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TOKYO -- "The Magic Hour," the latest comedy by hitmaker Koki Mitani, scored 506 million yen ($4.82 million) on 379 screens on its opening weekend, June 7-8. This haul puts it on track to best the total of Mitani's previous pic, "Suite Dreams," which became the top-earning Japanese comedy of all time with 6.1 billion yen (58 million dollars) in 2006.

The pic stars Satoshi Tsumabuki as a hustler in the port town of Sukago (a play on "Chicago) who gets in trouble with the local gang boss (Toshiyuki

Nishida) for dallying with his moll (Eri Fukatsu). To save his skin he agrees to produce a mysterious hitman, Della Togashi, the boss wants meet, without having any idea of how to find him. Desperate, he hires a failed actor (Koichi Sato) to impersonate Della in a totally fictitious gangster movie, without telling the poor sap all the hoods he is about to confront are for real.

The pic, produced by Fuji TV, is being repped internationally by Pony Canyon, which closed a deal for Korea at Cannes.