The Japanese film industry, at least the top end where Toho and its media partners dwell, is looking forward to a prosperous 2010, with a lineup of crowd-pleasers that should thump the Hollywood competition.

Japan's biggest domestic distributor, Toho will release 30 films in 2010, including several potential blockbusters — that is, films expected to gross ¥50 billion or more.

One of those films is the third outing in the "Odoru Daisousasen" ("Bayside Shakedown") series, about a cheeky detective, played by Yuji Oda, who battles bad guys and police bureaucracy with the aid of lovably oddball coworkers. The film is scheduled to open in July. The second installment, released in 2003, finished with ¥17.35 billion — nearly $200 million, the most for any Japanese live-action film ever.