entertainment

'Jurassic World' No. 1 as Japan’s box-office revenue for 2015 is 2nd highest on record

13 Comments

Box office revenue in Japan for 2015 was the second highest on record largely due to success of animation movies, according to the Motion Picture Producers Association (MPPAJ) of Japan.

The MPPAJ said that movie theaters across the country earned approximately 217.11 billion yen in 2015, up nearly 5% from the previous year and achieving the 2nd highest figure since the association began tracking the records in 2010, Sports Nippon reported.

The highest-grossing movie for the year was "Jurassic World," which earned 9.53 billion yen, followed by the Disney animated film "Big Hero 6," (released in Japan under the title “Baymax”) with about 9.18 billion yen.

Among Japanese movies, animation topped sales with "Yo-Kai Watch," the movie version of a popular Japanese anime series, which brought in 7.8 billion yen. The second top earner was “Bakemono no ko” (The Boy and the Beast) with 5.8 billion yen.

Total box-office revenue largely soared by the increasing number of theaters equipped with IMAX and 4XD movies systems that require extra charge, the MPPAJ said.

Of the 1,136 movies released in Japan throughout the whole year, 55.4% were Japanese, hinting at a gradual shift away from foreign movies that had been predominant in the Japanese cinema market since 2011.

The total number of theater visitors stood at 1.67 billion.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


13 Comments
Login to comment

The cynical side of me tells me that this has a lot to do with Japan's gradual return to nationalism.

Yeah, it's the cynical side of you. There's nothing wrong in the fact to prefer local movies to Hollywood made stuff. See Checco Zalone's movies in Italy.

"Quo Vado?" made way better than Star Wars:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italian-satirical-movie-quo-vado-beats-star-wars-at-the-box-office-a6804511.html

I'm not saying it's a good or a bad movies, and you'll never see in the US, that is a very CLOSED market for foreign movies. The point is that every country has different tastes, and the fact that in a country some local movies are liked more than the American ones, doesn't make that country "nationalist".

0 ( +1 / -1 )

So the paint-by-numbers sequel widely damned-with-faint-praise as "It was okay," or "It was a fun but dumb popcorn flick," makes mad bank while "The Martian", "Mad Max: Fury Road", and "Star Wars", movies highly regarded around the world, apparently don't register?

This calls for some analysis. What gives? I could see "The Martian" ruffling feathers because it ignores JAXA and pays attention to China's space agency, but that doesn't explain the other two.

Star Wars was only in Japanese theaters for 13 days before the year ended and let's be honest... Star Wars was ALSO a "paint-by-numbers sequel".

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Of the 1,136 movies released in Japan throughout the whole year, 55.4% were Japanese, hinting at a gradual shift away from foreign movies that had been predominant in the Japanese cinema market since 2011.

The cynical side of me tells me that this has a lot to do with Japan's gradual return to nationalism. Same with the huge increase in TV dramas here - they're churning them out. Same old stars, same old themes, same old rehashed ideas. This has also been evident in the media's further lurching to the right. I've never seen anything like it in my many years here.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

"sfjp330Jan. 28, 2016 - 12:19PM JST

It's another lousy movie with a shallow, with a shallow actors and predictable story. It's a movie for IQ under 16 years old. Go and see it, it's a lousy movie."

That may be so, I have not seen it. Obviously you have seen it, but if "it's a movie for IQ under 16 years old" and a "lousy movie" why should I go and see it?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I would say more than the animation, which are of course fantastic, it is more a matter of the fact that prices are double what they are in most countries (and there are no matinee prices), Japanese television is garbage, and streaming services like Netflix and Hulu are only now starting to become popular. In most other nations these days going to the cinema is not what it used to be, although Star Wars almost single-handedly saved that at the end of last year.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I liked it!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

It's another lousy movie with a shallow, with a shallow actors and predictable story. It's a movie for IQ under 16 years old. Go and see it, it's a lousy movie.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

*Of the 1,136 movies released in Japan throughout the whole year, 55.4% were Japanese, hinting at a gradual shift away from foreign movies that had been predominant in the Japanese cinema market since 2011.***

I feel this shift has little to do with the quality of Japanese Cinema which has been dominated by essentially bad "Made for T.V." movies of ongoing t.v. series. The chokehold of Japanese television companies delaying foreign releases here is awful. For example the Martian is already out on DVD in western countries. John Wick was released here over a year after it's North American Release. People here still believe the myth that movies are delayed here because of "subtitle translations" I mean countries like Syria and Mongolia got the Martian a week after North America lol it's pathetic.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Because it only opened in Japan on Dec 18.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

So the paint-by-numbers sequel widely damned-with-faint-praise as "It was okay," or "It was a fun but dumb popcorn flick," makes mad bank while "The Martian", "Mad Max: Fury Road", and "Star Wars", movies highly regarded around the world, apparently don't register?

This calls for some analysis. What gives? I could see "The Martian" ruffling feathers because it ignores JAXA and pays attention to China's space agency, but that doesn't explain the other two.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Why no mention of Star Wars here?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I saw Star Wars in 4D on the cheaper 1st day of the month, tickets were 2,700 each - insane!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Total box-office revenue largely soared by the increasing number of theaters equipped with IMAX and 4XD movies systems that require extra charge, the MPPAJ said.

And the prices are already ridiculously high. Also I dont remember an IMAX theater being just a standard screen and just bigger sound.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites