Japanese distributor Gaga Corporation has announced a slew of acquisitions made since last September, including Buried, directed by Rodrigo Cortes, Sam Taylor Wood’s Nowhere Boy and Tom Ford’s A Single Man.

In what appears to be an attempt to prove that at least one Japanese distributor is still buying foreign films, the company said its slate up until early next year includes 14 foreign and Japanese titles. Local releases include Shinozaki Makoto’s Tokyo Island and Shioya Toshi’s Swing Me Again.

Gaga also pointed to strong results for some of its recent releases including District 9, which it co-distributed with Warner Bros, and Radu Mihaileanu’s French and Russian-language comedy Le Concert. District 9 has grossed around $7m in Japan, while Le Concert has grossed $1m on just 13 prints.

“With the box office from this Golden Week, and great chance of strong word-of-mouth for both titles, we believe we can bring great news to the licensors at the Cannes market,” said Gaga chairman and CEO Tom Yoda.

The company also said that Oceans has become the top-grossing feature documentary ever in Japan by taking $26m since its release on Jan 22.  The previous record holder, Earth, was also released by Gaga in 2008.

Foreign product has been struggling in Japan over the past few years, due to the strong performance of local films.

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