‘The Boy and the Heron’ Surpasses 700 Million Yuan (¥14.9 Billion) at Chinese Box Office; Howl’s Moving Castle To Be Screened Next

By Miho Tamura / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

15:14 JST, April 21, 2024

SHANGHAI — Director Hayao Miyazaki’s anime movie The Boy and the Heron has taken China by storm, bringing in over 700 million yuan (about ¥14.9 billion) at the box office as of Saturday.

Howl’s Moving Castle, another one of Miyazaki’s films, is scheduled to hit Chinese theaters next.

Studio Ghibli’s works have been trending on Chinese social media daily.

According to the website of Maoyan Entertainment, a Chinese movie ticketing 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 movie screened in China.

The top spot belongs to Suzume by director Makoto Shinkai, which fetched about 800 million yuan when it played in theaters last year.

The Boy and the Heron has been receiving high praise from Chinese netizens, with one social media user writing, “The illustrations are beautiful.”

Howl’s Moving Castle will premiere at Chinese theaters on April 30.

According to the same ticketing website, reservations as of Saturday evening surpassed 2.8 million yuan, demonstrating the huge buzz the film is generating.

Miyazaki and other staff posted a message on the movie’s official website which read, “Everyone in China, please enjoy the movie.”