Movie revenues in Japan hit a record 203.2 billion yen in 2003, the Motion Pictures Producers Association of Japan said Thursday.

Box-office revenues from Japanese films rose 26 percent from the year before to 67.1 billion yen, while tickets sales at cinemas rose slightly to 162 million.

The top-earning Japanese movie was "Odoru Daisousasen The Movie 2" ("Bayside Shakedown 2"), which grossed 17.35 billion yen.

Sales of movies on video are estimated at 501 billion yen, accounting for more than 80 percent of all video sales.

"The figures reaffirm that it is movies that have the strongest appeal among all types of media," said association Chairman Isao Matsuoka.