Virus
1999 1h 39m movie Film Japan

Virus

“Life on earth is in for a shock.”

Synopsis

“Life on earth is in for a shock.”

When the crew of an American tugboat boards an abandoned Russian research vessel, the alien life form aboard regards them as a virus which must be destroyed.

Audience Engagement

530
Reviews
94th
Review-volume percentile
70th
Popularity percentile

530 audience reviews — more than 94% of Japan films in our index.

Review volume (94th percentile) outruns trending popularity (70th) — a durable title with sustained audience attention.

Other Titles From Universal Pictures

Horror + Action in Japan

92 Japan titles in our catalog blend the Horror and Action genres. Below: the top-rated of them (excluding Virus itself).

The 1998–2000 Japan Window

In the crowded 1998-2000 Japan release window, Virus sits at #171 of 187. The leaderboard below contextualises its neighbours.

  1. Hunter × Hunter Pilot
    #1

    Hunter × Hunter Pilot

    ★ 9.0 · 1998
  2. One Piece
    #2

    One Piece

    ★ 8.7 · 1999
  3. InuYasha
    #3

    InuYasha

    ★ 8.6 · 2000
  4. Fighting Spirit
    #4

    Fighting Spirit

    ★ 8.6 · 2000
  5. Cardcaptor Sakura
    #5

    Cardcaptor Sakura

    ★ 8.6 · 1998
  6. Zoids: Chaotic Century
    #6

    Zoids: Chaotic Century

    ★ 8.6 · 1999
  7. Leave it to Kero!
    #7

    Leave it to Kero!

    ★ 8.6 · 2000
  8. Cowboy Bebop
    #8

    Cowboy Bebop

    ★ 8.5 · 1998

The 1990s Japan Landscape

Catalog density by release year across the 1990s in Japan, 447 titles in total. Highlighted year (yellow) is when Virus premiered alongside 60 others.

'9033'9137'9237'9335'9440'9560'9643'9739'9862'9961

Budget & Box Office Efficiency

$75.0M
Budget
$30.7M
Revenue
Net Profit
0.4×
Return Ratio

At a 1h 39m runtime, production spent $758K per minute on screen and earned $310K per minute back.

Position in Catalog

Released alongside 60 other Japan films in 1999.

The 1191st Japan title from Japan we index (earliest catalogued entry: 1899).

Our Japan catalog contains 4,579 titles in total (2,908 films).

Thematic Fingerprint

Tags on Virus, grouped by how common each theme is across the full Asian catalog. Rare tags are more distinctive signals.

Distinctive themes · rare across catalog
  • desertion · 4
  • alien life-form · 3
  • tornado · 2
  • insurance · 2
Recurring themes · common across catalog
  • virus · 11
  • evil · 8

Reception Benchmarks

5.4
TMDB Rating
530
Audience Reviews
Mixed
Critical Tier

Ranked #4,275 of 4,579 Japan films indexed here (7th percentile by TMDB audience score).

Rating is -1.5 points below the Japan average of 6.9/10.

Among Japan Horror productions specifically: #280 of 391 (top 72%).

Production Details

Primary CountryJapan
All Production CountriesUnited States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France
Original LanguageEn
Spoken LanguagesEnglish, Russian
Production CompaniesUniversal Pictures, Mutual Film Company, Dark Horse Entertainment, Valhalla Motion Pictures, Tele München Fernseh Produktionsgesellschaft (TMG)
Runtime1h 39m
Release DateJanuary 14, 1999
IMDbtt0120458