Artnewspress :
Theatrical box office takings in Japan fell by 45% in 2020, compared with the previous year, as coronavirus took its toll on cinemagoing. But that makes Japan one of the most resilient major box office territories.
Data published Wednesday by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren) show that total box office was $1.37 billion (JPY143 billion) 45% down on 2019’s record breaking $2.5 billion (JPY261 billion) total. Admissions were down a similar 45%, weighing in at 106 million in 2020, compared with 195 million in 2019.
Estimates published at the end of December by multi-territory agency Comscore, showed other major territories plummeted by between 57% and 76% in 2020.
Particularly hard hit were foreign films, which earned a combined $326 million in the entire year – a fall of 71%. By comparison, Japanese films held up strongly, earning $1.04 billion, down just 23% on 2019.
