From revered classics to recent Oscar-winning titles, Japanese filmmakers have made countless invaluable contributions to the world of filmmaking. Historically, the 1950s are usually regarded as the golden age of Japanese cinema, with works such as Yasujiro Ozu's “Tokyo Story” (1953) and Akira Kurosawa's “Seven Samurai” (1954) being released during this time. More recently, films such as Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” (2021) and Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus One” (2023) made headlines by winning Academy Awards. A particular phenomenon within the Japanese market was the anime movie “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train,” which became the
despite being released amid the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2020.
Filmmaking in Japan
Filmmaking in Japan has largely been dominated by the “Big Four” film companies, Toho, Shochiku, Toei, and Kadokawa, which together form the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (MPPAJ). While these companies may not command the large budgets typical of Hollywood productions, they serve one of the largest film markets in the world and can look back on a long and rich cultural tradition. Toho, for instance, was founded in 1932 and later worked together with Akira Kurosawa. The company is home to the famous “Godzilla” franchise and is also known as a producer and distributor of Ghibli movies. Other major companies that engage in film production include the JCOM subsidiary Asmik Ace and various television, publishing, and advertising companies. The Japanese film industry produces
hundreds of theatrically released movies every year, which usually outnumber overseas productions at the box office.
Moviegoers in Japan
The movie theater landscape has changed significantly throughout the decades. During the 1950s, prior to the spread of television, the most successful years saw more than one billion annual admissions to theaters. Some of the lowest visitor numbers were recorded during the 1990s, as the country entered a prolonged recession. Although the spread of
video-on-demand (VOD) services during the 2010s has increased the competition for audience attention, the release of hit titles, such as Makoto Shinkai’s “Your Name” in 2016 and “Weathering With You” in 2019, has led to annual admissions reaching record highs that were not seen since the early 1970s. One important factor that has influenced film consumption is the
use of social media services, which now serve as platforms where businesses can promote movies and consumers can rate and discuss them. Despite noteworthy successes and box office revenues recovering to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, the future growth potential of the domestic market remains limited. Japanese film companies, therefore, have a strong interest in expanding their international operations, as can be seen by the establishment of the Los Angeles-based Toho subsidiary Toho Global in 2023.
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