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16
Moviegoing has soared 16 percent in the country this year
amid government reforms to give more leisure time to workers
BY GAVIN J. BLAIR
Japan Box Office Boom
Fueled by Free Time
D
efying a slowly shrinking
population and the rise
of streaming platforms,
Japan’s box office is spiking in
2019 thanks to rising wages, a
shift in corporate culture and
a strong lineup of local and
Hollywood films. Box office
revenue was up 16 percent in the
first half of the year, with July
alone surging 30 percent from
the same corridor in 2018, per
local entertainment news service
Bunkatsushin.
It’s shaping up to be a banner
year for Hollywood, which hasn’t
claimed more than 50 percent
of the Japan box office since
2007, when the country was the
No. 2 moviegoing market in the
world behind North America and
China. This year was sparked
by Bohemian Rhapsody, which
topped the charts for two weeks
in January despite having debuted
Nov. 9. By mid-May, it had pulled
in $115.7 million. The country also
has helped fuel Aladdin’s $1 bil-
lion-plus global run, ponying up
$107.2 million to date.
Underlying the moviegoing
boom is demand for recreation
amid government reform, says
Tokyo-based Jefferies analyst
Shinnosuke Takeuchi. “Leisure
time is also increasing as the
Work Style Reforms being
promoted by the government
have led to a decrease in working
times,” says Takeuchi, referring
to measures designed to change
Japan’s notoriously harsh cor-
porate culture. A labor shortage
has pushed unemployment down
to 2.3 percent and wages up
after decades of stagflation. The
reforms came into effect in April
and include forcing employees
to take paid vacation days (the
average worker uses half of his
or her annual leave). “People
are looking for ways to spend
time with friends and family,”
says Takeuchi, “and going to the
movies is still a preferred leisure
choice for Japanese people.”
From left: 2019’s top-grossing movies
in Japan include Toho’s Weathering With
You ($55.4 million), Toy S to r y 4 ($71.1 million)
and Disney’s Aladdin ($107.2 million).
Who Should Get a
Music Biopic Next?
The Beatles 66%
The Rolling Stones 60%
Elvis Presley 60%
John Lennon 59%
Aretha Franklin 57%
Michael Jackson 57%
Aerosmith 57%
Eagles 57%
Billy Joel 55%
Whitney Houston 55%
Bob Marley 53%
Frank Sinatra 53%
Led Zeppelin 51%
Bruce Springsteen 50%
Pink Floyd 49%
Phil Collins 49%
AC/DC 46%
Eminem 45%
Garth Brooks 45%
Madonna 44%
Lynyrd Skynyrd 44%
Celine Dion 43%
Rihanna 42%
Mariah Carey 42%
Taylor Swift 39%
ABBA 39%
U2 38%
Ed Sheeran 38%
Amy Winehouse 36%
Carole King 35%
Drake 31%
Boy George 29%
Gucci Mane 21%
Yoko O no 20%
Source: conducted Aug. 1-3 among a THR/Morning Consult poll
nationally representative sample of 2,200 adults. % is calculated from
interested” or “somewhat interested” respondents who replied “very
would you be in a biopic movie about to the question, “How interested
the following artists?”
After Queen and Elton John, Americans want more
classic rock icons on the big screen, a survey finds
THR/
Morning
Consult
Poll
Top 5 Foreign Markets
Gross in millions
Source: Comscore
Bohemian Rhapsody
(Fall 2018)
Japan
$115.
South Korea
$74.
U.K.
$
Australia
$
Germany
$36.
Aladdin
(Still in theaters)
Japan
$107.
South Korea
$
China
$53.
U.K.
$46.
Mexico
$35.