News
Ghibli's Arrietty Earns US$14.3 Million After 2nd Weekend (UPDATED)
posted on by Egan Loo
The Box Office Mojo website reports that Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Studio Ghibli's anime film The Secret World of Arrietty (Karigurashi no Arrietty) has earned US$4,351,115 during the February 24-26 weekend. In its second weekend in American theaters, Arrietty drops from #9 to #10 at the box office as it faces four new films. With 1,522 theaters, Arrietty had a per-screen average of US$2,859. Ticket sales dropped 32.5% from the first weekend.
With a current total of US$14,508,920, Arrietty is now the sixth highest grossing theatrical anime release in the United States. It has moved well ahead of #7's Spirited Away (US$10,055,859) and is within half a million of #5's Ponyo (U$$15,090,399).
Here is how the various Ghibli films have performed in the United States in their second weekend:
| Film | Year | 2nd Weekend | Theaters | Per-Screen Average | Gross-to-Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princess Mononoke | 1999 | US$384,220 | 38 | US$10,111 | US$592,844 |
| Spirited Away | 2002 | US$527,719 | 53 | US$9,956 | US$1,110,559 |
| Howl's Moving Castle | 2005 | US$864,761 | 202 | US$4,280 | US$1,482,895 |
| Ponyo | 2009 | US$2,425,644 | 927 | US$2,617 | US$8,136,515 |
| Tales from Earthsea | 2010 | US$9,940 | 5 | US$1,988 | US$41,029 |
| The Secret World of Arrietty (Estimated) | 2012 | US$4,503,000 | 1,522 | US$2,959 | US$14,660,000 |
The number 1 film in the United States in weekend estimates is Act of Valor.
In his directorial debut, Yonebayashi re-imagines Mary Norton's 1952 novel The Borrowers by moving the story to a Tokyo suburb. The story revolves around Arrietty, a member of the "little people" who live under the floorboards of a regular human family's home. Arrietty's family tries to remain hidden from the human "beans." Walt Disney Pictures is giving the film the widest opening for a Studio Ghibli film in North America to date.
Update 2011/2/27: Final box office figures updated.
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