Most successful movies in Japan 2019, based on revenue
A ranking based on gross revenue showed that Disney's Aladdin was the leading movie at the Japanese box office in 2019, achieving a result of more than 112 million U.S. dollars. Weathering With You followed with a gross revenue of more than 98 million dollars.
The high popularity of cinemas in the 2010s
Based on the number of admissions, watching movies in cinemas has become more popular again in Japan. After a slump in the 1990s and a subsequent recovery in the 2000s, the number of admissions reached record highs in 2016 and 2019 which were not seen since the early 1970s. The success of movie theaters is largely depending on the release of hit titles. In 2016, Makoto Shinkai's anime hit Your Name became a phenomenon by enticing many young people in their teens and twenties to visit cinemas and spread the word via social media. Your Name was the first anime movie to exceed a revenue of 10 billion yen aside from the works of Hayao Miyazaki. The most successful movies in 2019, Disney's Aladdin and Makoto Shinkai's Weathering With You, were proof to the ongoing high popularity Disney and anime movies enjoy in Japan.
The Japanese movie industry
The total number of movies released to Japanese cinemas amounted to almost 1,280 titles in 2019. Both the number of Japanese and imported movies increased considerably since the beginning of the millennium. While there were more foreign than domestic movies released between 1987 and 2005, since 2006 there were continuously more Japanese than foreign movies among new releases. In 2019, the share of Japanese movies amounted to more than 54 percent.
The high popularity of cinemas in the 2010s
Based on the number of admissions, watching movies in cinemas has become more popular again in Japan. After a slump in the 1990s and a subsequent recovery in the 2000s, the number of admissions reached record highs in 2016 and 2019 which were not seen since the early 1970s. The success of movie theaters is largely depending on the release of hit titles. In 2016, Makoto Shinkai's anime hit Your Name became a phenomenon by enticing many young people in their teens and twenties to visit cinemas and spread the word via social media. Your Name was the first anime movie to exceed a revenue of 10 billion yen aside from the works of Hayao Miyazaki. The most successful movies in 2019, Disney's Aladdin and Makoto Shinkai's Weathering With You, were proof to the ongoing high popularity Disney and anime movies enjoy in Japan.
The Japanese movie industry
The total number of movies released to Japanese cinemas amounted to almost 1,280 titles in 2019. Both the number of Japanese and imported movies increased considerably since the beginning of the millennium. While there were more foreign than domestic movies released between 1987 and 2005, since 2006 there were continuously more Japanese than foreign movies among new releases. In 2019, the share of Japanese movies amounted to more than 54 percent.
