For the first time in Hayao MiyazakiB次元官网网址檚 decades-spanning career, the 82-year-old Japanese anime master is No. 1 at the North American box office. MiyazakiB次元官网网址檚 latest enchantment, debuted with $12.8 million, according to studio estimates.
B次元官网网址淭he Boy and the Heron,B次元官网网址� the long-awaited animated fantasy from the director of B次元官网网址淪pirited Away,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淢y Neighbor TotoroB次元官网网址� and other cherished anime classics, is only the third anime to ever top the box office in U.S. and Canadian theaters, and the first original anime to do so. The film, which is playing in both subtitled and dubbed versions, is also the first fully foreign production to land atop the domestic box office this year.
Though MiyazakiB次元官网网址檚 movies have often been enormous hits in Japan and Asia, theyB次元官网网址檝e traditionally made less of a mark in North American cinemas. The directorB次元官网网址檚 previous best performer was his last movie, 2013B次元官网网址檚 which grossed $5.2 million in its entire domestic run.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 really a resounding statement for what animation can be,B次元官网网址� said Eric Beckman, founder and chief executive of GKIDS, the North American distributor for Studio Ghibli films. B次元官网网址淎merican audiences have been ready for a lot more than what theyB次元官网网址檝e been getting, and I think this really points to that direction.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he Boy and the HeronB次元官网网址� for years was expected to be MiyazakiB次元官网网址檚 swan song. But just as it was making its premiere at the in September, Junichi Nishioka, Studio Ghibli vice president, said the previously retired Miyazaki has begun
B次元官网网址淭he Boy and the Heron,B次元官网网址� has been hailed as films of the year. The film, featuring an English dub voice cast including Robert Pattinson, Christian Bale, Dave Bautista and Mark Hamill, follows a boy who, after her mother perishes in World War II bombing, is led by a mysterious heron to a portal that takes him to a fantastical realm. In Japan, its title translates to B次元官网网址淗ow Do You Live?B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he Boy and the HeronB次元官网网址� earlier collected $56 million in Japan despite zero promotion. Studio Ghibli opted to release the film without production stills, trailers, ads or billboards.
The U.S. and Canadian release included conventional advertising but was similarly handled with the care of something truly special as a Miyazaki movie. Throughout this year, all 10 of MiyazakiB次元官网网址檚 films with Ghibli were rereleased in theaters by GKIDS, which was founded in 2008 as way to bring ambitious animation to wider audiences.
B次元官网网址淲orking on a Hayao Miyazaki film is a huge honor but also kind of terrifying,B次元官网网址� Beckman said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e really just trying to do justice to the film.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淩enaissance: A Film by Beyonc茅,B次元官网网址� dropped steeply in its second weekend. The concert film, the second pop star release distributed by AMC Theatres collected $5 million in its second weekend, a decline of 76% from its $21 million opening.
That allowed LionsgateB次元官网网址檚 still-going-strong to take second place, with an estimated $9.4 million in its fourth weekend of release. The B次元官网网址淗unger GamesB次元官网网址� prequel has a domestic haul of $135.7 million.
B次元官网网址淭he Boy and the HeronB次元官网网址� wasnB次元官网网址檛 the only Japanese film that ranked among the top movies in theaters over the weekend. B次元官网网址淕odzilla Minus OneB次元官网网址� followed up its stellar debut last weekend with $8.3 million for Toho Studios. Takashi YamazakiB次元官网网址檚 acclaimed kaiju movie dipped just 27% in its second weekend of release, bringing its total to $25 million.
Several potential awards contenders got off to strong starts in limited release. Yorgos LanthimosB次元官网网址� warped fantasy starring Emma Stone, opened with $644,000 from nine theaters in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Austin, Texas. B次元官网网址淧oor ThingsB次元官网网址� expands in more theaters next week.
played an Oscar-qualifying run in two theaters in New York and Los Angeles with a per screen average of $58,532 for Neon. It stars Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor as the author Isabel Wilkerson while she investigates race and inequality for her book B次元官网网址淐aste: The Origins of Our Discontents.B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淥riginB次元官网网址� opens wide Jan. 19.
one of the holiday seasonB次元官网网址檚 most anticipated releases, kicked off its overseas run with $43.2 million from 37 international markets. The film, starring Timoth茅e Chalamet and directed by B次元官网网址淧addingtonB次元官网网址� filmmaker Paul King, is expected to lead U.S. and Canada ticket sales next weekend.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. B次元官网网址淭he Boy and the Heron,B次元官网网址� $12.8 million.
2. B次元官网网址淭he Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,B次元官网网址� $9.4 million.
3. B次元官网网址淕odzilla Minus One,B次元官网网址� $8.3 million.
4. B次元官网网址淭rolls Band Together,B次元官网网址� $6.2 million.
5. B次元官网网址淲ish,B次元官网网址� $5.3 million.
6. B次元官网网址淩enaissance, A Film by Beyonc茅,B次元官网网址� $5 million.
7. B次元官网网址淣apoleon,B次元官网网址� $4.2 million.
8. B次元官网网址淲aitress: The Musical,B次元官网网址� $3.2 million.
9. B次元官网网址淎nimal,B次元官网网址� $2.3 million.
10. B次元官网网址淭he Shift,B次元官网网址� $2.2 million.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
