Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron reigns supreme after hitting No. 1 at the North American box office, marking a milestone for the legendary Japanese animator.
On Sunday, a box office report revealed that the fantasy film took home $12.8 million in the United States and Canada on its opening weekend. It amassed a major lead against other popular films, such as The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which received $9.4 million and fellow Japanese film, Godzilla Minus One, at $8.3 million.
The Boy and the Heron follows the story of a young boy who is haunted by memories of his mother who died in a hospital fire during the Second World War in Japan. After four years in the city, he and his father decide to move to the countryside to live with his new mother. At this new home, he befriends a mysterious gray heron who takes him to a mystical kingdom far from the reality he has always known.
Inspired by Genzaburo Yoshino’s novel, How Do You Live?, The Boy and the Heron is praised as Miyazaki’s latest cinematic triumph. The highly-anticipated picture is the first feature film he has released in ten years. It first premiered in Japan back on July 14, earning $56 million in gross sales.
And impressively enough, this feat was accomplished with little to no marketing for the film, because Studio Ghibli executives, along with Miyazaki, wanted the audience to experience the story with no preconceived notions.
“In the past, Studio Ghibli films have been financed by many entities and so, there was a pressure to make a hit. But this time, this has been almost like an indie film. It’s self-financed. So, it was very interesting to see what kind of film Miyazaki would make when he didn’t have that pressure to make a hit and also, to show it without any preconception to the audience,” Studio Ghibli Executive Junichi Nishioka said in an interview with Now Toronto during the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Prior to The Boy and the Heron, the 82-year-old was known for his beloved anime films, including The Wind Rises, Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro.
According to the Associated Press, The Boy and the Heron is the first fully foreign film and original anime to claim the top spot at the domestic box office this year.
Back in September, it was reported that the film would be Miyazaki’s final piece of work, however during TIFF, Nishioka said the anime master is working towards another film.
The Boy and the Heron was released in North American theatres on Dec. 8 and features an English dub voice cast by Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Robert Pattinson, Willem Dafoe and Florence Pugh, among others.
