Julia Stoll
Research expert covering TV and video media
Film industry in Japan - statistics & facts
From revered classics to recent Oscar-winning titles, Japanese filmmakers have made countless invaluable contributions to the world of filmmaking. Historically, the 1950s are usually regarded as the golden age of Japanese cinema, with works such as Yasujiro Ozu's “Tokyo Story” (1953) and Akira Kurosawa's “Seven Samurai” (1954) being released during this time. More recently, films such as Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” (2021) and Takashi Yamazaki’s “Godzilla Minus One” (2023) made headlines by winning Academy Awards. A particular phenomenon within the Japanese market was the anime movie “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train,” which became the most successful Japanese movie to date despite being released amid the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2020.
