Japan Box Office: Top Hollywood Film of 2021 Ranks Eighth as Local Animation Dominates

As we get rolling into the new year, optimism and caution are part of the outlook for 2022 at the international box office. The issue of China also remains top of mind as the territory — which maintained its status as the top global market in 2021 — has been even more ornery to navigate than usual, notably not approving a single movie with a Marvel character last year, from Disney’s Black Widow straight through to Sony’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Refresh for latest…: Arachnomania continues to grip the globe as Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home has increased its worldwide cume to $1.53B through four weekends. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker now fronts the No. 8 movie on the all-time global chart with No Way Home leaping past Marvel’s The Avengers, Furious 7, Frozen II and Avengers: Age Of Ultron across the frame.

The adulation for Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” continues. After winning Best Film from both the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle, Japan’s submission for the International Film Oscar dominated the winner’s list from the National Society of Critics.

The National Society of Film Critics has named Drive My Car for its Best Picture Awards of 2021.

Incoming Celtic striker Johnny Kenny's arrival has been "announced" by an Irish clothes store.

Celtic seem likely to lose their four Japanese players to AFC World Cup qualifiers at the end of this month - as the 'high public interest' means they will be let into Japan.

Given the ongoing pandemic with regard to global box office, it’s tempting to say “The more things change, the more things stay the same.” To wit: Disney still leads all studios worldwide, piracy remains a major concern, and many markets are still in Covid-induced flux. But when looking back over 2021 versus 2020, there are some key differences and highlights. Thank heavens, or at least, thank the Toretto family, Godzilla and Kong, James Bond and phenom Spider-Man to name a few headliners who proved that when product is available in cinemas, audiences will embrace the communal experience.

New Celtic signings Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate are free to debut against Hibs after being removed from Japan's Kirin Cup squad.

The Sony/Marvel Studios film is now the first film of the pandemic era to hit the $1 billion mark after just 12 days in theaters, tying “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as the third fastest film to hit that milestone in just 11 days in theaters. And unlike “Infinity War,” “No Way Home” was able to do this without a release in China, though Spidey will need a Chinese opening date to have a chance to join “Force Awakens” in the $2 billion club.

Refresh for latest…: Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home is having a very happy holiday as it is now officially the first movie of the pandemic-era to pass the $1B mark at the global box office. The worldwide gross through Sunday is $1.05B which makes this installment Sony’s No. 2 film of all time, behind only Spider-Man: Far From Home ($1.13B). No Way Home is the No. 1 film of the year worldwide — and one of the only movies of the modern era to ever reach $1B without China. Simply amazing.

Adding $30 million on Thursday from 4,336 locations, “No Way Home” has a domestic box office total of $386 million and $876 million worldwide, passing the $821 million total of the Chinese film “Hi, Mom” for second place on the global charts for the year.

China will be the world’s largest box office market for the second year running, overturning the decade-long rankings and staying ahead of the North American market as it did in for the first time in 2020.And, even if “Spider-Man: No Way Home” avoids becoming caught in a web of omicron-related shutdowns to become the highest grossing film of 2021, Chinese movies “The Battle at Lake Changjin” and “Hi, Mom” are certain to account for at least two of the year’s top five.Such a new world order has

Celtic are still waiting to find out whether they will have Kyogo Furuhashi available for the rescheduled clash with Rangers.

Sayaca Kanda, best known to anime fans for her voice roles “Idoly Pride”, “Star Blazers 2202” and “Convenience Store Boyfriends”, has died at 35.

Rebecca Davis editorIn another quiet weekend in China, Korean War blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin” was at last eased out of the top five for the first time since its Sept. 30 debut.

Refresh for latest…: Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: No Way Home has become the third biggest global opener of all-time with $587.2M. Crossing the $500M mark makes it only the sixth film ever to the milestone in a launch frame.

UK Global Screen Fund Awards

Makoto Shinkai, the director of anime box office hits "Your Name" and "Weathering With You," has set his next anime film, "Suzume no Tojimari," for release in the fall of 2022.Shinkai announced the news Wednesday in a press conference via Japanese studio Toho's YouTube channel, saying that the film is his first in three years since 2019's "Weathering With You." "Suzume no Tojimari," which does not yet have an English title or distributor, is a road movie following a 17-year-old girl from a small