TOKYO -- 2024 was a year of major movement in the Japanese film industry, with two animated movies scoring big at box offices and a diversity of live-action productions.

In 2024, two Japanese animated feature films raked in over 10 billion yen (approx. $63 million): "Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram," which took home 15.7 billion yen, and "Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle" with 11.6 billion.

The top of the box office charts featured a number of productions of diverse origins and formats, from the fourth entry in the "Kingdom" saga, "Kingdom 4: Return of the Great General" to the television series crossover "Last Mile." Other titles included the animation "Look Back," with a running time under one hour, "A Strange House" based on a popular YouTube video and the low-budget period piece "A Samurai in Time."

Despite these noteworthy films, annual box office revenue overall saw a lackluster year that is expected to fall short of 2023's total and miss the 200-billion-yen (around $1.27 billion) mark. One cause was the shakiness of the western film industry. Along with a lack of star power, award events such as the Oscars and the Cannes Film Festival no longer had their former prestige. There has also been a trend for major western producers to compete progressively more in the field of streaming platforms.

Even so, the richness of the cinematic landscape in Japan deserved more recognition, abundant with honorable mentions and remarkable films from overseas such as "Beau is Afraid," "Robot Dreams" and two films by Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos, "Kinds of Kindness" and "Poor Things."

A new power was also felt in the awards bestowed upon Japanese films. Yoko Yamanaka's second feature-length, "Desert of Namibia" received an award from the International Federation of Film Critics at Cannes. Ryusuke Hamaguchi, who won the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 80th Venice Film Festival for his film "Evil Does Not Exist," is already a major player in the industry, having won awards at all three of the top international film festivals in Venice, Cannes and Berlin. Meanwhile, the series "Shogun" won a record number of Emmy awards including the ones for best lead actor and best drama series, demonstrating the talent of star Hiroyuki Sanada and the potential for period dramas.

A new generation of directors in their 20s to 30s was represented by Neo Sora ("Happyend") and Hiroshi Okuyama ("My Sunshine"). They intend to break out of the Japanese industry's framework, whether by being actively involved in global collaborations using international film festivals as a stepping stone, getting educated at foreign film schools or basing themselves in the U.S. Sensitive and blessed with keen insights into human nature and society, along with a hunger for expression, they appear poised to lead new trends before long.

The power of streaming services, of course, cannot be ignored. The worldwide popularity of Japanese Netflix productions such as "Tokyo Swindlers," "The Queen of Villains" and "City Hunter" can be attributed to the extensive production systems behind the ambitious projects. It has also impacted the working environment of the cinema industry as a whole. In 2025, major movie companies, too, will have to adapt to further change.

(Japanese original by Tomomi Katsuta, Cultural News Department)