Hayao Miyazaki‘s The Boy and the Heron from Stubio Ghibli has broken a record in the United States, as the first original anime title in history to reach the top of the country’s charts with an impressive $12.8 million.
This is just the latest milestone for the film, having already smashed other records – including Miyazaki’s highest-grossing film for the US market, overtaking 2013’s The Wind Rises ($5.2 million). It’s also the first foreign production to make it to the top this year, and has hands-down beat Godzilla Minus One.
Prior to its release over in the US, The Boy and the Heron also made history as the first animated movie to open at the Toronto Film Festival.
It’s also earned over $85 million in Japan, and earned itself an Oscar nomination in the Animated Feature category for next year.
If you’re viewing in the United States or United Kingdom, the film is shown (as you’d expect) with English subtitles – or a dubbed version.
The dubbed version of the movie features an impressive cast lineup, including Christian Bale, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh. They join the original Japanese voice cast of Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, and Takuya Kimura.
Have you watched The Boy and the Heron yet? If so, we’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section!
