Fw: Bayside Shakedown 2 tops 2003 Japanese box office

[mark schilling]

I though the list might be interested in this piece on the 2003 Eiren figures that I wrote for Screen International.

Mark Schilling
schill at gol.com

Bayside Shakedown 2 tops 2003 Japanese box office
Bayside Shakedown 2, Katsuyuki Motohiro?s comic thriller about feuding cops in Tokyo?s trendy bayside district, topped the Japanese box office in 2003, according to figures released on January 30 by the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (Eiren). A sequel to a 1998 film that was also the biggest domestic hit of the year, BS2 grossed Y17.35 billion ($163.7 million) following its July 2003 release -- a record for a Japanese live-action film. 

The top-earning foreign film on the Eiren chart was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, with Y17.0 billion ($160.4 million). Warner opened the film in November 2002, but Eiren lists Christmas holiday films in the chart for the year following their release. The second biggest foreign release was Matrix Reloaded, which finished with Y11.0 billion ($103.8 million), followed by Terminator 3 (Y8.2 billion or $77.4 million), Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Y7.9 billion or $74.5 million) and Pirates of the Caribbean (Y6.8 billion or $64.2 million).

The highest grossing non-Hollywood foreign film was Zhang Yi Mou?s Hero, which earned Y4.05 billion ($38.2 million) following its August release, a record for a Chinese film in the Japanese market. 

Warner, with four films in the box office top ten (Harry Potter, Matrix Reloaded, Minority Report and Hero) was the top-earning foreign distributor. Other distributors with top ten films in 2003 were Toho (BS2 and Pocket Monsters), Toho Towa (Terminator 3), Buena Vista (Pirates of the Caribbean), Fox (Minority Report), Sony (Charlie?s Angels) and Gaga (Chicago). UIP had a disappointing year, with its top earner, Catch Me If You Can, taking Y2.9 billion ($27.4 million), good enough for only 14th pace on the Eiren box office list for foreign films. 

On the domestic side, the top five was rounded off by Pocket Monsters: Advanced Generation (Y4.5 billion or $42.4 million), Detective Conan: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital (Y3.2 billion or $30.2 million), Resurrection (Y3.07 billion or $30.0 million) and Zatoichi (Y2.85 billion or $26.9 million).

Toho was once again the leading domestic distributor, accounting for six of the top ten films, headed by Bayside Shakedown 2. Toei followed with three and Shochiku with one. 

The total gross for 2003 was Y203,259 million ($1.917 billion) on 162,347,000 admissions, a 3.3% gain over the previous year. Of this total Japanese films accounted for Y67,125 million ($633.3 million) or 33.0%, foreign films, Y136,134 million ($1.284 billion) or 67.0%. This compares with a 27.1% share for domestic films in 2002.

Releases declined slightly, from 640 in 2002 to 622 in 2003, with Japanese films falling from 293 to 287 and foreign films, from 347 to 335. A total of 46 films grossed Y1.0 billion ($9.4 million) or more, with foreign films accounting for 29 and Japanese films for 17. 

Meanwhile, the number of screens rose from 2,635 to 2,681, for a 1.9% gain, an indication that the multiplex building boom of the nineties is winding down. The average ticket price fell 0.2% to Y1,252 ($11.81). 


Japanese box office top ten 2003

Title/release date/gross (exchange rate: $1=Y106/distributor


1. Bayside Shakedown 2/July/ Y17.35 billion ($163.7 million)/Toho

2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets/November, 2002/ Y17.0 billion ($160.4 million)/Warner

3. Matrix Reloaded/June/Y11.0 billion ($103.8 million)/Warner

4. Terminator 3/July/Y8.2 billion ($77.4 million)/Toho Towa

5. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers/February/Y7.9 billion ($74.5 million)/Herald/Shochiku

6. Pirates of the Caribbean/August/Y6.8 billion ($64.2 million)/Buena Vista

7. Minority Report/December, 2002/Y5.24 billion ($49.4 million)/Fox

8. Pocket Monsters: Advanced Generation/July/Y4.5 billion ($42.4 million)/Toho

9. Hero/August/Y4.05 billion ($38.2 million)/Warner

10. Charlie?s Angels: Full Throttle/June/Y3.5 billion ($33.0 million)/Sony

10. Chicago/April/Y3.5 billion ($33.0 million)/Gaga/Humax




Domestic top ten 2003

Title/release date/gross (exchange rate: $1=Y106/distributor

1. Bayside Shakedown 2/July/ Y17.35 billion ($163.7 million)/Toho

2. Pocket Monsters: Advanced Generation/July/Y4.5 billion ($42.4 million)/Toho

3. Detective Conan: Detective Conan: Crossroad in the Ancient Capital/April/Y3.2 billion ($30.2 million)/Toho

4. Resurrection/January/Y3.07 billion ($30.0 million)/Toho

5. Zatoichi/September/Y2.85 billion ($26.9 million)/Shochiku

6. Doraemon: Nobita and the Strange Messenger of the Wind/March/Y2.54 billion ($24.0 million)/Toho

7. One Piece The Movie/March/Y2.0 billion ($18.9 million)/Toei

8. Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla/December 2002/Y1.91 billion ($18.0 million)/Toho

9. Battle Royale II/July/Y1.85 billion ($17.5 million)/Toei

10. The Golden Laws/October/Y1.7 billion ($16.0 million)/Toei 
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