The Boy and the Heron Is Shattering Studio Ghibli Records

Studio Ghibli’s The Boy And The Heron has been a critical success, winning several awards from prestigious organizations, but the anime film has also been scoring big at the box office. Becoming the number one film in North America for its opening weekend, the film titled “How Do You Live?” in Japan has cleared another major hurdle when it comes to Western theaters. The Boy And The Heron might not be Hayao Miyazaki’s last, but it might just be his biggest.

When the latest from Studio Ghibli was released into theaters in Japan, the legendary production house made a risky bet when it came to how they would sell it to the theater-going masses. Rather than releasing trailers and movie posters for the surreal anime, Ghibli decided to release next to no promotional material for the film, banking on their reputation and the reputation of Hayao Miyazaki to help sell the anime movie. From the box office receipts in both North America and Japan, it would seem that their gamble paid off in dividends. Anime fans in the West have been able to see trailers prior to the film’s release in theaters, but huge parts of the anime’s story remain a mystery.

Studio Ghibli Hits Big in The US

In a new press release from GKIDS, the company responsible for bringing Ghibli’s latest to North America, it was revealed that The Boy And The Heron has become the highest-grossing movie from the studio in the West. At present, the movie has earned $23.4 million USD, helping it to surpass Ponyo, which held the previous record in North America. The film can be caught in theaters with its original Japanese dialogue and English subtitles, but also gathered a cast of heavy hitters for its English Dub. The cast includes Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Robert Pattinson, and Florence Pugh.

When it comes to accolades, The Boy And The Heron has scored its fair share. Aside from being nominated at the Golden Globes for Best Animated Feature, Ghibli’s latest also scored awards from the likes of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, Chicago Film Critics Association, and Boston Film Critics Association.

Do you rank The Boy And The Heron as one of Studio Ghibli’s best? 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. 

Via Press Release