New online movie service to be launched next year

Japanese movie lovers will soon be able to view new art films online from the very first day of their theatrical release.

Japanese film distribution companies will team up with small theaters and internet firms to launch the new movie service next February.

Most films distributed in this way will be art movies that are hardly shown in theaters outside metropolitan areas.

The service will be available at about 13 dollars a film, payable by credit card or other means. The price is cheaper than a cinema ticket. Users will be able to watch the films on their personal computers or television sets.

Box office revenues have been leveling off in recent years and distributors of foreign art films have difficulty finding theaters that will screen them.

Masashi Kawaguchi will run the new service. He hopes to revitalize the film industry by giving more people the chance to see movies in their homes and at theaters.