Film opened in N. American theaters on Friday with preview screenings on Thursday
Update: Deadline predicts the film will earn US$10.7 million in its opening weekend, and estimates the film earned US$5.4 million on Friday.
© 2023 Studio Ghibli
Entertainment news website Deadline reported on Friday that Hayao Miyazaki‘s latest feature film The Boy and the Heron (Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, or literally How Do You Live?) earned about US$2.39 million from Thursday preview screenings. The film screened in 1,774 theaters on Thursday in the U.S. and Canada.
GKIDS licensed the film, and released it in North American theaters on Friday, with preview engagements on November 22. Screenings include the English dub alongside screenings with Japanese audio with English subtitles.
The film opened in Japan on July 14, and sold 1.003 million tickets and earned about US$13.2 million in its first three days in Japan. The film sold 1.353 million tickets and earned 2.149 billion yen (about US$15.53 million) in its Friday-Monday long weekend (July 17 was the Marine Day holiday in Japan). The Boy and the Heron has earned a cumulative total of 8,333,397,800 yen (about US$55.60 million). It is the #74 highest-grossing film ever in Japan.
The film is the first Studio Ghibli film to get a simultaneous IMAX release. The film is also screening in Dolby Atmos, Dolby Cinema, and DTS:X.
The film had its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), as the event’s opening film on September 7 at Roy Thomson Hall. This marked the first time the festival opened with an animated film as well as the first time for a Japanese film. The San Sebastian Film Festival (SSIFF) screened the European premiere in Donostia-San Sebastián’s Kursaal Auditorium in Spain on September 22 after the event’s opening gala. This marked Miyazaki’s fourth film to screen at SSIFF, and the first time his film participated at the event’s Official Selection. The festival honored Miyazaki with the Donostia Award for career achievement. The film opened the 2023 Animation Is Film Festival, which ran at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese 6 Theatres from October 18 to October 22. The Independent Film Festival Boston screened the film on October 23. The Miami Film Festival’s Gems 2023 event screened the film on November 4 at Silverspot Cinema 12.
Miyazaki is credited with the original work, in addition to directing the film and writing the script. Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro) composed the music. Kenshi Yonezu (Chainsaw Man, My Hero Academia, March comes in like a lion) performs the theme song “Chikyūgi” (Globe).
Source: Deadline (Anthony D’Alessandro)
