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Disney, Bandai, Aniplex Top Japan's 2009 Animation Sales
posted on by Egan Loo
GfK Marketing Japan has announced its GfK Certified DVD Software 2009 report on the state of the Japanese DVD and Blu-ray market on Tuesday. GfK based its report on a survey of a panel of Japanese retailers who deal with packaged video software, including their point-of-sale data.
Walt Disney Studio Home Entertainment (WDSHE), the distributor of Disney, Pixar, and Studio Ghibli films in Japan, held the largest share of the animated DVD and Blu-ray market (by the number of units sold) at 16.8%. WDSHE's release of Studio Ghibli's Ponyo was the #1 selling release by units sold.
The distributor Bandai Visual fell from #1 to #2 with 15.2% of the market. Another market survey firm, Oricon, reported Bandai Visual as the #1 distributor of 2009, but Oricon based its results on the amount of yen earned, not the number of units sold.
Aniplex (Kara no Kyōkai - the Garden of sinners, Bakemonogatari) was #3 with 13.1%.
Warner Home Video topped the overall packaged video software market at 17.3%, followed by Sony Pictures Entertainment (11.3%) and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (9.4%).
In the overall Blu-ray market, Bandai Visual was #1 at 15.4%, followed by Warner Home Video (12.2%) and Sony Pictures Entertainment (7.7%). Evangelion: 1.11 You Are (Not) Alone was the #1 selling Blu-ray release by units sold. The Blu-ray market in Japan grew 2.8 times to 20 billion yen (about US$210 million). Half of the Japanese Blu-ray market was animated works.
Source: animeanime.biz
