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ICv2: North American Anime DVDs Were Down 20%+ in 2007
posted on by Egan Loo
The ICv2 retail news resource reports in its just released ICv2 Guide #51: Anime/Manga that North American anime DVD sales fell more than 20% in 2007. It also pegs the North American anime market at US$275-300 million. It calculated last year that North American anime DVD sales had already dropped from US$550 million in 2003 to US$400 million in 2006. The number of North American anime releases dropped 21% in 2007, on top of the 19% drop in 2006. ICv2 calculated that there were 727 such releases in 2003, 733 in 2004, 756 in 2005, and 617 in 2006.
The animeanime.jp news website reported that Japanese anime DVD sales rose from 82.4 billion yen (about US$771 million) in 2003 to 95 billion yen (about US$890 million) in 2006. Over 2,000 Japanese anime DVDs were released in 2006. Japanese sales data for 2007 are not yet available.
By contrast with the anime market, the North American manga market is still expanding, although at a slower rate than in years past. An average of 33 volumes of manga are being released weekly in North America. According to ICv2, the top three manga properties in 2007 were Naruto, Fruits Basket, and Death Note, while the top three anime properties were Dragonball Z, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, and Pokémon.
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