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"Aibo" (Partners), Seiji Izumi's hit cop thriller distributed by Toei, will extend what is becoming a record B.O. run.

Based on a high-rated TV Asahi drama series, the pic opened strong on May 1 and topped the box office for the Golden Week holiday period. Toei now plans to extend the pic's first run beyond its skedded June 6 cutoff, keeping it on 300 screens for several more weeks.

"Aibo" has earned ¥3.3 billion ($32 million), and Toei expects it to surpass the $49.5 million of "Yamato," the 2005 WWII epic that is the distrib's biggest earner to date.

Starring Yasufumi Terawaki and Yutaka Mizutani as a pair of cops famous in the department for solving tough crimes, "Aibo" started as a drama� broadcast on the TV Asashi two-hour "Saturday Wide Theater" and has racked up more than 100 episodes in six seasons. The pic's helmer, Seiji Izumi, and main cast are all from the series.