The Boy and the Heron | Hayao Miyazaki | Studio Ghibli | GKIDS | NA Debut at TIFF | WINNER OF THE OSCAR FOR BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

[ThomasNicole]

Ignoring the “WOM is ok” part since Isaac said to us this is pretty much useless this early. (personally 3.8/5 seems good to me considering the movie is apparently not very accessible)
 

But yeah, ignoring this part, seems HUGE. I think it can ended up doing 100M USD in Japan afterall 

 

 

[GOGODanca]

 

 

465m yen OD/$3.4m

[Royce]

Spoiler

Haven't seen it yet but I'm not getting my hopes up for legs/WOM. Aside from the incoherent story that isn't for everyone, it does not have a romance/strong platonic friendship that is present in all Miyazaki movies and other Ghibli hits. The only exception for Miyazaki is Totoro (which didn't do well at the box office at first) but even that had the strong bond of the two sisters. Even Howl had a very incoherent story and a rushed ending but people overlooked all that because they really embraced the romance.

 

If anything, I think it would be more successful if it was a straightforward adaptation of the book but with creative liberties of course, like Howl and Kiki. It was already a classic book and Copper's heartwarming bond with his friends would've translated well in a Ghibli film.

 

So I will just focus on this movie's artistic value and its message rather than worrying about its B.O. from now on.

 

[harrisonisdead]

This seems like a promising start against The Wind Rises' 960M yen 2-day opening (think that one opened on a Saturday). Curious how legs will compare due to the lack of pre-release marketing. I also wonder what kind of marketing they'll put out during the course of its release.

[GOGODanca]

From Corpse on WoKJ

 

Quote

Very good Friday, indeed. And yes, hard to really compare it to past films since Japan is on 3-day weekends now and not 2-day weekends. It's the only Miyazaki (and Ghibli) film to open on a Friday.

It looks like it can still break ¥1 billion over just Sat/Sun too though, which is on par with past Miyazaki films (except for Howl).

~¥450m (Fri.)
~¥550m (Sat.)
~¥550m (Sun.)
~¥500m (Mon.) *Holiday*

~¥1.5b (3-day)
~¥2.0b (4-day holiday)

This would be quite excellent. Should pretty easily secure it ¥10 billion, and would put ¥15 billion in play. Just note, as we've seen several times in the past year or two, ¥15 billion remains very difficult to reach as a number of films have finished with ¥13/14 billion. So, I wouldn't expect ¥15 billion (or more) until we see a lot more numbers in the coming weeks/months.

 

[cannastop]

https://variety.com/2023/film/news/miyazaki-hayao-film-the-boy-and-the-heron-1235670270/

 

GKIDS distributing in North America, will be called The Boy and the Heron.

[SchumacherFTW]

Awful bloody title

[Issac Newton]

I wonder who gave this title.

 

[JustLurking]

I actually think family and loss/moving on are very strong themes for the japanese BO, but we'll see what happens. Can't really know how things will click this early on but for now weekend looks really good IMO

[Morieris]

How Do You Live >>> The Boy and The Heron

[ThomasNicole]

Thank God it’s not DIS or Sony otherwise i’m sure they would wait 2024 

 

Hopefully this is a sign Ghibli is trying to release it worldwide this year

[titanic2187]

3 hours ago, Boxx93 said:

I hope How Do You Live gets an early 2024 release date in the west so that Suzume still gets a shot at being nominated for the Best Animated Feature category this year.

 

I know Spiderverse is probably gonna be the winner but a recognition to Makoto  Shinkai would be very nice after they snubbed Your Name and Whethering With You.

These two (especially YN) had terrible Oscar Campaign. Most Ghibli films that got nominated had months of campaign and BO run before the voting. Remember SA spent the whole year of campaign before the eventual victory?

In the case of YN, Funanimation only had some qualifying run and very limited screening before voting open. Basically not enough of voters have seen the movie before the voting. Whereas for WwY, GKIDS has been struggling in recent year, at BO and Award circuit both as Netflix rise in the race.

 

20 minutes ago, SchumacherFTW said:

Awful bloody title

Awful but at least sound easier for marketing purpose. I don't mind the tile change if that means more BO. Could've change it to "How to train your Eagle" or something.   

[CoolioD1]

Qualifying run in December, actual release in January like they did for Belle, Weathering With You, is likely I think.

[grim22]

25 minutes ago, SchumacherFTW said:

Awful bloody title

 

Makes me think its the sequel to the Reese Witherspoon romcom from a decade ago.

[Issac Newton]

1 minute ago, CoolioD1 said:

Qualifying run in December, actual release in January like they did for Belle, Weathering With You, is likely I think.

SLAM DUNK difference between Rights Acquisition &Release Date is 3 months. I feel like it will made into US earlier like October - though your plan seems to the point.

[Boxx93]

Damn It, GKIDS got it. Now my chances of actually seeing this in cinemas have shrunk.

 

Also, what a horrible title for the western market. What was wrong with "How Do You Live?" It's not a bad title.

Edited July 14, 2023 by Boxx93

[harrisonisdead]

Glad that they're aiming for a 2023 release, but the title change is just so annoying. It's the most drastic title change for Ghibli since Whisper of the Heart. Other instances of notable title changes since then have been the movies that were based on English language books, in which case the English language release adopted the title of the original book, which is more understandable. (Aya and the Witch --> Earwig and the Witch; Ged's War Chronicles --> Tales from Earthsea; Marnie of My Memories --> When Marnie Was There.)

 

In today's markets I don't really understand why you'd change the title significantly from the title it has already released as and gained buzz as. I hope this at least indicates GKIDS is vying for a proper wide release and trying to reach audiences outside those in the immediate know, but it's such a bland title nonetheless.

Edited July 14, 2023 by harrisonisdead

[cannastop]

1 minute ago, harrisonisdead said:

Whisper of the Heart

I actually like that title more than the literal Japanese "If You Listen Closely"

[harrisonisdead]

30 minutes ago, Issac Newton said:

SLAM DUNK difference between Rights Acquisition &Release Date is 3 months. I feel like it will made into US earlier like October - though your plan seems to the point.

The fact that Howl's Moving Castle is re-releasing in late September and Spirited Away is re-releasing in late October and early November makes me think they'll go for a late November or December release and use those re-releases of Miyazaki's most popular films to American audiences as marketing for the new one. I've been under that assumption since this year's Ghibli Fest was announced -- the fact that all of Miyazaki's films were being re-released and that the final re-release would be in November seemed like a perfect set-up for a late fall or winter release.

[harrisonisdead]

10 minutes ago, cannastop said:

I actually like that title more than the literal Japanese "If You Listen Closely"

Yeah, and I can at least appreciate that both titles are of a similar vibe. "Whisper of the Heart" is just a bit more concrete phrase that evokes something similar to "If You Listen Closely." At least they didn't change the name to "The Girl and the Cat Man"