In its fifth week of release, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron has broken another record. Studio Ghibli’s latest animated feature has become the fourth highest-grossing anime film of all time in North America. The milestone allows it to surpass Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which previously held the number four slot.
The Boy and the Heron may have faced the same production delays as other films around the world over the last several years, but it is quickly making an impact at the box office. It had a $12.8 million opening and, according to reports from Deadline, is now grossing $39.6 million in North America, making it the fourth highest-grossing anime film of all time in North America.
This puts it ahead of other anime films released in North America, sliding above Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which was released in 2022 and made $38 million in North America according to Box Office Mojo. Already The Boy and the Heron is being nominated for several Golden Globe Awards, including Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score.
The Boy and the Heron Could Make Oscars History After Getting Shortlisted For Surprising Category
Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron continues its record-breaking tour as the Academy shortlists it for at least one Oscar at next year’s award ceremony.
The Boy and the Heron Beats Dragon Ball Super Super Hero For Fourth Highest Grossing anime Film
The Boy and the Heron follows Mahito Maki, a young boy voiced by Luca Padovan, who finds an abandoned tower during the Pacific War. He enters a fantasy world and meets a talking heron voiced by Robert Pattinson. Other actors performing in the film are Willem Dafoe, Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, and Mark Hamill. The film is an original story written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, known for the hit Studio Ghibli films Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), and My Neighbor Totoro (1988). It continues the animation company’s tradition of creating globally beloved, emotional films that become nearly instant classics.
Joe Hisaishi composed the score, continuing his work on Studio Ghibli films, as he previously provided scores for those mentioned above, as well as Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989), Princess Monoke (1997), Ponyo (2008), The Wind Rises (2013), Nausicä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), and Porco Rosso (1992). Hisaishi’s Golden Globe nomination for The Boy and the Heron is the first major North American award nomination he has received. With the Studio Ghibli all-star team helming this film, it’s no wonder it has garnered so much attention and so many accolades so quickly after its North American release.
Unprecedented – The Boy and the Heron Shatters a New Box Office Record
The Boy and the Heron has more than lived up to years of hype, and it’s recently broken another record for anime films in the United States.
Could The Boy and The Heron Move Further Up the Ranking?
The current anime film record list includes Pokémon: The First Movie (1998), Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2021), and Pokémon the Movie 2000 (2000). The number four slot previously was held by Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, which previously topped the North American box office and brought in $38.1 million. To catch Pokémon the Movie 2000 and take the third record slot, The Boy and the Heron will need to surpass $43.8 million before ending its run. The first Pokémon film could prove impossible to catch still, having set the bar at $85.7 million. Nonetheless, The Boy and the Heron is definitely making box office waves and could still make a few before it ends its theatrical run.
The Boy and the Heron (2023) is available to watch in theaters nationwide.
The Boy and the Heron
- Release Date:
- 2023-07-14
- Director:
- Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast:
- Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon, Shōhei Hino, Kô Shibasaki, Takuya Kimura, Yoshino Kimura
- Rating:
- Not Rated
- Runtime:
- 124 Minutes
- Genres:
- Drama, Fantasy
- Writers:
- Hayao Miyazaki
- Studio(s):
- Studio Ghibli
- Distributor(s):
- Toho
- Franchise(s):
- Studio Ghibli
