A decade ago, foreign films released in Japan grabbed a 67% market share ($1.4 billion gross), but that percentage fell to 34.3% ($689 million) in 2012 — the fifth straight year foreign films failed to cross the 50% line.
Some swings in market share can be explained by the reign of blockbusters (the “Harry Potter” series pushed Hollywood’s share up, while anything by Japanese anime auteur Hayao Miyazaki sends foreign entries packing), but a downward trend that goes back to 2006, when Japanese films took a majority share (52.3%) after 21 years of foreign reign, goes deeper.
U.S.-based media consultant Geoffrey Bossiere doesn’t believe the current pendulum swing away from Hollywood is purely a matter of box office physics. Hollywood tentpole pics, he observes, are becoming ever-more oriented toward destruction, violence and loud soundtracks. Watching such films at last year’s CinemaCon, he saw little that would entice Japanese audiences. Bossiere adds that he is not anti-tentpole: “As long as they have a really moving or tragic storyline or a really unique concept, they can work in Japan,” he says.
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