#1 of 64 2016 · Action, Horror
$82.1M worldwide · 12% of the chart's total
Shin Godzilla (2016) is the highest-grossing Japanese-language movie released in 2016, with $82.1M worldwide, ahead of Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) (2016) at $78.1M and Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan (2016) at $50.9M. 64 Japanese-language films released in 2016 report a worldwide gross, $662.6M in all, 1% of it from the US & Canada. That is up 4% on 2015, whose releases took $634.7M. By genre, Sci-Fi leads with $341.6M across 13 Japanese releases.
#1 of 64 2016 · Action, Horror
$82.1M worldwide · 12% of the chart's total
Shin Godzilla (2016) leads with $82.1M, 12% of the total. The top 5 together took $278.7M, 42% of what all 64 films earned. Each bar splits a film's gross into the US & Canada and the rest of the world.
Number 1
Number 2
Number 3
Number 4
Number 5 US & Canada (domestic) Rest of the world
Ranks 1 to 50 of 64. Lifetime worldwide grosses in US dollars, not adjusted for inflation; domestic means the US & Canada. Films are grouped by their release date in 2016.
Jul 25, 2016 US and Canada: $6M Rest of the world: $76.1M Worldwide: $82.1M
Oct 11, 2016 US and Canada: $1.9M Rest of the world: $76.1M Worldwide: $78.1M
Mar 5, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $50.9M
Jan 23, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $36.2M
Mar 25, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $31.4M
Oct 29, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $19.1M
Jul 8, 2016 US and Canada: $467.6K Rest of the world: $15.5M Worldwide: $15.9M
Dec 11, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $15.8M
Jun 1, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $15.6M
Jul 16, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $14.6M
Dec 17, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $14.5M
Aug 6, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $13.8M
Mar 19, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $12.1M
Oct 8, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $11.8M
Sep 10, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $11.5M
Dec 23, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $10.7M
May 28, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $10.6M
May 14, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $10.3M
Aug 20, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $10M
Apr 16, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $10M
Oct 8, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $9.9M
Mar 12, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $9.9M
Jun 18, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $9.3M
Sep 10, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $8.8M
Apr 29, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $8.7M
Oct 15, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $8.6M
Dec 12, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $6.9M
Jan 8, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $6.3M
Nov 5, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $5.9M
Apr 29, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $5.5M
Oct 21, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $5.1M
Oct 22, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $4.8M
Mar 18, 2016 US and Canada: $124.8K Rest of the world: $4.6M Worldwide: $4.7M
Sep 22, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $4M
Aug 25, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $4M
Aug 6, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $3.8M
Oct 8, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $3.6M
Aug 19, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $3.5M
Jun 25, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $3M
Apr 1, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $2.8M
Oct 7, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $2.8M
Nov 5, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $2.4M
May 7, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $1.2M
Jan 9, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $931.7K
Of the top 10, Shin Godzilla (2016) earned the biggest share at home (7% in the US & Canada), while Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) (2016) made 98% of its gross abroad. Across all 64 films, $8.7M (1%) came from the US & Canada. 7 films of the top 10 report no US & Canada figure.
None of the 64 films reached $100M. 43 films, 67% of the list, earned under $10M. Each band shows its films and its share of the $662.6M total.
October releases took the most, $144.2M from 15 films, led by Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) (2016). February was the quietest month ($369.1K). Each column is a release month and links to that month's chart.
Of these 10 years, 2012 earned the most: $1B from 69 films, led by Brave Hearts: Umizaru (2012). 2016 took $662.6M.
| Year | Films | Worldwide | Change | Biggest film |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 72 films | 72 | $447.9M | – | Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 (2007) $42.3M |
| 2008 46 films · +18% | 46 | $529.3M | +18% | Suspect X (2008) $54.8M |
| 2009 59 films · +71% | 59 | $903.9M | +71% | Ponyo (2009) $206.3M |
| 2010 69 films · +6% | 69 | $955.6M | +6% | Umizaru 3: The Last Message (2010) $98.7M |
| 2011 64 films · −12% | 64 | $844M | −12% | Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2011) $60.6M |
| 2012 69 films · +19% | 69 | $1B | +19% | Brave Hearts: Umizaru (2012) $91.9M |
| 2013 67 films · −28% | 67 | $724M | −28% | The Wind Rises (2013) $137.1M |
| 2014 72 films · +4% | 72 | $749.8M | +4% | Stand by Me Doraemon (2014) $186.1M |
| 2015 72 films · −15% | 72 | $634.7M | −15% | Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection 'F' (2015) $61.8M |
| 2016 64 films · +4% | 64 | $662.6M | +4% | Shin Godzilla (2016) $82.1M |
Sci-Fi took $341.6M across 13 films, 52% of the total, ahead of Action ($309.2M) and Drama ($271M). A film counts once for each of its genres.
Every year from 1936 to 2026 with its total and its biggest film. 2023 leads with $1.6B, led by The Boy and the Heron (2023).
The chart's numbers in short: the #1 film, the total, the billion-dollar hits and the US & Canada share, answered from the same 64 films as the chart.
Shin Godzilla (2016) leads with $82.1M worldwide, $6M of it in the US & Canada. Next come Shin Godzilla (Godzilla Resurgence) (2016) at $78.1M and Doraemon: Nobita and the Birth of Japan (2016) at $50.9M.
64 Japanese-language films released in 2016 report a worldwide gross, $662.6M in all, or $10.4M per film on average. 2015 releases took $634.7M.
None. The biggest, Shin Godzilla (2016), earned $82.1M.
Films are ranked by lifetime worldwide gross in US dollars, not adjusted for inflation, and grouped by their release date in 2016. The figures are the reported box office grosses in our database. A gross that looks misattributed, such as one figure shared by two unrelated films or a blockbuster total on an obscure title, is left out rather than shown as a fact, and so are films whose stored language is most likely wrong.
Grosses change while films are in theaters and whenever a new figure is reported; this chart reads the latest numbers in our database, so an older film can still move after a re-release.