The Industry in 1999

[Aaron Gerow]

The Japan Motion Picture Producers Association (Eiren) announced the 
figures for the film industry in 1999.

The good new was that the number of screens increased by 228 to reach 
2221, the first time the number has topped 2000 in 11 years (thanks, 
obviously, to multiplexes).  Attendance, however, fell by 5.4% to 
144,762,000 tickets.  Eiren, however, downplayed the decline since 1998 
was a record year what with Titanic and all.  Even with the decline, 1999 
was the second best year in the 90s.  The number of screens is projected 
to top 2500 by the end of this year.

The number of films released was 568 (Japanese: 270; foreign: 298).  
Total distribution revenue was 82.79 billion yen (a decline of 5.2%).  
Nearly 70% of that was taken up by foreign films. 

In distribution revenue, the top three Japanese films were:

1. Pocket Monsters (3.5 billion)
2. Ring 2/Shikoku (2.1 billion)
3. Poppoya (2.05 billion)

In contrast, the figures for foreign films were:

1. Armageddon (8.3 billion)
2. Star Wars Episode 1 (7.8 billion)
3. Matrix (5.0 billion)




Aaron Gerow
Yokohama National University
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