When it comes to movies these days, release dates and profits are still up in the air due to COVID. The pandemic’s 2020 impact is still thriving even in the new year as the global box office is far from a rebound. This is true even in Japan where films seemed to have fared well enough last year. A new report has gone live that details the Japanese box office in 2020, and not even Demon Slayer‘s movie could save the industry from major losses.
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The new report comes from the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. After tracking box office data from 2020, the update confirms Demon Slayer certainly helped pull the nation’s box office out of a total backslide. But in the end, the box office was down 55% year-over-year and reached a 20-year low.
According to the new report, the Japanese box office earned 143 billion yen or roughly $1.38 billion USD. This revenue is half of what the box office earned in 2019 before COVID-19 shuttered theaters, restaurants, and more. Now, the Japanese box office is sitting at its lowest point since 2000 as only 161.3. million people in Japan cared to visit theaters last year.
This total is certainly difficult to process, but Demon Slayer really helped out the box office. The anime’s hit movie became the highest-grossing of all-time in Japan following its October 2020 premiere. The film is now on track to become the highest-grossing anime movie globally to date. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Mugen Train has earned more than $352 million in Japan to date, so you can see how that total helped the box office rebound in late 2020. But with COVID cases rising in Japan, the start of 2021 isn’t looking too good for the box office right now.
What do you make of this new box office report? Do you think 2021 will fare better for movies worldwide? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.
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