How Do You Live is making waves in Japanese theaters, as Studio Ghibli’s latest has turned quite a profit so far. Luckily, fans won’t have to wait too much longer here in North America as the last movie from director Hayao Miyazaki has been confirmed to arrive at some point this year, though a specific release date has yet to be revealed. While the production budget for the film hasn’t been confirmed, a Ghibli producer confirmed that the studio went all out when it came to Miyazaki’s grand finale.
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Hayao Miyazaki’s final film has taken a drastic approach when it comes to its marketing, as Ghibli made the risky decision of releasing little outside of a single poster for How Do You Live. While new images have made their way online following the movie’s initial release in Japan, a full trailer has yet to be released to the public. Ultimately, it will be interesting to see whether Ghibli decides to release a trailer for the film’s North American release, or if it sticks to its guns and decides to hold true to the lack of marketing in the West as it did in Japan.
The Budget And The Heron
In a recent interview on Youtube, a veteran producer at Ghibli, Toshio Suzuki, shed some light on the film’s budget. Having worked on plenty of Ghibli films in the past, Suzuki returned for How Do You Live, marking what might be his final work with acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki. In discussing the movie’s budget, Suzuki confirmed that it might just be the most expensive movie to ever be made in Japan, “I think that we spent more money making How Do You Live than any other movie that’s ever been made in Japan, probably.”
Following its initial box office run with $14.9 Million USD in Japan for its first four days in theaters, the movie has netted over $43 million USD since. With anime movies becoming bigger in North America and around the world, Ghibli’s profits on the film are sure to go up when The Boy And The Heron arrives in the West.
Will you be catching Studio Ghibli’s latest movie when it hits theaters in North America? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Studio Ghibli.
