“Why Hollywood Movies Are Plummeting at Japan Box Office”
From Variety:
Hollywood no longer dominates box office in the third-largest market in the world.
A decade ago, foreign films released in Japan grabbed a 67% market share ($1.4 billion gross), but that percentage fell to 34.3% ($689 million) in 2012 — the fifth straight year foreign films failed to cross the 50% line.
Some swings in market share can be explained by the reign of blockbusters (the “Harry Potter” series pushed Hollywood’s share up, while anything by Japanese anime auteur Hayao Miyazaki sends foreign entries packing), but a downward trend that goes back to 2006, when Japanese films took a majority share (52.3%) after 21 years of foreign reign, goes deeper.
U.S.-based media consultant Geoffrey Bossiere doesn’t believe the current pendulum swing away from Hollywood is purely a matter of box office physics. Hollywood tentpole pics, he observes, are becoming ever-more oriented toward destruction, violence and loud soundtracks. Watching such films at last year’s CinemaCon, he saw little that would entice Japanese audiences. Bossiere adds that he is not anti-tentpole: “As long as they have a really moving or tragic storyline or a really unique concept, they can work in Japan,” he says.
The impact of the international market on the choices of what movies Hollywood film companies buy, develop, and produce is undeniable as foreign box office revenues comprise 70% or more nowadays. This is something screenwriters must consider when considering what story concepts to write on spec and how to approach pitching OWA’s.
But the international market is not some monolith. Cultural tastes vary from region to region, even country to country. And when the third largest movie market in the world (Japan) goes against the tentpole trend in evidence elsewhere, we need to pay attention to that as well.
So if you’re writing a big action or science fiction movie aimed at young adult males, and you include narrative elements, such as characters and visuals, you think may work in Japan as part of your script’s marketability on the sales front, that may or may not work out. However if you have a family movie, perhaps it’s worth brainstorming as a secondary storyline something that might have a specific appeal to the Japanese audience.
For more of the Variety article, go here.
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