Japan Ring returned 16.2× its production cost, earning $19.4M against a $1.2M budget — one of the highest-return Japan films in our catalog.
Synopsis
リング
“One curse, one cure, one week to find it”
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her own life in danger.
Audience Engagement
1,246 audience reviews — more than 98% of Japan films in our index.
Review volume (98th percentile) outruns trending popularity (78th) — a durable title with sustained audience attention.
Budget & Box Office Efficiency
At a 1h 36m runtime, production spent $13K per minute on screen and earned $202K per minute back.
Other Titles From Kadokawa Shoten
Horror + Thriller in Japan
90 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Horror and Thriller genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Ring itself).
The 1997–1999 Japan Window
Ring holds position #66 of 162 Japan films in the 1997–1999 window, below highlighted by audience rating.
The 1990s Japan Landscape
1998 was the decade’s peak output year for Japan — 62 titles released, including Ring. Bars below show how the 1990s stacked up year by year (447 total).
Position in Catalog
Released alongside 61 other Japan films in 1998.
The 1135th Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).
Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).
Reception Benchmarks
Ranked #2,080 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (55th percentile by TMDB audience score).
Among Japan Horror productions specifically: #41 of 391 (top 10%).
Production Details
| Primary Country | Japan |
|---|---|
| Original Language | Japanese |
| Production Companies | Kadokawa Shoten, Omega Project |
| Runtime | 1h 36m |
| Release Date | January 30, 1998 |
| IMDb | tt0178868 |