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"A Moment To Remember" tops Japanese box-office for two straight weeks

The movie "A Moment to Remember" has topped the Japanese box-office for two straight weeks, and even beat out its formidable rival, the much-touted Japanese movie "April Snow", which opened on the weekend of Oct. 29-30.

"April Snow" was directed by the renowned Japanese director Yukisata Osao, who has produced many hit movies so far. It drew significant attention even before its opening for co-starring Tsumabuki Satoshi and Takeuchi Yuko, both of whom have a large fan base in Korea as well.

The Japanese box-office evaluation site http://www.eiga.com said "A Moment to Remember" topped the box-office during the last weekend of October, followed by "April Snow", "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory", "Corpse Bride" and "Gundam Ⅱ". Meanwhile, "April Snow" failed to break the top 10.

The success of "A Moment to Remember" is significant because it has received recognition solely for its superb qualities as a movie, unlike "April Snow", whose popularity can largely be ascribed to the "Yonsama" phenomenon.

"A Moment to Remember" struck a chord with Japanese audiences because it is based on the Japanese TV drama "Pure Soul" and is of the melodrama genre, the favorite genre among Japanese viewers. The movie's superb production techniques and the constantly rising popularity of its leading actors -- Son Ye-jin, who also starred in "April Snow", and Jung Woo-sung, who plays a lead in "Musa" - "The Warrior Princess" -- also contributed to the movie's popularity in Japan.

The movie's box-office success in Japan will serve as a good indicator of what direction the Korean Wave phenomenon should take in the future.

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