Hayao Miyazaki's Final Film Has Impressive Japanese Opening Weekend
Image Source: Los Angeles Times
World-renowned Japanese Director Hayao Miyazaki has again struck gold once again with one of his animated movies. Produced by Studio Ghibli, How Do You Live? (The Boy and the Heron, for the American version) earned around $13.2 million during its opening weekend, racking up close to $1.7 million in IMAX ticket sales alone. This is extremely impressive, considering the fact that the studio did not market the animated feature at all. The only material released previous to the premiere was, according to Kotaku, the title and a single poster.
Even though it could have been a disastrous business decision, it seems to have worked out perfectly for all parties involved. Comments from both the movie’s producer Toshio Suzuki and GKIDS, the company responsible for the American release, mentioned this strategy. Kotaku highlights Suzuki’s argument, saying that Studio Ghibli decided to take a risk: “You get tired of doing the same thing over and over. We wanted to try something new this time.” On the other hand, GKIDS (through Gizmodo) says, between the lines, that this surprised them considerably:
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“In an unprecedented decision by Studio Ghibli, no images, trailers, synopses, advertisements, or other information about the film have been made available to the public prior to its release in theaters in Japan. In keeping with this policy, GKIDS will not release any further details or marketing materials at this time.”
Image Source: Academy Museum of Motion Pictures
Miyazaki has had a fantastic career so far. He is credited with tons of animation, production, and directorial roles throughout his life. His work can be traced back to the 1960s. One of the movies he was responsible for as a director, the hit Spirited Away, even won an Oscar in the 2003 Academy Awards as the Best Animated Feature. The sad news is that after How Do You Live?, Miyazaki is retiring from the profession.
His influence has been so important to the industry that in 2021 an 11,000-square-foot exhibit was created in the Los Angeles Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. The curator and McArthur Fellow grant winner Jacqueline Stewart points out Miyakazi’s relevance: “He's a cinematic master…Miyazaki is an international filmmaker. We wanted to highlight somebody who really had global appeal and global impact. And one of the things that's really unique about his work, too, is that it actually does appeal to young people and older generations with equal passion and vision.”
How Do You Live?/The Boy and the Heron, according to Studio Ghibli’s Twitter, will be released later this year in the United States. Although this seems unorthodox from all sides, the idea, per Spiel Times, is to allow the movie to run in Japan for a long time. Only afterwards it will arrive in North American theaters.
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Sources: Gizmodo, IMDB, Kotaku, NPR, Spiel Times
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