Studio Ghibli’s latest anime movie took home the Oscar for “Best Animated Picture” at the Academy Awards this year, and saw serious receipts at the box office in North America, Japan, and various other countries. Recently, The Boy And The Heron was able to make landfall in China, and to no one’s surprise in the anime world, it was a smash hit. What anime fans might find surprising is just how much money Ghibli’s latest made and what it was able to overtake in Chinese theaters.
In North America, The Boy And The Heron, titled How Do You Live in its Japanese release, was able to become the first Ghibli film to be the number one movie at the box office for its opening weekend. At present, the movie is standing at a little over $173 million USD, showing how both Ghibli and its anime roster continue to be a success in theaters. Despite the recent film’s success, Ghibli hasn’t confirmed what their next project will be though Hayao Miyazaki has stated that the current work has helped light a fire that might have him creating far more projects in the future.
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The Boy And The Heron And China
For its opening day in China, The Boy And The Heron brought in a staggering $14 million USD. Not only does this tally give the Ghibli film the biggest opening day of any movie in China for 2024, but it also was able to dethrone Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. This box office return also gives How Do You Live the number two biggest day for an anime film in China, following the first day of The First Slam Dunk.
The Boy And The Heron will come to MAX and Netflix later this year, so worry not for those who didn’t catch the Ghibli movie in theaters. If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out The Boy And The Heron, Ghibli has an official description of the anime film originally billed as Miyazaki’s last, “Mahito, a young 12-year-old boy, struggles to settle in a new town after his mother’s death. However, when a talking heron informs Mahito that his mother is still alive, he enters an abandoned tower in search of her, which takes him to another world.”
What are your predictions for the final tally of The Boy And The Heron at the box office? 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 Ghibli.
