Internationally acclaimed storyteller, Hayao Miyazaki, has had many successes during his long career, claiming accolades and awards along the way. However, the 82-year-old Japanese anime creator is experiencing a new first. His long anticipated anime film, The Boy and the Heron, is No.1 at the North American box office.
This is only the third time ever that an anime production has topped the domestic box office, and it’s the first time an original anime has done so. The film, which is playing in both dubbed and subtitled versions, is also the first fully foreign production to land atop the American box office in 2023.
Although Miyazaki’s previous productions have been huge hits in Japan and Asia, they’ve traditionally made less of a mark in North American. The previous best performer was Miyazaki’s last movie, 2013’s The Wind Rises, which grossed $5.2 million in its entire North American run. The Boy and the Heron just debuted on December 8th, and has already earned $97 million USD to date.
The Boy and the Heron has been hailed as one of the best films of the year by many critics. “No one needed further proof that he’s a master. This meditation on grief and growing up does solidify the position, however, that Miyazaki remains the greatest living animator today, period”, Rolling Stone magazine.
The film, features an English dub voice version starring actors Christian Bale, Robert Pattinson, Dave Bautista and Mark Hamill.
The story follows a boy named Himi, who, after his mother tragically dies in a World War II bombing, is led by a mysterious heron to a portal that takes him to a fantastical realm and launches him on magestic quest.
An avid book reader and proud library card holder, Angela is new to the world of e-Readers. She has a background in education, emergency response, fitness, loves to be in nature, traveling and exploring. With an honours science degree in anthropology, Angela also studied writing after graduation. She has contributed work to The London Free Press, The Gazette, The Londoner, Best Version Media, Lifeliner, and Citymedia.ca.