Hachi: A Dog's Tale

Hachi: A Dog's Tale
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLasse Hallström
Screenplay byStephen P. Lindsey
Based onHachikō Monogatari
by Kaneto Shindô
Produced byRichard Gere
Bill Johnson
StarringRichard Gere
Joan Allen
Erick Avari
Jason Alexander
CinematographyRon Fortunato
Edited byKristina Boden
Music byJan A. P. Kaczmarek
Harry Gregson-Williams
Production
companies
Stage 6 Films
Affirm Films
Hachiko, LLC
Grand Army Entertainment
Opperman Viner Chrystyn Entertainment
Scion Films
Inferno Production
Distributed bySony Pictures Entertainment
(United States)
Entertainment Film Distributors
(United Kingdom)
Release dates
  • June 8, 2009 (2009-06-08) (Seattle)
  • August 8, 2009 (2009-08-08) (Japan)
  • March 12, 2010 (2010-03-12) (UK)
Running time
97 minutes
CountriesUnited States
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$16 million
Box office$46.7 million

Hachi: A Dog's Tale is a 2009 American drama film and a remake of Seijirō Kōyama's 1987 Japanese film Hachikō Monogatari. The original film told the true story of the Akita dog named Hachikō who lived in Japan 1923–1935. Hachi: A Dog's Tale is an updated American adaptation based on the Japanese film. This version, which places it in a modern American context, was directed by Lasse Hallström, written by Stephen P. Lindsey and Kaneto Shindo, and produced by Richard Gere, Bill Johnson and Vicki Shigekuni Wong. The film stars Gere, Joan Allen, Sarah Roemer, Jason Alexander, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on June 13, 2009, and its first theatrical release was in Japan on August 8, 2009. The film was given a UK theatrical release on March 12, 2010, courtesy of Entertainment Film Distributors, and opened in more than 60 countries throughout 2009 and 2010. By the end of September 2010, the film's foreign box office returns had totalled more than $45 million. Sony Pictures Entertainment decided to forgo a U.S. theatrical release, bringing the film out on DVD on March 9, 2010 and eventually selling it to the Hallmark Channel, where it debuted on September 26, 2010.