*Everything follows refer to the domestic box office in Japanese only*

Every year with a Miyazaki picture is going to be a great year for anime films (the Ghibli effect), but looking back, 2013 has been an incredibly successful year in every corner of the industry too.  Not only did this year sees the first 20xx anime franchise to break the 2 billion yen glass ceiling, nearly every classic anime franchise - One Piece, Doraemon, Precure, etc - had a record-setting year in the box office.  Measuring by commercial success alone, 2013 is the Greatest Year for Anime Film.

Six of the Top-10 Grossing Films for 2013 are animated, including the top 3 - The Wind Rises (2013), Monsters University (2013), and One Piece Z (2013).  Of course, being top heavy alone wouldn't suffice, the breadth of success down the list matters too.  Consider the following:

* The Wind Rises (2013) - a all-time top-5 grossing anime film; Animated Feature Oscar front-runner
* One Piece Z (2013) - Biggest opening weekend, highest grossing, most-attended **One Piece** film of all-time
* Doraemon 34 (2013) - Biggest opening weekend, highest grossing, most attended **Doraemon** film of all time
* Detective Conan (2013) - Biggest opening weekend. highest grossing, most attended **Detective Conan** film of all time
* Lupin III Vs. Detective Conan (2013) - on track to exceed franchise record for both Detective Conan and **Lupin**.
* etc etc for **Dragon Ball, Pretty Cure, Pokemon**
* Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion Story (2013) exceeds 2 billion yen in the box office, becoming the first anime IP of this millennium to do so.
* The #1 (Madoka: Rebellion) and #3 (AnoHana) grossing late-night anime film of all time

2013 is not only a good year, but a record-breaking one for almost every established anime IP that released an movie.  That fact should raise some eyebrows, [especially in a deflation-plagued Japan](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-16/japanese-ask-what-s-wrong-with-a-little-deflation-.html) without an inflated currency to buoy records (average movie ticket prices has stayed unchanged since 1993).

Hollywood has owned the Japanese box office for a long time.  Not until 2006 did domestic films retook the majority share of the Japanese box office, in large part due to a resurgent anime film sector.   Since then, [domestic share of the market has more than doubled](http://variety.com/2013/biz/news/japan-hollywood-no-longer-dominates-box-office-1200752940/).  Moreover, although limited in quanity in comparison, animated films tend be more commercially successful, [grossing 84% higher in openers than their live action peers in 2013](http://worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=55322&start=4150).

One subtle consequence of that former Hollywood domination is it limits the timespan from which we can find anime film's "Greatest Year."  Taking these modus tollens - that domestic films dominate foreign films, that anime films dominate live action, and that anime film has an extraordinarily successful year - there're really little question that **2013 is the Greatest Year for Anime Film**.

==Sources==



2006 was the first year in two decades that domestic films took the majority share of Japanese box office, in large part due to anime films.  Ever since then, the trend


Perhaps a cliched title aped from [Hollywood's annual retrospective](http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2013/10/2013-best-year-at-movies), but anime films dominated the box office in Japan this year.

Six of the top-10 highest grossing films of the year, including the Top-3, are animated films.

¥12.00 billion ($123.2 million) / 9.67 million :: The Wind Rises :: 158 :: Toho
¥10 billion ↨
¥8.96 billion ($91.3 million) / 7.06 million :: Monsters University :: Final Total :: Disney
¥6.85 billion ($76.9 million) / 5.67 million :: One Piece Film Z :: Final Total :: Toei
¥5.93 billion ($65.7 million) / 4.82 million :: Les Miserables :: Final Total :: Toho-Towa
¥5 billion ↨
¥4.20 billion ($46.2 million) / 3.09 million :: Ted :: Final Total :: Toho-Towa
¥4 billion ↨
¥3.98 billion ($43.2 million) / 3.66 million :: Doraemon: Nobita's Secret Gagdet Museum :: Final Total :: Toho
¥3.63 billion ($37.1 million) / 3.03 million :: Detective Conan: Private Eye in the Distant Sea :: Final Total :: Toho
¥3.33 billion ($34.3 million) / 2.71 million :: Midsummer Formula :: Final Total :: Toho
¥3.25 billion ($33.8 million) / 2.78 million :: The After-Dinner Mysteries :: Final Total :: Toho
¥3.17 billion ($33.0 million) / 3.03 million :: Pokemon: ExtremeSpeed Genesect - Mewtwo Awakens :: Final Total :: Toho
¥3.15 billion ($32.7 million) / 2.70 million :: Like Father, Like Son :: Final Estimate :: Gaga
¥3.00 billion ($32.3 million) / 2.45 million :: Wreck-It Ralph :: Final Total :: Disney
¥3.00 billion ($31.0 million) / 2.35 million :: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods :: Final Estimate :: Toei
¥3 billion ↨
¥2.82 billion ($32.4 million) / 2.21 million :: 007: Skyfall :: Final Estimate :: Sony
¥2.72 billion ($27.6 million) / 2.24 million :: The Kiyosu Conference :: 45 :: Toho
¥2.64 billion ($28.3 million) / 2.12 million :: Platinum Data :: Final Estimate :: Toho
¥2.64 billion ($26.8 million) / 2.10 million :: SPEC: Close - Incarnation Part 1 :: 53 :: Toho
¥2.60 billion ($26.7 million) / 1.77 million :: Iron Man 3 :: Tracking Ends :: Disney
¥2.40 billion ($25.0 million) / 1.86 million :: Despicable Me 2 :: Tracking Ends :: Toho-Towa
¥2.15 billion ($23.9 million) / 1.73 million :: Strawberry Night :: Final Estimate :: Toho
¥2.13 billion ($22.2 million) / 1.73 million :: The King of Apology :: Tracking Ends :: Toho
¥2.09 billion ($21.7 million) / 1.63 million :: The Lone Ranger :: Tracking Ends :: Disney
¥2.03 billion ($22.3 million) / 1.49 million :: A Good Day to Die Hard :: Final Estimate :: Fox
¥2 billion ↨
¥1.98 billion ($20.4 million) / 1.52 million :: Fast and Furious 6 :: Tracking Ends :: Toho-Towa
¥1.96 billion ($20.3 million) / 1.42 million :: World War Z :: Tracking Ends :: Toho-Towa
¥1.94 billion ($20.0 million) / 1.40 million :: Magi Madoka Magica: The Rebellion Story :: 58 :: Warner Bros.

Bold - Animated
Underlined - Domestic (Japan)


Of course, that alone wouldn't suffice to declare 2013 the greatest of all time.  After all, animated film [tend to do well in their in Japan](http://www.academia.edu/3693690/Manga_Movies_Project_Report_1_-_Transmedia_Japanese_Franchising), especially for established domestic brands like Ghibli, One Piece, and etc.  But consider the following:

* The Wind Rises (2013) - 12 billion yen / 9.67 million viewers - [top-5 grossing animated film](http://worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=55322&start=4200)
* One Piece Z (2013) - Biggest opening weekend, highest grossing, most-attended **One Piece** film of all-time
* Doraemon 34 (2013) - Biggest opening weekend, highest grossing, most attended **Doraemon** film of all time
* Detective Conan (2013) - Biggest opening weekend. highest grossing, most attended **Detective Conan** film of all time
* Lupin III Vs. Detective Conan (2013) - on track to exceed franchise record for both Detective Conan and **Lupin**.
* Franchise record breaking for **Dragon Ball, Pretty Cure, Pokemon** and so on
* Madoka: Rebellion (2013) and AnoHana (2013), the #1 and #3 grossing late-night anime film of all time

2013 is not only a good year, but a record-breaking one for almost every established anime IP that released an movie.  That fact should raise some eyebrows, [especially in deflation-plagued Japan](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-16/japanese-ask-what-s-wrong-with-a-little-deflation-.html).  **Average movie ticket prices in Japan has stayed the same since 1993**.   Breaking records are hard when the inflation rate works against you.

Of all 2013 films that debuts about 100 million yen, animate films opens 90% higher than live-action ones on the average.

Animated - 21, Avg. Opening - ¥436 million
Live-Action - 63, Avg. Opening - ¥237 million


==2013 Top Grossing Films==

*(in Japan, [Oricon via worldofkj](http://worldofkj.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=55322&start=4225))*

|



Rising tide floats all boats.


Sources
-----

Box Office Data

* http://forums.boxoffice.com/index.php?/topic/3478-japan-box-office-2013/page-129