Zombie movie ‘One Cut of the Dead’ has made 250 times budget in Japan

Nikkatsu Corporation

• “One Cut of the Dead” is a horror-comedy zombie movie
  that was made for $27,000 and has made 250 times that in Japan,
  according to The Hollywood Reporter.
• The movie has sold internationally and is expected to
  double its current gross of $7.2 million when all is said and
  done.
• Critics love the movie, too, and it has a 100% critic
  score on Rotten Tomatoes.

“One Cut of the Dead” is a zombie-comedy that opens with a
37-minute take and was made for $27,000 — and it’s taking Japan
by storm.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the
movie — which was written, directed, and edited by local
filmmaker Shinichiro Ueda in eight days — has made
over 250 times its budget at the Japanese box office, where
moviegoers receive discounts for repeat viewings and showing up
in zombie costumes. And it shows no signs of slowing down as it’s
set to get a wider release through October.

“One Cut of the Dead” has grossed $7.2 million
and 
THR reported that it’s projected to make
double that when all is said and done.

The movie originally opened in an art-house theater in
Tokyo last November, distributed by the Enbu Seminar drama
school. Then it arrived at three cinemas in Tokyo in June after
gaining buzz throughout the international film circuit. Now it’s
playing on 200 screens and has been sold internationally
to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, the U.K., and
Scandinavia, according to THR.

Despite an unknown cast and a micro budget, the movie has managed
to gain plenty of buzz with audiences and critics alike.
According to THR, it got a standing ovation and won
the Audience Award at this year’s Udine Far East Film
Festival in Italy.

It also has a 100% critic score on review-aggregator site
Rotten Tomatoes based on 10
reviews, including from Indiewire, Variety, and THR.

Variety called it a “marvelously inventive horror-comedy”
that “breathes new life into the zombie genre.” It also has a
100% audience score based on 23 user ratings.

Watch the trailer for “One Cut of the Dead”
below: