Hayao Miyazaki Notches Record $12M+ U.S. Opening With ‘The Boy And The Heron’
Competing with Gorjia -1 for top spot this weekend
Opens in 2200 theaters, Engish dub. Subtitled Gojira in 2300+ theaters and was #1 Mon,Wed,Thu.
https://deadline.com/2023/12/box-office-boy-and-the-heron-beyonce-renaissance-1235658395/
After one Japanese title delivered at the sleepy December box office last weekend, that being Godzilla Minus One, here’s another that’s set to dominate: Studio Ghibli and Gkids’ Hayao Miyazaki toon The Boy and the Heron is looking at a No. 1 bow with $10M+ after $2.39M Thursday and early-access previews.
The comp here is quite literally last weekend’s Japanese live-action title Godzilla Minus One (read the review), which saw previews of $2.1M before minting a $4.7M Friday, and 3-day of $11.4M at 2,308 theaters.
The Boy and the Heron is 95% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and has grossed more than $84M abroad, $56.1M one of that in its native Japan, where it reached Miyazaki’s highest opening ever there sans any promotion back in July.
SATURDAY AM: GKIDS’ The Boy and the Heron is the distributor’s biggest opening ever, with a 3-day between $10.7M-$12M after a $5.56M Friday/previews. The overall marketplace, though sluggish, isn’t as bad as we thought, with around $69M, which is up +82% from a year ago. Thank God for small miracles. GKIDs’ previous 3-day record was Makoto Shinkai’s Weathering With You back in 2020 which posted $1.8M.
The Boy and the Heron is standing on high marks with an A- Cinemascore, 4 1/2 stars, and a 65% definite recommend. Mostly guys, not all, at 54%, with 80% of those who watched between 18-34 and the largest demo being 25-34 at 44%. Diversity demos are 43% Caucasian, 22% Latino and Hispanic, 7% Black, and 27% Asian/other. PLF and Imax are driving 38% of the gross so far. While the West is strong for the Hayao Miyazaki movie, the AMC Boston Commons is the highest-grossing cinema in the nation at $39K. We don’t see them often in the lead.
SUNDAY AM: GKIDs’ and Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron posted a $12.8M opening after a near $4M Saturday, giving both studios, and esteemed animated filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki, their biggest openings ever in the U.S./Canada marketplace.
1.) Boy and the Heron (GKIDS) 2205 theaters Fri $5.56M Sat $3.99M Sun $3.2M 3-day $12.8M/Wk 1