Deadline, an entertainment news website, recently announced that Netflix has secured the global streaming rights for Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki’s latest feature film, The Boy and the Heron (Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka), excluding Japan and the United States.
This acquisition is part of a new agreement between Netflix, Goodfellas, and GKIDS. As part of the deal, an additional 22 Studio Ghibli titles, including classics like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Arrietty, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya, will continue to be available for streaming globally on Netflix.
GKIDS also unveiled the schedule for the Studio Ghibli Fest 2024, which will run from April 27 to December 11.
In the United States, “The Boy and the Heron” will exclusively stream on Max (formerly HBO Max). This move extends the multiyear U.S. licensing deal between the streaming service and Studio Ghibli.
The film recently clinched the Best Animated Feature Film award at the 96th Academy Awards, marking Miyazaki’s second win after Spirited Away in 2003. Additionally, Miyazaki received nominations for Howl’s Moving Castle and The Wind Rises.
The Boy and the Heron also received accolades in Japan, winning Animation of the Year at the 47th annual Japan Academy Film Prizes and securing the Best Motion Picture – Animated category at the 81st Golden Globes Awards. Furthermore, it garnered awards for storyboarding and character animation at the Annie Awards, as well as Best Animated Film at the British Academy Film Awards. The Alliance of Women Film Journalists honored it with the Best Animated Film award in its EDA Awards. Additionally, the 78th Mainichi Film Awards announced that the film would receive the Noburou Oofuji Award, recognizing its innovative creative expression.
Upon its release in Japan in July 2023, the movie achieved significant success, selling 1.003 million tickets and earning approximately US$13.2 million in its first three days. Over the Friday-Monday long weekend (July 17 being the Marine Day holiday in Japan), the film sold 1.353 million tickets and garnered 2.149 billion yen (about US$15.53 million). It holds the rank of the 71st highest-grossing film in Japan and stands as the third highest-grossing domestic film in Japan in 2023, with a gross of 8.66 billion yen (about US$61.4 million).
In the U.S. box office, The Boy and the Heron debuted at #1, earning US$12,836,313 in its opening weekend. Variety highlighted it as the “first original anime production” to achieve this feat.
Since 2020, the Max streaming service has been offering GKIDS’ “entire Studio Ghibli film library.”
GKIDS describes the film as follows:
After losing his mother during the war, young Mahito moves to his family’s estate in the countryside. There, a series of mysterious events lead him to a secluded and ancient tower, home to a mischievous gray heron. When Mahito’s new stepmother disappears, he follows the gray heron into the tower, and enters a fantastic world shared by the living and the dead. As he embarks on an epic journey with the heron as his guide, Mahito must uncover the secrets of this world, and the truth about himself.
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Source: ANN
