The "ROOKIES" movie, opening this weekend on May 30, is looking to be a smash at the box office, based on advance ticket sales and fan response. Officially titled "ROOKIES -Sotsugyo-," the film continues the popular drama series that aired on TBS last year.

To help promote the movie's premiere, an event was held at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on Wednesday, attended by the main cast members such as Ryuta Sato and Hayato Ichihara. Said to be the largest such event ever for a Japanese film, all 12,000 tickets (at 3900 yen each) sold out in just two minutes.

For the movie's opening, about 240,000 tickets have been sold in advance, surpassing even last year's hit drama-based film "Hana Yori Dango Final." That picture went on to gross 7.75 billion yen during its theatrical run, which was the second highest gross for a domestic film in 2008.