A poster of “The Boy and the Heron” will be displayed at a cinema in Shanghai on March 30.
15:14 JST, April 21, 2024
SHANGHAI – Director Hayao Miyazaki’s anime film The Boy and the Heron has taken China by storm, grossing more than 700 million yuan (about ¥14.9 billion) at the box office on Saturday.
Howl’s Moving Castle, another Miyazaki film, will soon hit Chinese cinemas.
Studio Ghibli’s works are trending daily on Chinese social media.
According to the website of Maoyan Entertainment, a Chinese movie ticket company, box office sales for The Boy and the Heron between the film’s April 3 premiere and Saturday were the second-highest ever for any Japanese anime film released in China was shown.
First place goes to director Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume, which grossed about 800 million yuan when the film hit theaters last year.
The boy and the heron are receiving high praise from Chinese netizens, with one social media user writing: “The illustrations are beautiful.”
Howl’s Moving Castle opens in Chinese theaters on April 30.
According to the same ticket website, as of Saturday evening, reservations exceeded 2.8 million yuan, demonstrating the huge buzz the film is generating.
Miyazaki and other staff posted a message on the film’s official website that read: “Everyone in China, enjoy the movie.”
