Film Exhibition Yearbook｜2021
I. Film Exhibition at Theaters

2. The Number of Films Released and Film Titles
Number of Films Released
Between 1955 and 2004, the number of films released at theaters was up and down but was roughly 550 to 650
films per year. In 2005, the number hit a record of 731 films and since then, has continued increasing. In 2013, forthe first time, the number of films released was over 1000, with more than 500 each of Japanese and foreign films.
Since then, the number has always been over 1000 every year. The year 2019 saw as many as 1278 films
released. In 2020, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, 506 Japanese films and 511 foreign films, a total of 1,017
films were released in Japan. In 2021, the number of the films released decreased to slightly less than 1,000 films,
however, 490 Japanese films and 469 foreign films, a total of 959 films were released (according to the Motion
Picture Producers Association of Japan’s statistics). Compared with the numbers in 2020, 16 less Japanese films
and 42 less foreign films were released in 2021.

fig.07 Changes in Number of

fig.08 Changes in Box OfficeFilms Released (2012-2021)

Income (2012-2021)

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Film Exhibition Yearbook｜2021
I. Film Exhibition at Theaters

Box Office Incomes
In 2021, the total box office income in Japan was: 128,339,000,000 yen for Japanese films (117.4% of that in theyear before), 33,554,000,000 yen for foreign films (98.7% of that in the year before), and in total, 161,893,000,000
yen, 113.7% of that in the year before. Compared with the numbers in 2019, the box-office income of Japanesefilms recovered to 90%, and more than the 122,029,000,000 yen of 2018. However, the box office income offoreign films remained 20% of that in 2019, and did not exceed that in 2020. Only 5 foreign films made more than
one billion yen including FAST AND FURIOUS 9 (released in August 2021), NO TIME TO DIE (released in October2021), GODZILLA VS. KONG (released in July 2021), MONSTER HUNTER (released in March 2021), andETERNALS (released in November 2021). 21 films were widely released at more than 300 theaters nationwide,
however, many of them made less than one billion yen.
Since 2020, the relationship between theatrical and online release has been changing. Due to the long closing oftheaters, film distributors had to take such exceptional measures as online releases only, simultaneous online andtheatrical releases, and shortening the gap between online and theatrical release dates. Even after theaters
reopened in 2021, film distributors preferred to continue these practices that theaters did not like, and in somecases, theaters decided not to take such films.
Moving forward, movie-goers will gradually come back, however, the forms of film exhibitions will not return tothose before the COVID-19 pandemic. We need to pay attention to what forms theatrical releases will take after
the pandemic.

fig.09 Changes in Film Attendance Per Film (2012-2021)2

Film Exhibition Yearbook｜2021
I. Film Exhibition at Theaters

The Scales of Film Releases
Japan Community Cinema Center (JCCC) creates the list of released films based on online information. In 2021,
504 Japanese films and 494 foreign films, a total of 998 films including ODS (Other Digital Stuff) were released(1,112 films including the films shown at special series at 1-2 theaters in Tokyo). These figures are slightly
different from those of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan that lists 490 Japanese films and 469
foreign films, a total of 959 films. Despite some differences, we will see what films were released based on the
JCCC data.

−The Scales of Film Releases
In 2021, 48 Japanese films and 21 foreign films were released at more than 300 theaters nationwide, much larger
than the numbers in 2020.
Among Japanese films, the following films were released at more than 340 theaters: regular popular animation
series films such as DETECTIVE CONAN: THE SCARLET BULLET (released in April) and CRAYON SHIN-CHAN:
SHROUDED IN MYSTERY! THE FLOWERS OF TENKAZU ACADEMY (released in July); much expected animations
such as BELLE (released in July) and EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME (released in March); and films
targeted at film fans and youth such as RUROUNI KENSHIN: THE FINAL (released in April) and RUROUNIKENSHIN: THE BEGINNING (released in June), TOKYO REVENGERS (released in July), MASQUERADE NIGHT(released in September), THE FABLE: THE KILLER WHO DOESN’T KILL (released in June), and IN THE WAKE
(released in October).
As for foreign films, 21 films were released at more than 300 theaters nationwide, however, only 5 films mademore than one million box office income: FAST AND FURIOUS 9, NO TIME TO DIE, GODZILLA VS. KONG,
MONSTER HUNTER, and ETERNALS.
In 2020, the major foreign films were mostly unreleased in Japan, and multi-screen theaters began to show thekind of films that used to be shown at mini-theaters. This trend continued into 2021. In addition, until 2020, mostof both Japanese and foreign films released at more than 150 theaters were screened at “only at multi-screen
theaters,” however, more and more films widely released were also screened at mini-theaters in 2021.
The new trend in 2020-2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic is an increase of titles screened both at multi-screen
theaters and mini-theaters. 104 such Japanese titles (18%) and 125 such foreign titles (24%) were released in
2019; in 2021, 160 such Japanese titles (32%) and 204 such foreign films (41%) were released, showing large
increases. If we combine Japanese and foreign titles, 229 such titles (21%) were shown in 2019 and 364 such
titles (36%) in 2021. Because the releases of blockbusters or big-budget American films were stopped, thediversification of programming at multi-screen theaters increased. On the other hand, mini-theaters began toshow much talked about films or large-scale films that could be expected to attract film-goers even after theirrelease at multi-screen theaters.
Nonetheless, the ratio of films screened only at mini-theaters has changed much and many films are still shown
exclusively at mini-theaters. 293 Japanese and 350 foreign films were released at less than 49 theaters
nationwide. Among these films, 207 Japanese titles (71%) and 227 foreign titles (65%) were shown only at minitheaters. The kind of films shown only at mini-theaters includes: films highly praised at international film festivals,
important documentaries, and ambitious films by young filmmakers. As we will see later, the revival screenings ofthe digital restoration version of the classics and director’s retrospectives are mostly held at mini-theaters.

3Film Exhibition Yearbook｜2021
I. Film Exhibition at Theaters
fig.10 The Scales of Films Released at Theaters in 2021

−Kinds of Films Released
504 Japanese films were released in 2021, not as many as that in 2019, but over 60 more than the 440 films in
2020. The number includes 321 new theatrical films, 95 animations, 68 documentaries, 20 ODS on theatricalperformances and live music concerts, and 40 films of special projects introducing shorts and films by young
directors. In 2020, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the releases of regular popular animation
series films for children and families were postponed. In 2021, the films from the series such as DETECTIVE
CONAN, CRAYON SHIN-CHAN, and POCKET MONSTER THE MOVIE were released as scheduled, and muchtalked about animations such as EVANGELION: 3.0+1.0 THRICE UPON A TIME (executive directed by HideakiAnno) and BELLE (directed by Mamoru Hosoda) were also released. As a result, the top 3 films of box officeincome were Japanese animations. The releases of digital 4K restoration of classic animations also attracted
much attention, including THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (2006), THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO (1979),
PATLABOR 2: THE MOVIE (1993), and GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995).
Among theatrical films, many big box-office hits were released including TOKYO REVENGERS, RUOUNI

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Film Exhibition Yearbook｜2021
I. Film Exhibition at Theaters
KENSHIN: THE FINAL, and WE MADE A BEAUTIFUL BOUQUET. However, the biggest topic of 2021 was DRIVE
MY CAR (directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi). It attracted attention by winning 4 awards, including the Best
Screenplay Award at Cannes International Film Festival. Following its domestic release in August, the film kept
drawing news and winning awards at various international film festivals. In 2022, the film was nominated in 4
categories of the Academy Awards and won the Best International Feature Award, followed by the Best PictureAward of the Japanese Academy Awards, keeping its theatrical run well into spring. Hamaguchi’s WHEEL OFFORTUNE AND FANTASY was also released on December 17, 2021, attracting sizable audiences at mini-theaters.
A number of documentary films were released in theaters in 2021. 21 titles (12 titles in 2019) were released atmore than 30 theaters nationwide. More and more multi-screen theaters began to show documentaries and thetheatrical releases of documentary films have become a norm.
494 foreign films were released in 2021. 415 foreign films were released in 2020, about 81% of that in 2019,
however, the number of released foreign films has recovered considerably. 279 were new theatrical films, 20 were
new animations, 69 were documentaries, 16 were ODS, 31 were revival releases of the digital restoration versionof classic films, and 79 titles of the special screenings of 15 classic film projects. In addition, 74 titles were
presented at special screenings at 1 to 3 theaters in Tokyo, making a total of 568 titles.
69 documentaries were screened, more than twice as many as the 33 in the year before. Outstanding titles aremusic-related ones including bio documentaries of famous artists like BILLIE, AMAZING GRACE, and CHASING
TRANE: THE JOHN COLTRANE DOCUMENTARY. They were screened at more than 50 theaters, attracting a
number of music and film fans. Former “Talking Heads” singer David Byrne was featured during his Broadwayshow directed by Spike Lee, AMERICAN UTOPIA. The film generated more than 100 million yen box-office income
during the first 2 months after its release, and it became an unusually big hit as a music documentary. SUMMER
OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) also received large attention
documenting the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969, and winning the Best Documentary Feature Award of the
Academy Awards.
In 2021, a number of classic titles were digitally restored and presented at their revival screenings. They include
films representing the high times of mini-theater history such as DANCER IN THE DARK (2000), BUFFALO 66(1998), CRASH (1996), and HECATE (1982), that attracted lots of attention such as DIRTY DANCING (1987),
HAMBURGER HILL (1987), SUSPIRIA PART 2 DEEP RED (1975), MANDINGO (1975), and other classic films suchas DIARY OF A COUNTRY PRIEST (1951), A GENTLE WOMAN (1969), THE WAR OF

THE BUTTONS (1962)

and POOR COW (1967).
One of the unique aspects of film exhibition in 2021 was that there were many special screenings circulated anddistributed to a number of theaters, including both Japanese and foreign films. Among Japanese films, there are
director’s retrospectives such as “Yoshimitsu Morita 70 Festival,” “20 Years After Passing of Shinji Somai: His
Film World Seen From Asia and Auteur Theory,” “Masashi Yamamoto Crazy Film Festival,” “Restored Treasures of
the Japanese Animation History: Films of Tadanori Okamoto and Kihachiro Kawamoto,” director’s retrospectives
upon the revival screenings of digital 4K restorations of classic films such as “The Best of Mitsuo Yanagimachi
upon the Revival Release of ‘A 19-YEAR-OLD’S MAP’,” and “Revival Screening of CHOKOLIETTA + Shiori Kazama
Retrospective.” Moreover, upon the release of NOW IS THE PAST: MY FATHER, JAVA & PHANTOM FILMS, aretrospective of director Chonosuke Ise and related film series were held; upon the release of SUZU-SAN:
HOUSEWIFE’S WORK AND LIFE DURING THE 30’S OF THE SHOWA PERIOD, a documentary series portraying

5Film Exhibition Yearbook｜2021
I. Film Exhibition at Theaters
the life of the 30s of the Showa Period was presented; upon the re-release of GOD SPEED YOU! BLACK
EMPEROR, the retrospective “Biker Films 2021: GOD SPEED YOU!!!” was hosted, as well as the Yukihiko Tsusumi
film retrospective upon the release of his 50th film, RETURN TO ORIGIN. These special projects were all screenedat more than one theater.
As for foreign films, 15 projects and 79 titles were presented. Special projects such as “Jean-Paul Belmondo
Masterpieces,” “Director Eric Rohmer Retrospective: 6 Morality Tales,” “Carl Theodor Dreyer Selections,” “Michel
Legrand and Directors of French New Wave,” all attracting good responses while other special projects such as“Jim Jarmusch Retrospective 2021” and “Wim Wenders Retrospective: ROAD MOVIES/UNTIL THE END OF THE
WORLD” have been exhibited for a long time. Small projects such as “SPAAK! SPAAK! SPAAK! Cathrine Spaak
Retrospective” and “Kelly Reichardt’ Films: Wandering America” attracted attention. The entire 10 entries of
Krzysztof Kieslowski’s DECALOGUE were presented in digital restoration versions.
The “Film Festival of 10 AM”, mostly presented at multi-screen theater showing masterpieces and much talked
about films, returned to theaters after 2 years due to popular demand, screening 27 titles at 63 theaters.

fig.11 Types of Films Released in 2021

Films That Made More Than 1 Billion Yen Box Office Income
In 2021, 37 films made more than 1 billion yen box office income (25 films in 2020 and 65 films in 2019),
occupying 3.9% of the total of 959 films released in Japan. The total box office income from these 37 films was:Japanese films with 89.89 billion yen (85.63 billion yen in 2020 and 104.78 billion yen in 2019), foreign films with
10.74 billion yen (16.14 billion yen in 2020 and 9.61 yen in 2019), and in total, 100.6 billion yen, 62.2% of the total
box office income of Japan. This is a large decrease from 76.9% in 2019. In particular, the foreign film box officeincome in 2021 was about one tenth of that in 2019, and we can see the effects of the postponements andcancellation of major film releases due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

6Film Exhibition Yearbook｜2021
I. Film Exhibition at Theaters
fig.12 Films That Made More Than 1 Billion Yen Box Office Income in 2021 [Japanese Films]

fig.13 Films That Made More Than 1 Billion Yen Box Office Income in 2021 [Foreign Films]

7Film Exhibition Yearbook｜2021
I. Film Exhibition at Theaters
fig.14 20 Top Box Office Income Films in 2021

fig.15 Film That Made More Than

fig.16 Film That Made More Than 1 Billion Yen

1 Billion Yen Box Office Income in 2021

Box Office Income (2012-2021)8