In 2023, Japan’s movie industry saw a modest improvement compared to 2022 but remained below the record-breaking levels of 2019, which was the last normal year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (EIREN) recently released the annual figures for 2023, covering a peculiar period from December 2022 to November 2023.
Ticket sales increased by 2%, reaching 155 million in 2023 compared to 152 million in 2022. The gross box office revenue in local currency grew by 4% from JPY 213 trillion to JPY 221 trillion, equivalent to $1.5 billion in dollar terms. However, this was still 15% below the 2019 record of JPY 261 trillion. Admissions in 2023 were 20% lower than the 2019 figure, with 155 million compared to 195 million.
The number of films released in Japanese cinemas in 2023 remained similar to 2022, with 676 local titles and 556 imported titles, totaling 1,232 films. This was slightly lower than the 2019 count of 1,278 titles.
One significant change in recent years has been the strong market share of Japanese films. In 2022, they accounted for 69% of the gross box office, decreasing slightly to 67% in 2023. In contrast, imported titles, mostly Hollywood movies, dropped by 15 percentage points from 2019, when Japanese films had a 54% share.
Some notable films in 2023 included The First Slam Dunk as the top-grossing movie with JPY 15.9 billion ($108 million), followed by “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with JPY 14.02 billion ($95.1 million) and “Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine” with JPY 13.8 billion ($93.6 million), all contributing to the local industry’s success.
Japan Box Office Recovery Stalls in 2023 as Hollywood Titles Lose Favor https://t.co/xDDTQLvs9L
— Josekun(ホセくん) (@josekun_japan) January 30, 2024
Japan Box Office Recovery Stalls in 2023 as Hollywood Titles Lose Favor https://t.co/pMKMESNetV
— Variety (@Variety) January 30, 2024
Additionally, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One performed well among Hollywood releases, earning JPY 5.43 billion ($36.8 million).
Interestingly, “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” which were popular in other countries in 2023, did not rank in Japan’s top 50 titles. “Oppenheimer” is scheduled for release in March 2024. Source
