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Japan Anime News Edit by Taimu Tsuji

Japan’s 2024 Box Office Hits Record High for Domestic Films—Anime's Share Reaches Historic Peak

On January 29, the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren) held a press conference in Tokyo to announce the state of the film industry in 2024. Despite a decrease in total box office revenue compared to the previous year, domestic films achieved their highest earnings in history, while foreign films saw a significant decline—likely due to the impact of the Hollywood strikes in 2023. Additionally, the share of anime in total box office earnings reached its highest level since 2000.


Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Pentagram and Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle

Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Pentagram (©2024 Gosho Aoyama / Detective Conan Production Committee), Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle (©2024 Haikyu!! Production Committee, ©Haruichi Furudate / Shueisha)


2024 Box Office Performance: A Closer Look

The total box office revenue for 2024 reached ¥206.9 billion, a ¥14.4 billion decrease from the previous year (93.5% year-over-year). This ranks as the 11th highest since 2000. Since the post-COVID rebound in 2022, annual revenues have remained above ¥200 billion, indicating a steady recovery trend.

Breaking down the revenue:

Domestic Films: ¥155.8 billion (+¥7.6 billion YoY / 105%), marking the highest box office revenue for Japanese films in history, surpassing the previous record of ¥148.6 billion in 2016.
Foreign Films: ¥51.1 billion (-¥22.1 billion YoY / 69.8%). Compared to the five-year pre-COVID average of ¥100.1 billion, this represents a ¥50 billion decline.
Eiren President Toshinari Shimatani attributed this drop to the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023, which delayed productions and significantly impacted 2024’s box office numbers.


Anime Films Dominate Box Office Share

The domestic-to-foreign film ratio was:

Domestic films: 75% (+8.4 percentage points YoY)
Foreign films: 25%
Japanese anime played a major role in this success:

Among domestic films: Anime 58%, Live-action 42%
Including foreign films: Anime 57%, Live-action 43%
This 57% anime share is the highest since 2000. A key factor was the only two films to surpass ¥10 billion in 2024—both anime titles:

Detective Conan: The Million Dollar Pentagram
Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle


Japanese Film Exports Continue to Rise

Japan’s film exports also showed continued growth for the 12th consecutive year, with major studios (Shochiku, Toho, Toei, and KADOKAWA) reporting a total export revenue of $54.3 million (112% YoY). Anime remains the driving force, while live-action films also performed steadily in international markets.


Source : ORICON NEWS