Studio Ghibli Renews MAX Deal, The Boy And The Heron Confirmed For Streaming
MAX has re-upped with Studio Ghibli to house its movies and bring How Do You Live to the platform.
MAX has quite a few Studio Ghibli movies on its streaming service, and it looks like the platform is continuing the relationship with the legendary anime studio. Re-upping their contract with Ghibli, MAX has also confirmed that subscribers can expect The Boy And The Heron to arrive on the streaming service. Following The Boy And The Heron's Oscar Win at the Academy Awards, now seems like the perfect time to release this news.
The Boy And The Heron, dubbed "How Do You Live" in Japan, took a drastic approach to its marketing in that Ghibli released no trailers, footage, or promotional material outside of one mysterious poster that hinted at the movie's plot. Of course, when the movie was slated to hit North America last year, Ghibli released enigmatic trailers to hint at what the film looks like and it became the top movie for its opening weekend in theaters. Originally billed as the last film prior to director Hayao Miyazaki's retirement, the legendary creator has stated that he is now not looking to retire any time soon and is already working on new movies to add to Ghibli's resume in the future.
Max and @GKIDSfilms extend exclusive multiyear U.S. licensing deal for @GhibliUSA catalogue, including exclusive U.S. streaming rights for the Oscar®-winning film The Boy and the Heron: https://t.co/0jlAv0O1PP pic.twitter.com/w2zlKutsrz
— Max PR (@MaxPR) March 12, 2024
In an official statement from Vice President of Content Acquisitions at Warner Bros Discover, Elizabeth Bannan Atcheson, MAX confirmed that it would continue working with Ghibli to house its works along with bringing The Boy And The Heron to its platform, "Our subscribers are always looking for unique stories, and we are happy to continue to offer these award-winning, critically acclaimed films and to add 'The Boy and the Heron' to our deep and rich Max content offering,"
If you haven't seen The Boy And The Heron, here's an official description from Studio Ghibli, "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."
What do you think of MAX upping their deal with Studio Ghibli? Where does The Boy And The Heron rank when it comes to the many anime classics that arose from the prolific studio? 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.