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe critical reception fpr Chhaava was mixed. Kaushal earned positive commentary, but\u00a0The Hollywood Reporter India\u2018s review<\/a> called the film itself \u201ca roaring tribute to bad filmmaking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNonetheless, Indian audiences devoured the epic adventure, as Chhaava flexed its box office muscle, which helped drive India\u2019s theatrical revenue for the first half of 2025 a whopping 14 percent higher. It had grossed around $85 million as of mid-December in its home country, plus around $11 million in international<\/a> markets.<\/p>\n

\t\tDas Kanu des Manitu, Germany\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tManitou\u2019s Canoe<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Constantin Film<\/p>\n

\n\tHow do you say \u201ccult classic\u201d in German? Richtig: \u201cKultklassiker.\u201d And that is exactly what mini-major Constantin Film Der Schuh des Manitu<\/a> (Manitou\u2019s Shoe) is. The 2001 release became one of the\u00a0most successful German movies\u00a0of all time.<\/p>\n

\n\tDirected by and starring\u00a0Michael \u201cBully\u201d Herbig, the film was an adaptation of the\u00a0Winnetou\u00a0sketches from his\u00a0TV comedy show\u00a0Bullyparade. But who is Winnetou, you ask? Well, he\u00a0is a fictional\u00a0Native American\u00a0hero in the bestselling novels from German writer\u00a0Karl May\u00a0(1842-1912) that are set on the American frontier, which the author never visited. The books were made into 1960s Europe-shot movies that were hugely successful and remain staples of German TV, even though they have been criticized as examples of cultural appropriation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the first Manitou film, Herbig played Abahachi, chief of the\u00a0Apache, who is inseparable from his\u00a0blood brother\u00a0Ranger (Christian Tramitz) since the latter saved Abahachi from a speeding train at an unguarded railroad crossing. <\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2025, the slapstick heroes returned in Das Kanu des Manitu (Manitou\u2019s Canoe<\/a>). The original\u2019s core characters, also including Dimitri (Rick Kavanian), for another adventure. Instead of a magic shoe, this time the laughs and the action revolve around a mythical canoe.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe film stormed the German box office upon its August release, laughing all the way to the bank to gross more than $57 million as of mid-December to rank in the top spot, ahead of A Minecraft Movie ($39 million) and Lilo & Stitch ($36 million). Manitou\u2019s Gold, anyone?!<\/p>\n

\t\tKokuho, Japan\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKokuho<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGKIDS<\/p>\n

\n\tLet\u2019s get more serious and turn to Japan, where white \u2014 namely the iconic stark white base makeup\u00a0of kabuki actors \u2014 proved to be the new black in 2025, thanks to an adaptation of a novel by Shuichi Yoshida taking audiences inside the world of the traditional art form that dates back to the 17th century.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe result: Lee Sang-il<\/a>\u2019s surprise hit\u00a0Kokuho<\/a>, Japan\u2019s top live-action film of 2025 and of all time. The nearly three-hour period drama also became Japan\u2019s submission for the best international feature film<\/a> race at the 2026 Oscars. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe movie explores a mainstay of traditional Japanese culture, the cloistered world of kabuki theater. The Hollywood Reporter\u2018s review<\/a> called it \u201ctransporting\u201d and \u201ca stunning tale of art, ambition and bloodlines.\u201d S\u014dya Kurokawa and Ryo Yoshizawa play the fictional protagonist Kikuo at various ages. Kikuo is taken under the wing of a kabuki icon Hanai, played by\u00a0Ken Watanabe<\/a>, after the death of his father and emerges as a superstar in the art form.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Sony-backed movie, produced by Aniplex in association with Myriagon Studio and distributed by Toho, was released in June and ended up taking center stage, surpassing the 17.35 billion yen live-action record held for 22 years by the 2003 crime-comedy\u00a0Bayside Shakedown 2.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnimated hit Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle<\/a> ruled the Japanese box office in 2025, grossing more than $245 million as of mid-December, but Kokuho\u2018s $114 million-plus put a spotlight on it in the second spot for the year.<\/p>\n

\t\tHomo Argentum, Argentina\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tHomo Argentum, courtesy of Pampa Films<\/p>\n

\n\tA satirical anthology film became the highest-grossing Argentinian film of 2025 and the country\u2019s top homegrown movie since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\n\tCo-written and directed by Gast\u00f3n Duprat and Mariano Cohn, the film consists of 16 stories, starring local star Guillermo Francella<\/a>. They all explore contemporary society in Argentina along with its various issues, dilemmas and contradictions. The cast also features the likes of Eva De Dominici<\/a> (The Cleaning Lady), Clara Kovacic, Miguel Granados, Gast\u00f3n Soffritti, Dalma Maradona, Milo J, Vanesa Gonz\u00e1lez, Juan Luppi and Guillermo Arengo.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe fact that the movie was praised by Argentina\u2019s right-wing populist President Javier Milei contributed to a debate about whether Homo Argentum was \u201canti-woke,\u201d but that didn\u2019t seem to affect its commercial success.<\/p>\n

\n\t[SPOILER WARNING: This paragraph contains spoilers for one of the 16 stories.] The short stories cover various ground. One of them sees Argentina\u2019s public TV channels interrupted by the National Network for the first address by the newly elected president, who ends up panicking. Another of the stories featured in the anthology sees a billionaire taking an elevator to a dinner meeting when a young woman threatens to falsely accuse him of rape if he doesn\u2019t transfer $50,000 to her before he reaches the 54th floor. In the end, it turns out this was only a figment of the man\u2019s imagination, and he ends up taking the stairs instead.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe filmmakers have shared that they wrote 40 stories and picked 16. Given the success of the movie, they even joked about the possibility of making two sequels with the remaining 24 stories. But what is that old saying? Never say never!<\/p>\n

\t\tMadly, Italy\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMadly, courtesy of Karlovy Vary Film Festival<\/p>\n

\n\tLast but not least, here is a healthy portion of love. After all, a homegrown romantic comedy film was box office gold in Italy in 2025. <\/p>\n

\n\tPaolo Genovese\u2019s Madly stars Edoardo Leo\u00a0as Piero, 50, and Pilar Fogliati\u00a0as Lara, 35. After meeting in a bar, the two set their first date at her place, as both are ready to get back into the dating scene. She just ended a relationship with a married man and often falls for dead-end romances. He is recently divorced and has\u00a0joint custody\u00a0of his young daughter. <\/p>\n

\n\tWhat could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot, of course. It\u2019s not so much rival suitors or so. Instead, there is an Inside Out vibe to Madly as the movie gives voice to the characters\u2019 conflicting inner emotions that may or may not get in the way of the heart.<\/p>\n

\n\tItalian audiences went wild for the flick from Lotus Production and\u00a0RAI Cinema, in collaboration with Disney+\u00a0and in association with Vice Pictures. That allowed the movie to celebrate the biggest box office debut for any Italian film since the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMadly<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Karlovy Vary Film Festival<\/p>\n

\n\tIt is also on track to wrap 2025 as the year\u2019s No. 2 theatrical release in the country with around $21 million, behind only Lilo & Stitch ($23 million-plus). Given the universal experience it brings to the screen, don\u2019t be surprised if this local hit also ends up getting interest from people considering the production of Madly remakes elsewhere in the world. So, the question for 2026 may well be: will love conquer the world?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the box office books for 2025 close in markets around the world, many a country will feature…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64,63,5604,134,3389,344,199081],"class_list":{"0":"post-367020","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-box-office","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-international","13":"tag-movies","14":"tag-year-in-review-2025"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367020\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}