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May 23, 2005
Japan today: how movies get there
Japan Today has a diverse survey of how movies are released in, um, Japan today. "Japan is the second biggest market in the world for Hollywood movies," they report, while explaining things like the later release of movies in their market: "There are fewer theaters in Japan (despite the increase in multiplex cinemas) and because time is needed to generate buzz.... "To put it into perspective, there are only 3,000 screens in Japan. In the U.S., there are 10 times that," says [the] chairman of Warner Entertainment Japan Inc, which has been No. 1 in grosses and market share in Japan for the past four years. "That being said, we release most of our big-budget 'tentpole' pictures within a couple of weeks of the U.S. release." ... Unlike the U.S., where there are many "peak" times of the year to open a movie, there are really only three important seasons in Japan — Golden Week, summer and New Year. If distributors hope to have a blockbuster, they have to slot it into one of those. That's why Star Wars: Episode III—Revenge of the Sith," which opened in 40 countries on May 19, won't open here until July 9." Teenagers, the report continues, make up less than 10% of the Japanese moviegoing audience; explanations of how and why movie titles are changed and how Japanese subtitling works are among the other interesting bits.
Posted by at May 23, 2005 12:05 AM
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