TOKYO – Acclaimed Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki’s highly anticipated film – his first in a decade and probably his last – broke Studio Ghibli‘s box-office record over its opening weekend in Japan.
The 82-year-old co-founder of the celebrated anime house came out of retirement to make The Boy And The Heron, which opened in theatres last Friday. It was released in Japan as Kimitachi Wa Do Ikiru Ka? (How Do You Live?).
It earned 2.14 billion yen (S$20.3 million) over four days, which included Monday’s Marine Day national holiday in Japan, according to figures from its distributor Toho.
This marks the biggest opening-weekend haul for a movie by Miyazaki and is considered quite a feat as it was released without a traditional promotional campaign. The most popular Studio Ghibli debut previously was 2004’s Howl’s Moving Castle, which netted 1.48 billion yen.
The Boy And The Heron was years in production, with the studio taking the unusual step of keeping details about the plot tightly under wraps.
Only the movie title and a teaser poster were released, in a strategy devised by Studio Ghibli president and the film’s producer Toshio Suzuki.
In a first for Miyazaki’s films – which include Spirited Away (2001), My Neighbour Totoro (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997) and The Wind Rises (2013) – his latest offering has an Imax release. It broke Imax opening-weekend records as well.
It tells the story of a boy who discovers an abandoned tower in his new town and enters a fantastical world with a talking heron.
Following the film’s release in Japan, its North American rights were acquired by American distributor GKids for release later this year. Release dates for other territories have yet to be announced.
