Exit 8 (film)

Exit 8
Japanese theatrical release poster
8番出口
Directed byGenki Kawamura
Screenplay by
  • Kentaro Hirase
  • Genki Kawamura
Based onThe Exit 8
by Kotake Create
Produced by
  • Yuto Sakata
  • Kenji Yamada
  • Akito Yamamoto
  • Taichi Ito
  • Yoshihiro Furusawa
  • Minami Ichikawa
  • Genki Kawamura
  • Taichi Ueda
Starring
CinematographyKeisuke Imamura
Edited byJimmy liu
Music by
Production
companies
  • Story Inc.
  • AOI Pro.
Distributed byToho
Release dates
  • 19 May 2025 (2025-05-19) (Cannes)
  • 29 August 2025 (2025-08-29) (Japan)
  • 10 April 2026 (2026-04-10) (North America)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office$39.1 million[2]

Exit 8 (Japanese: 8番出口, Hepburn: Hachiban Deguchi) is a 2025 Japanese mystery psychological horror film directed by Genki Kawamura, who co-wrote the screenplay with Kentaro Hirase, based on the 2023 video game The Exit 8 developed by Kotake Create.

Exit 8 had its premiere at the Midnight Screenings of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 19 May 2025, and was released in Japan by Toho on 29 August. The film received widespread acclaim from critics and has grossed ¥5.2 billion.

Plot

While in the subway, The Lost Man receives a call from his ex-girlfriend informing him that she is pregnant with his child and asking him what to do. Unsure on whether he's fit to be a father after having failed to defend a woman being berated by another passenger for her crying baby, he is overcome with an asthma attack. He soon finds himself in a deserted, endlessly looping corridor. Through trial and error and a set of instructions on a wall, The Lost Man realizes he needs to reach Exit 8 by turning back whenever the corridor has an anomaly and moving forward when there is none. Anomalies can range from a door having a doorknob where previously there was none, to blood raining from the ceiling. Any mistake returns him to Exit 0, resetting his progress.

Eventually, The Lost Man meets The Boy, a small child that had been following The Walking Man, an unresponsive entity The Lost Man sees walking down the corridor in every loop. Through a flashback, it is revealed that The Walking Man was once similarly lost, but became a part of the loop after abandoning The Boy for a false Exit 8. Although initially silent, The Boy proves highly perceptive and with his help The Lost Man makes steady progress. The Boy gradually opens up to The Lost Man, confessing he ran away from his mother, and gives him a hermit crab shell for good luck.

After reaching Exit 7, the corridor is suddenly flooded and The Lost Man saves The Boy, holding him above the water and comforting him before he himself is swept away. The Boy is shown at a beach with his parents, The Lost Man and his girlfriend. After regaining consciousness, The Boy turns the corner to Exit 8. The Lost Man appears a short while later, confirming that this is the real Exit 8 by seeing The Boy's shell on the floor. Back in the real world, he calls his girlfriend, promising to meet her at the hospital.

Symbolism

During his attempt to escape this apparent cycle, the protagonist is confronted with his childhood, his current self-image, and his ability and courage to make decisions and take responsibility. Furthermore, this psychological film holds up a mirror to contemporary (Japanese) society in terms of attitudes towards others and priorities in life.

Escher's work Möbius Strip II (Red Ants), which hangs on one of the posters in the underground tunnel, is the perfect metaphor for the life of the main character, but also for the lives of the many other commuters in the film. The industrious ants walk their path on the figure of eight over and over again, but ultimately get nowhere and remain trapped on their path.[3][4][5]

Cast

Cast and crew at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival

Production

A live-action film based on The Exit 8 video game was announced by Toho on 27 December 2024,[8] with Genki Kawamura [ja] set to write, produce and direct the film,[9][10] starring Kazunari Ninomiya and Yamato Kochi [ja] as the "lost man" and "walking man", respectively.[11][12] On 1 May 2025, it was announced that actress Nana Komatsu would be joining the cast. She was cast in a mysterious role with no official name or backstory revealed at the time.[13]

Filming took place from late 2024 to early 2025 in Tokyo, mainly in a set that was built as a replica of the original game's underground passage.[14]

Ninomiya was part of the production, credited with script cooperation. As a gamer himself, and knowing the game in first hand, Ninomiya reached Kawamura with tips, useful in the moment of turning a non–story game into a story.[15] Ninomiya considered that in a production with many scenes featuring one person, filming does not progress smoothly on set when there are three directions to be taken: director, scriptwriter, and actor. In this particular production, costumes and setting remain the same, creating a loop. "That's why I felt it was necessary to organize things before filming so that there would be a single exit, and so when I was playing this role, I decided to get involved from the scriptwriting stage onwards." he said about his involvement.[16]

Release

The first teaser trailer was released internationally by Toho in March 2025.[17] On 2 May 2025, it was announced that an eponymous novel would be published alongside the film, written by the director and writer Genki Kawamura.[18]

Poster used for the film's North American theatrical releases by Neon.

Exit 8 was selected to be screened out of competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in May 2025.[19] Following its debut at Cannes, Exit 8 was announced to be screening at many other film festivals such as the 58th Sitges Film Festival,[20][21] 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival,[22] 2025 Toronto International Film Festival,[23], the 30th Busan International Film Festival[24][25] and 55th International Film Festival Rotterdam.[26][27]

The film was released on 29 August 2025 in Japan[28], and throughout most of Europe, Asia and Canada during the rest of 2025.[29][30][31] In August 2025, Neon acquired North American distribution rights to the film, planning to release it sometime in early 2026.[32] Around the same time, CBI Pictures announced that the film would release in Indonesia on 10 September 2025.[33] In February 2026, Neon announced the film would release in North American theatres on 10 April 2026.[34][35][36]

The film was announced to be included in the January 2026 in-flight movie list of Japan Airlines.[37][38]

Reception

Box office

Released on 29 August 2025, Exit 8 had the highest three-day opening for a live-action film in Japan for the year. It sold 672,000 tickets and earned over ¥960 million (approximately $6.46 million USD). It debuted at #2 for the weekend, behind Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle. [39] The film also attracted over one million viewers in Japan.[40] As of 8 November, it has surpassed a box office revenue of ¥ 5.08 billion. [41]

The film has also had a solid opening run in international markets. It debuted as the #2 movie in Russia[42] and Korea,[43] as well as being in the top 10 in Turkey and Hong Kong.[44][45] It has also been relatively successful in France.[46] In South Korea, it debuted at #2 behind Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc which had a cumulative audience of 186,107.[47]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 37 critics' reviews are positive.[48]

Jonathan Romney from Screen International wrote "A rare game-based movie that actually has the feel of a game, with confoundingly tricky rules, Exit 8 should achieve solid cult status beyond Japan".[49] Clarence Tsui from South China Morning Post gave it 3 stars out of 5, stating that "Genki Kawamura has turned a simple premise – in which a player is made to run repeatedly down a short underground passage to search for a way out – into a psychological thriller exploring a man’s guilt and redemption".[50]

At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, the film won an award for Best Poster Design.[51] Additionally, the film received an eight-minute standing ovation during its premiere at the festival.[52]

The film also won Best Music for composers Yasutaka Nakata and Shouhei Amimori at the 58th Sitges Film Festival. [53]

Accolades

Award / Festival Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Cannes Film Festival 24 May 2025 Best Poster Design Exit 8 Won [51]
Sitges Film Festival 18 October 2025 Best Feature Film Nominated [54]
Best Music Yasutaka Nakata & Shouhei Amimori Won [55]
Tiktok Awards Japan 5 December 2025 Hit Film category Exit 8 Won [56]
Japan Academy Film Prize 13 March 2026 Best Film Editing Sakura Seya Pending [57]
Newcomer of the Year Yamato Kochi Won

See also

References

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allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:The_Exit_8_(film)