Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron continued to gross well at the Japanese box office ahead of its North American release.
According to Anime News Network, this hand-drawn animated film has sold more than 4.95 million tickets and earned more than 7.41 billion yen (about 50.6 million USD). The Boy and the Heron debuted in Japan on July 14, setting a new record for ticket sales in its opening three days. However, the film has a long way to go before it becomes profitable; According to Toshio Suzuki, one of the film’s producers, The Boy and the Heron may be the most expensive film ever made in Japan.
Miyazaki’s latest film, rumored to be the legendary filmmaker’s last major project, will premiere in North America at the Toronto International Film Festival. Scheduled to premiere on the first day of the event (September 7), this is the first animated film to open the prestigious film festival. The Boy and the Heron will premiere in the United States at the New York Film Festival, which is scheduled to run from September 19 to October 15.
The Boy And The Heron is based on the novel How Do You Live?
Inspired by Genzaburo Yoshino’s 1937 novel, How Do You Live?, The Boy and the Heron is set during World War II and focuses on a boy named Mahito Maki. After finding an abandoned tower in his new hometown and meeting a talking heron, he is thrust into an adventure in a fantasy world. The film made Studio Ghibli history as the first film from the animation studio to be released IMAX.
2023 marked an incredible year for Miyazaki; In addition to the premiere of The Boy and the Heron, his one-volume watercolor illustrated comic book series, Shuna’s Journey, received many prestigious recognitions from the comics industry. Notably, the manga won the Eisner Award for Best International Material Published in the United States and is currently competing for the Best Manga category at the Harvey Awards alongside Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man. The winner of this category will be announced at New York Comic-Con in October.
As of press time, distributor GKIDS has not yet confirmed when The Boy and the Heron will hit theaters in North America. In the meantime, fans of Miyazaki’s beloved works can find some Studio Ghibli classics, including Spirited Away, Howl’s Moving Castle, Castle in the Sky, Porco Rosso and The Wind Rises, available to stream on MAX.
Source: Anime News Network
