The Japanese box office rose 3.9% to $1.5bn (¥221.5bn) in 2023, led by local anime features, Hollywood blockbusters and monster film Godzilla Minus One.
Cinema admissions were up 2.3% to 155.5 million, according to data published Tuesday by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren). The figures are the biggest since pre-pandemic 2019, when the gross box office was $1.64bn (¥242bn) from 195 million admissions.
The country remains the world’s third largest box office territory behind North America and China.
Scroll down for the top 20 titles
Some 556 imported films accounted for a 33% market share in 2023, slightly up on last year’s 31%, and took $497m (¥73.3bn). A total of 676 Japanese films accounted for $1bn (¥148bn) in box office takings.
The number of screens slightly increased to 3,653 while the average admission fee was $10 (¥1,424), up 6% from $9 (¥1,340) in pre-pandemic 2019.
Leading the charge was animated feature The First Slam Dunk, which centres on a high school basketball team and is based on a popular manga series. Released by Toei, it took $107.7m (¥15.87bn) following its release in December 2022.
It was followed by US animation The Super Mario Bros. Movie, based on characters from the iconic Japanese video game, which grossed $95m (¥14bn) and Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine, the latest in the Japanese anime franchise, with $94.2m (¥13.88bn).
Studio Ghibli’s The Boy And The Heron, which will likely be the last feature from animation maestro Hayao Miyazaki, ranked fourth with $60m (¥8.84bn) while Toho’s Godzilla Minus One took sixth place with $38m (¥5.59bn). The live-action monster movie has proved a global sleeper hit, taking more than $100m worldwide to date and securing an Oscar nomination for best visual effects.
The only other Hollywood feature to break into the top 10 was Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, which ranked seventh with $36.8m (¥5.43bn).
US features to make the top 20 included Fast X and Disney titles Avatar: The Way Of Water, The Little Mermaid, Elemental and Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny.
| Rank | Title | Country | Release Date | Gross ¥ (bn) | Dist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
The First Slam Dunk |
Japan |
03/12/22 |
15.87 |
Toei |
|
2 |
The Super Mario Bros. Movie |
US |
28/04/23 |
14.02 |
Toho-Towa |
|
3 |
Detective Conan: Black Iron Submarine |
Japan |
14/04/23 |
13.88 |
Toho |
|
4 |
The Boy And The Heron |
Japan |
14/07/23 |
8.84 |
Toho |
|
5 |
Kingdom 3: Flame Of Destiny |
Japan |
28/07/23 |
5.60 |
Toho/SPE |
|
6 |
Godzilla Minus One |
Japan |
03/11/23 |
5.59 |
Toho |
|
7 |
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One |
US |
21/07/23 |
5.43 |
Towa |
|
8 |
Don’t Call It Mystery: The Movie |
Japan |
15/09/23 |
4.80 |
Toho |
|
9 |
Tokyo Mer: Mobile Emergency Room - The Movie |
Japan |
28/04/23 |
4.53 |
Toho |
|
10 |
Doraemon The Movie: Nobita’s Sky Utopia |
Japan |
03/03/23 |
4.34 |
Toho |
|
11 |
Avatar: The Way Of Water |
US |
16/12/23 |
4.31 |
Walt Disney |
|
12 |
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba -To The Swordsmith Village |
Japan |
03/02/23 |
4.34 |
Toho/Aniplex |
|
13 |
Fast X |
US |
19/05/23 |
3.83 |
Toho-Towa |
|
14 |
The Little Mermaid |
US |
09/06/23 |
3.40 |
Walt Disney |
|
15 |
Idolish7 The Movie; Live 4bit Beyond The Period |
Japan |
20/05/23 |
2.92 |
Bandai/Toei |
|
16 |
As Long As We Both Shall Live |
Japan |
17/03/23 |
2.80 |
Toho |
|
17 |
Tokyo Revengers 2 Part.1 |
Japan |
21/04/23 |
2.71 |
Warner Bros. |
|
18 |
Elemental |
US |
04/08/23 |
2.70 |
Walt Disney |
|
19 |
Fragments Of The Last Will |
Japan |
09/12/22 |
2.67 |
Toho |
|
20 |
Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny |
US |
30/06/23 |
2.60 |
Walt Disney |
Source: Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren)
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