A hit animated film by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki helped boost box office revenues for Japanese movies to an all-time record in 2008, an industry group said Thursday.
Revenues for Japanese movies rose 22.4 percent from the previous year to ¥115.86 billion, while those for foreign movies declined 23.9 percent to ¥78.98 billion, the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan said. Combined revenues slid 1.8 percent to ¥194.84 billion.
The revenue surge for Japanese movies was attributed to Miyazaki's "Gake no Ue no Ponyo" ("Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea"), which alone raked in ¥15.5 billion.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was the top hit among foreign movies, with ¥5.7 billion.
Japanese movies had a 59.5 percent share of overall box office revenues in 2008, to 40.5 percent for foreign movies.