[caption id="attachment_217382" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The top 3 Japanese & Western movies in 2011!"][/caption]

The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan (or 'MPAJ' for short) have released their annual official box office rankings for 2011.

Unlike 2010, the film industry experienced a sharp decline in terms of sold movie tickets and revenue for 2011. The number of sold tickets dropped by 17% (from 174,358,000 to 144,726,000), while the revenue declined by 17.9% (from 220,737,000,000 Yen to 181,197,000,000 Yen), although the number of movies screened increased by 83 (from 716 to 799).

Of course the Great Tohoku Earthquake was the major culprit for the decline. The number of screens in Japan decreased by 73 compared to 2010, with 40 of them gone because of the earthquake.

Although revenue declined for both Japanese and Western films, it was the fourth consecutive year for Japanese films to be more successful than its Western counterparts. 54.9% of the total revenue was earned by Japanese films, while 45.1% was earned by Western films.

As for the most successful films, please check out the rankings below!

(Note: Revenue for � (Japanese Yen) is in billions. Revenue for $ (United States Dollar) is in millions.)
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Japanese films that made more than 1 billion Yen (12.93 million USD)

Rank :: Revenue � (billion) / $ (million) :: Title :: Release :: Distributor
01 :: �4.46 / $57.48 :: Kokuriko-zaka Kara :: July :: Toho
02 :: �4.33 / $56.00 :: Pok�mon the Movie: Black and White** :: July :: Toho
03 :: �4.28 / $55.36 :: Suteki na Kanashibari :: October :: Toho
04 :: �4.10 / $53.03 :: SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO :: Dec'10 :: Toho

05 :: �3.45 / $44.62 :: GANTZ :: January :: Toho
06 :: �3.33 / $43.07 :: SP: The Motion Picture Kakumei Hen :: March :: Toho
07 :: �3.18 / $41.13 :: Aibou The Movie II :: Dec'10 :: Toei
08 :: �3.15 / $40.74 :: Meitantei Conan: Chinmoku no Kuota :: April :: Toho

09 :: �2.82 / $36.47 :: GANTZ PERFECT ANSWER :: April :: Toho
10 :: �2.46 / $31.82 :: Doraemon Shin Nobita to Tetsujin Heidan :: March :: Toho
11 :: �2.34 / $30.26 :: Unfair: The Answer :: September :: Toho
12 :: �2.22 / $28.71 :: Moteki :: September :: Toho

13 :: �1.89 / $24.44 :: Kamisama no Karute :: August :: Toho
14 :: �1.88 / $24.31 :: Andalucia: Megami no Houfuku :: June :: Toho
15 :: �1.77 / $22.89 :: Inazuma Eleven: Saikyo Gundan Oga Shurai :: Dec'10 :: Toho
16 :: �1.76 / $22.76 :: Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful & Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger** :: August :: Toei
17 :: �1.63 / $21.08 :: Gaku :: May :: Toho
18 :: �1.62 / $20.95 :: Princess Toyotomi :: May :: Toho
19 :: �1.61 / $20.82 :: Kaiji 2 :: November :: Toho
20 :: �1.57 / $20.30 :: Taiheiyo no Kiseki :: February :: Toho
21 :: �1.50 / $19.40 :: Bushi no Kakeibo :: Dec'10 :: Asmik Ace/Shochiku

22 :: �1.40 / $18.10 :: Norwegian Wood :: Dec'10 :: Toho
23 :: �1.39 / $17.97 :: Paradise Kiss :: June :: Warner Bros.
24 :: �1.38 / $17.85 :: Kamen Rider � Kamen Rider OOO & W Featuring Skull :: Dec'10 :: Toei
25 :: �1.33 / $17.20 :: OOO. Den-O. All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders :: April :: Toei
26 :: �1.24 / $16.03 :: Youkame no Semi :: April :: Shochiku
27 :: �1.23 / $15.91 :: Boku to Tsuma no 1778 no Monogatari :: January :: Toho
28 :: �1.22 / $15.78 :: Tantei wa BAR ni Iru :: September :: Toei
29 :: �1.20 / $15.52 :: Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called: Operation Golden Spy :: April :: Toho
30 :: �1.14 / $14.74 :: Hankyu Densha :: April :: Toho
31 :: �1.10 / $14.22 :: Ashita no Joe :: February :: Toho
32 :: �1.02 / $13.19 :: Pretty Cure All Stars DX3 :: March :: Toei

**Double release

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Western films that made more than 1 billion Yen (12.93 million USD)

Rank :: Revenue � (billion) / $ (million) :: Title :: Release :: Distributor
01 :: �9.67 / $125.08 :: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows � Part 2 :: July :: Warner Bros.
02 :: �8.87 / $114.73 :: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides :: May :: Walt Disney
03 :: �6.86 / $88.73 :: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows � Part 1 :: Dec'10 :: Warner Bros.

04 :: �4.25 / $54.97 :: Transformers: Dark of the Moon :: July :: Paramount Pictures

05 :: �3.01 / $38.93 :: Cars 2 :: July :: Walt Disney

06 :: �2.69 / $34.79 :: The Chronicles of Narnia 3 :: February :: 20th Century Fox
07 :: �2.56 / $33.11 :: Tangled :: March :: Walt Disney
08 :: �2.42 / $31.30 :: Rise of the Planet of the Apes :: October :: 20th Century Fox
09 :: �2.39 / $30.91 :: Black Swan :: May :: 20th Century Fox
10 :: �2.12 / $27.42 :: Tron: Legacy :: Dec'10 :: Walt Disney

11 :: �1.95 / $25.22 :: The Three Musketeers :: October :: GAGA
12 :: �1.87 / $24.18 :: The Tourist :: March :: Sony Pictures
13 :: �1.82 / $23.54 :: The King's Speech :: February :: GAGA
14 :: �1.72 / $22.24 :: Super 8 :: June :: Paramount Pictures
15 :: �1.56 / $20.17 :: Gulliver's Travels :: April :: 20th Century Fox

16 :: �1.44 / $18.62 :: Fast Five :: October :: Toho Towa
17 :: �1.42 / $18.36 :: The Social Network :: January :: Sony Pictures
18 :: �1.25 / $16.16 :: One Life :: September :: Avex
19 :: �1.22 / $15.78 :: RED :: January :: Walt Disney
20 :: �1.08 / $13.96 :: Unstoppable :: January :: 20th Century Fox
21 :: �1.08 / $13.96 :: Kung Fu Panda 2 :: August :: Paramount Pictures
22 :: �1.00 / $12.93 :: Shrek Forever After :: Dec'10 :: Paramount Pictures

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Which was your favorite Japanese and Western movie from 2011?

Source: MPAJ