The Boy and the Heron Leading Opening Weekend at the Box Office

Jamie Lovett

12/09/2023 04:56 pm EST

It's another slow weekend at the box office, and GKIDS' release of The Boy and the Heron, the latest (and supposedly last, though we've heard that before) Studio Ghibli movie from Hayao Miyazaki, looks poised to take the spot on the chart. The Boy and the Heron is already GKIDS' biggest opening of all time, earning somewhere in the range of $10-12 million over its first three days. That includes $5.56 million in its opening day (including preview screenings). The Boy and the Heron, inspired by the 1937 Japanese novel How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino, has received critical acclaim and has benefited from the hype of being both Miyazaki's first film in a decade and supposed swan song.

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is in second place with $8.75 million, bringing its domestic box office total to $134.9 million. The Hunger Games prequel continues its stellar box office performance backed by a positive critical reception. ComicBook.com's Jamie Jirak awarded the film 4.5 out of 5 possible stars in their review.

Toho's Godzilla: Minus One, which has also been a hit with critics, is in third place, earning $6.4 million in its second weekend. Trolls Bands Together lands in fourth with $6 million for the weekend.

The concert movie Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé, which topped the box office last weekend, will face a 74% drop, landing in fifth place with $5.6 million. The film shows footage from Beyoncé's latest tour and includes insight from Beyoncé into the creative process of staging and executing the show. Its the latest in a string of concert films this year, including Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which has been a major box office presence for weeks, and the re-release of the Talking Heads movie Stop Making Sense.

1. The Boy and the Heron

(Photo: Studio Ghibli)

Opening Weekend
Total: $10.7 million

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.

Hayao Miyazaki wrote nad direct The Boy and the Heron. The Japanese voice cast includes Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake. The English voice cast includes Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh.

2. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

(Photo: Lionsgate)

Week Four
Weekend: $9.4 million
Total: $135.7 million

Years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow remains the last hope for his fading lineage. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow becomes alarmed when he's assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and political savvy, they race against time to ultimately reveal who's a songbird and who's a snake.

Francis Lawrence directed The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes from a screenplay by Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt, based on the 2020 novel by Suzanne Collins. It stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, and Viola Davis.

3. Godzilla Minus One

(Photo: Toho)

Week Two
Weekend: $7.9 million
Total: $24.9 million

Japan is already devastated by the war when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster.

Takashi Yamazaki wrote and directed Godzilla: Minus One. It stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, and Kuranosuke Sasaki.

4. Trolls Band Together

(Photo: Universal Pictures)

Week Four
Weekend: $6.2 million
Total: $83 million

Poppy discovers that Branch and his four brothers were once part of her favorite boy band. When one of his siblings, Floyd, gets kidnapped by a pair of nefarious villains, Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop culture obscurity.

Walt Dohmco-directed Trolls World Tour, with Tim Heitz co-directing, from a screenplay by Elizabeth Tippet. The film's voice cast includes Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Icona Pop, Anderson .Paak, Ron Funches, Kenan Thompson, Kunal Nayyar, Walt Dohrn, Eric André, Kid Cudi, Daveed Diggs, Troye Sivan, Camila Cabello, Amy Schumer, Andrew Rannells, RuPaul and Zosia Mamet.

5. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé

(Photo: AMC)

Week Two
Weekend: $5.6 million
Total: $28.6 million

Pop superstar Beyoncé performs hit songs in concert and discusses the creative process behind her world tour.

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter wrote and directed Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé. The film includes footage of her performing on her Renaissance tour.

6. Wish

(Photo: Disney)

Week Three
Weekend: $5.4 million
Total: $49.5 million

Young Asha makes a wish so powerful that it's answered by a cosmic force, a little ball of boundless energy called Star. With Star's help, Asha must save her kingdom from King Magnifico and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.

Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn directed Wish from a screenplay by Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore. The film's voice cast includes Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Natasha Rothwell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Harvey Guillén, Evan Peters, Ramy Youssef, and Jon Rudnitsky.

7. Napoleon

(Photo: Apple Films)

Week Three
Weekend: $4.1 million
Total: $53 million

A look at the military commander's origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.

Ridley Scott directed Napoleon from a screenplay by David Scarpa, based on the true life story of Napoleon Bonaparte. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby.

8. Animal

(Photo: Cine1 Studios)

Week Two
Weekend: $2.66 million
Total: $11.9 million

A son undergoes a remarkable transformation as the bond with his father begins to fracture, and he becomes consumed by a quest for vengeance.

Sandeep Reddy Vanga wrote and directed Animal. It stars Ranbir Kapoor, alongside Anil Kapoor, Bobby Deol, Rashmika Mandanna, and Tripti Dimri.

9. Waitress

(Photo: Bleeker Street)

Opening Weekend
Weekend: $2.4 million
Total: $3 million

Waitress: The Musical brings the Tony-nominated, Broadway phenomenon to the big screen. Featuring composer-lyricist Sara Bareilles as Jenna Hunterson, a waitress and expert pie maker stuck in a small town and a loveless marriage. When a baking contest in a nearby county offers her a chance at escape, Jenna fights to reclaim a long-forgotten part of herself. Through the support of her fellow waitresses and an unexpected romance, Jenna begins to find the courage to take a long-abandoned dream off the shelf. Waitress celebrates the power of friendship, dreams, the family we choose and the beauty of a well-baked pie.

Diane Paulus directed the stage production of Waitress, with Jessie Nelson and Brett Sullivan directing the live film. Nelson also wrote the musical production, featuring music by Sara Bareilles, who also stars in the lead role. The cast also includes Charity Angél Dawson, Caitlin Houlahan, Drew Gehling, Dakin Matthews, Eric Anderson, Joe Tippett, and Christopher Fitzgerald.

10. The Shift

(Photo: Angel Studios)

Week Two
Weekend: $2.2 million
Total: $8.5 million

After a tense encounter with a mysterious stranger who has otherworldly powers, a man gets banished to a parallel Earth where he fights to get back to the woman he loves.

Brock Heasley wrote and directed The Shift. The film stars Kristoffer Polaha, Neal McDonough, Elizabeth Tabish, Rose Reid, John Billingsley, Paras Patel, Jordan Alexandra, and Sean Astin.

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