Domestic films set box office record in 2009

On Thursday, the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (also known as Eiren) announced its data on the state of the Japanese movie industry in 2009. Box office revenues for domestic films reached an all-time high, while foreign films also saw a significant increase.

Domestic film revenue increased for the second year in a row, gaining 1.3% in 2009 to hit ¥117.3 billion. Foreign films saw a drop in 2008, but they bounced back last year to ¥88.7 billion, a 12.3% improvement. These numbers help reinforce the general “hoga boom” trend in recent years, where domestic productions have been gaining a larger share of the market.

Total revenue (domestic and foreign) was up 5.7% at ¥206 billion, the second-highest total in history (2004 was close to ¥211 billion). Although the number of films released (762) was lower than in 2008 (806), attendance was up from 160 million to more than 169 million.

In terms of box office grosses, the top ten domestic films were:
ROOKIES -Sotsugyo- (¥8.55 billion)
Pokemon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (¥4.67 billion)
20th Century Boys: The Last Chapter - Our Flag (¥4.41 billion)
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (¥4.00 billion)
Amalfi: Megami no Hoshu (¥3.65 billion)
Detective Conan: The Raven Chaser (¥3.50 billion)
Gokusen: The Movie (¥3.50 billion)
Yomei Ikkagetsu no Hanayome (¥3.15 billion)
Yatterman (¥3.14 billion)
Crows ZERO II (¥3.02 billion)
The top three foreign films were:
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (¥8.00 billion)
Red Cliff: Part II (¥5.55 billion)
Michael Jackson’s This Is It (¥5.20 billion)
More data can be found at the Eiren website.

Source:
Eiren