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The Boy and the Heron Earns More Than £4 Million in U.K.
posted on by Andrew Osmond
The Boy and the Heron's UK total also exceeds the UK takings of Godzilla Minus One, which has earned £2.6 million after six weekends. The Boy and the Heron has just had its fourth weekend.
However, The Boy and the Heron's takings dropped by 45.4% on its latest weekend, when it earned £266,130.
Miyazaki's film had opened in U.K and Ireland cinemas on Boxing Day in both subtitled and dubbed versions, and in IMAX cinemas from January 5.
According to a press release from the agency DDA, The Boy and the Heron had already earned £1.79 million at the UK box office in the first seven days of its release. It had the second-highest opening for a Japanese film in the UK, behind Pokémon: The First Movie when it was released in 2000.
The film was jointly acquired for the UK by Elysian Film Group, Anonymous Content and Bleecker Street. Elysian Film Group distributed one previous Studio Ghibli film, Earwig and the Witch, in the UK.
The film's story takes place during World War II. After Mahito loses his mother during the firebombings of Tokyo, he and his father move to the countryside. There, Mahito's father gets remarried to his late mother's pregnant sister. As Mahito struggles with his situation, he encounters a talking heron and enters another world based on a promise that he can meet his mother again.
Miyazaki is credited with the original work, in addition to directing the film and writing the script. Takeshi Honda (Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, Rebuild of Evangelion films) is the animation director. Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro) composed the music. Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki is the producer. Kenshi Yonezu (Chainsaw Man, My Hero Academia, March comes in like a lion) performs the theme song "Chikyūgi" (Globe).
