Japan Box Office Makes Small 2021 Recovery, Puts ‘Evangelion’ and Toho on Top
variety.comMark Schilling Japan CorrespondentCinema admissions in Japan increased by 8% over 2020, to 115 million. Box office grosses improved by 13% to $1.42 billion in the same period, according to figures released on Wednesday by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren).But compared to earnings of $2.29 billion on admissions of 195 million in the pre-pandemic era, last year was still way behind.
In 2021, attendance was 41% below 2019 levels. Gross box office was 38% down.Local films, with earnings of $1.13 billion, grabbed a 79% market share, compared with 76% in 2020.
They accounted for nine of the top ten box office titles for the year. Number one was “Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time,” a sci-fi anime film written and directed by Anno Hideaki, that made $90 million following its March 2021 bow.
The highest ranking live-action film, at number four with $40 million , was “Arashi Anniversary Tour 5×20 FILM “Record of Memories,” a concert film of the boy band Arashi, which retired at the end of 2020 after a county-wide concert tour.The only non-Japanese entry in the top ten was “F9: The Fast Saga,” which earned $32 million after bowing August of last year.Once again, Toho was the top distributor with five films in the top ten, including “Evangelion,” which it co-released with Toei and Anno’s Studio Khara animation house.
Read more on variety.com
