In 2007, Toho releases earned $556.06m (Y59.51bn), a 1.25% increase over 2006's record-setting take of $548.52m (Y58.78bn). Toho operates the largest number of screens (528) of the country's more than 3,060 screens, giving it a strong advantage.
Sony Pictures Entertainment was the second most sucessful major with earnings of $151.77m (Y16.26bn), the studio's best year ever.
As of the end of November, Toho's earnings stood at 95.8% of the previous year, but December's string of new releases and current hits pulled in $54.91m (Y5.88bn), a huge 108.1% increase over December 2006.
December's biggest new releases were A Tale Of Mari And Three Puppies (Dec 8), which has earned over $24m to date, and the remake of Akira Kurosawa's Sanjuro (Dec 1), currently at $9.72m.
Long-running hits Always: Sunset On Third Street 2 ($40.44m), which has remained in the top ten for 11 weeks, and Sky Of Love ($34.23) also boosted grosses.
Toho's biggest hit and the number one local film of the year was Fuji TV's Hero ($75.64m). The latest Pokemon film ($44.41m) and Fuji 's Monkey Magic ($39.82m) were also key earners.
At 29 titles, 2008's slate is the studio's biggest ever. Toho is aiming for Y60bn ($560.2m) in box office revenue.
Major releases in 2008 include Stephen Chow co-produced Shaolin Girl (April 26), Koki Mitani's period gangster comedy The Magic Hour (June 7) and the return of Hayao Miyazaki with Studio Ghibli's Ponyo On A Cliff (summer).
No comments yet