Japan's box office generated $1.69bn (Y198bn) in 2005, a 6% decrease from2004, according to data released by the Motion Picture Producers Association ofJapan (Eiren).

This was in line with a dropin admissions from 170 million in 2004 to just over 160 million last year.

Figures were more positivefrom a domestic standpoint, with homegrown releases taking a larger cut of thebox office total at 41.3%, an almost 4% increase over 2004. The figure hasn'ttopped 40% since 1997 - the release year of previous domestic box office champ Princess Mononoke - and follows anall-time low of 27.1% in 2002.

Late 2004 release Howl's Moving Castle (Oscar-nominatedfor best animated feature) continued earning big in 2005, with total haul of$167m (Y19.6bn), far surpassing any other release.

The latest Pokemonadventure, two Bayside Shakedownspin-offs and Nana rounded out thedomestic top five. The year's second biggest earner, and the only foreignrelease able to crack the 10 billion yen ($85m) mark, was Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire with receipts of $98m(Y11.5bn), followed by Star Wars: EpisodeIII - Revenge of the Sith.

Japan's number of screens has shown a year-on-year increase since 1993,currently standing at 2,926, with 67% of those being multiplexes. The overallnumber of features released has kept in step, with a 16-year high of 731 films,almost evenly split between domestic and foreign product. Average ticket priceshowed a marginal drop of five yen over the previous year to 1,235 yen($10.53).