Japan's animation industry suffers sales drop of 1.8% in 2020

Japan's animation production industry suffered a sales drop of 1.8 percent on-year from 255.7 billion yen in 2019 to 251.1 billion yen in 2020 due to the pandemic’s impact, according to a credit research firm Teikoku Databank.

The average annual sales per company dipped for the first time in four years in 2020 with 831 million yen.

The pandemic delayed production processes at many studios, leading 48.6 percent of 300 animation production companies to report decreased sales in 2020, with 31.6 percent claiming their sales improved.

Of the 300 firms, 37.7 percent said they incurred losses, 29.5 percent said their profits dropped, while 31.1 percent reported profit growth.

The industry produced smash-hit movies, such as "Demon Slayer -- Kimetsu no Yaiba -- The Movie: Mugen Train," which posted the highest revenue in Japan’s box-office history of over 40 billion yen.

The Japanese animation industry is facing intensified competition from Chinese animation firms, which are offering higher salaries to Japanese talent and gaining Japanese production skills by acquiring stakes in Japanese studios.

The work quality of the Chinese animation firms is also improving in recent years due to advanced facilities.