Octogenarian Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki overwhelmingly proved he is very much a living, contemporary legend with his latest film, The Boy and the Heron. Fresh off of its historic win at the Golden Globes, as the first non-English-language pick for Best Animated Feature, the fantasy-adventure has set additional box-office records as it continues its run in theaters worldwide.
As of this weekend, The Boy and the Heron is…
- The top-grossing non-franchise anime release in North America ($42 million)
- The first non-franchise anime film and Miyazaki’s first film to hit No. 1 in The U.S. and Canada
- Miyazaki’s highest-grossing title in the U.K. & Ireland with £3.9M ($4.9M USD), surpassing 2003’s Spirited Away (£1.1M)
- The second-highest-grossing anime of all time in the U.K. & Ireland, behind 1998’s Pokémon: The First Movie (£11.7M), which opened in these countries in 2000
- The highest-grossing anime film released in Italy with $4.3M, reportedly beating the previous record holder three days into its run
- The third-highest anime opening of all time in Germany
- The top-grossing non-franchise anime release of all time in Japan ($56M)
- Studio Ghibli’s biggest box-office opening in Japan (¥1.8 billion / $13.2M), surpassing Howl’s Moving Castle (¥1.5B)
- Three-day IMAX record holder in Japan ($1.7M on 44 screens)
The critically acclaimed movie accomplished all this in spite of ultra-minimalist marketing, relying on the sheer pull of Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s reputations and the allure of secrecy for its opening, and word-of-mouth and critical response which saw Japanese box office increasing week-on-week from its July 16, 2023 premiere through December 24.
The Boy and the Heron synopsis, per NorAm distributor GKIDS:
After losing his mother during the war, young Mahito moves to his family’s estate in the countryside. There, a series of mysterious events lead him to a secluded and ancient tower, home to a mischievous gray heron. When Mahito’s new stepmother disappears, he follows the gray heron into the tower, and enters a fantastic world shared by the living and the dead. As he embarks on an epic journey with the heron as his guide, Mahito must uncover the secrets of this world, and the truth about himself.
[Source: Deadline, BoxOfficeMojo, The Numbers]
