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Thursday, 29th January 2015
In Japan Entertainment News,
Frozen leads Hollywood films in Japanese cinema
Frozen continued its excellent performance in Japanese cinemas last year, newly released figures show, with the Disney animated musical leading the way for Hollywood motion pictures in the country during 2014.
The 'Let It Go' favourite has even been credited with helping Japanese venues rake in a healthy rise in ticket sales - a whopping 6.6 per cent increase on 2013's figures to 207 billion yen.
Frozen, known in Japan as Anna and the Snow Queen, took in more than 25.5 billion yen on its own, becoming the third largest film of all time in Japan and accounting for more than ten per cent of the overall box office takings.
The news will come as good news to Hollywood producers, who are fast losing dominance in Japanese cinema as audiences shun many US superhero and other franchises that have less recognition in the country.
Along with Frozen, Disney's Maleficent was the second largest foreign film, taking $55 million. The film, starring Angelina Jolie, tells the alternate tale of the classic Disney villain and re-imagines her as a protagonist.
Sandra Bullock's Gravity also did well - the Warner Brothers-distributed film took $27 million from Japanese audiences.
Imported films made up 42 per cent of last year's receipts, lagging local favourites for a seventh straight year and falling well below the peak of 73 per cent, which was seen in 2002.
For those who want to celebrate Japan's love of the Frozen phenomenon during their holiday in the country, Tokyo Disneyland is holding daily Frozen-themed parades and events until March, with characters Anna, Elsa and Olaf in attendance.
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