This year, the second into the COVID-19 pandemic, has also been the second in a row in which Japanese films have routed the Hollywood competition. The official figures, compiled annually by Eiren (Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan), will not be available until next month, but according to entertainment data site Entame Seikatsu Private Life, nine of the top 10 box-office earners for the year to date have been domestic releases.
The No. 1 film, at ¥10.2 billion, is “Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time,” the long-awaited fourth and final installment in Hideaki Anno’s “Rebuild of Evangelion” sci-fi/fantasy anime film series, while the only non-Japanese film, at No. 9 and ¥3.6 billion, is the latest addition to the “Fast and Furious” franchise, “F9: The Fast Saga.” By contrast, three non-Japanese films made the top 10 in 2020: “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” (¥7.3 billion), “Parasite” (¥4.7 billion) and “Tenet” (¥2.7 billion).
Will total box-office numbers exceed the ¥143 billion earned in 2020, which was sharply down from the ¥261 billion recorded in 2019? According to Entame Seikatsu, 35 Japanese films this year made ¥1 billion or more, the traditional marker of a commercial hit. This figure was just 25 in 2020, but one of those films was the anime megahit “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Movie: Mugen Train,” which set an all-time record for Japan’s box office with ¥36.5 billion. As a result, earnings of 2020’s top 10 films totaled ¥62.3 billion versus ¥51.3 billion for 2021. This suggests a less-than-banner box-office year, though the market share for local films may well exceed 2020’s 76.3%.