Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron beats Godzilla Minus One at the US Box Office

The Boy and the Heron recently took the top spot at the US box office, dethroning Godzilla Minus One. The Studio Ghibli film has been critically acclaimed and received a rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. It made its debut in the US on December 8, 2023.

As per the figures put out by Box Office Mojo, The Boy and the Heron collected about 12.8 million USD on the opening weekend. While the film has currently outdone Godzilla Minus One in terms of ranking, it must be mentioned that the latter also enjoyed a great deal of success upon its release in the US on December 1, 2023.

For the time being, the Godzilla film has collected a total of 25.3 million USD. Since it has been in theaters for a longer period of time, its overall collections are slightly higher than the Hayao Miyazaki film.

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The Boy and the Heron's global performance

This film by Hayao Miyazaki has performed quite well across the globe. At the time of writing, the film had collected about 97 million USD worldwide. It was first released in Japan on July 14, 2023, and collected about 56 million USD. South Korea began screening the film on October 25, 2023, leading to collections of about 14.65 million USD.

The Boy and the Heron then made it to Spain and Turkey on October 27, 2023. The performance here, however, wasn't as good as other European countries, with total collections amounting to 1.4 million USD and 169,306 USD, respectively. The film made its debut in France on November 1, 2023 and managed to generate 11.1 million USD.

Hayao Miyazaki’s film was later released in Czech Republic on November 23, 2023, where it grossed 147,242 USD. The Boy and the Heron was also screened in Norway. However, the film's performance there fell short of expectations, as it only managed to generate 219,486 USD.

[Please note that all the figures mentioned in the article are according to the figures published by Box Office Mojo.]

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The Boy and the Heron plot in brief

A still from the movie showcasing Mahito and the talking heron (Image via Studio Ghibli)

The story revolves around a young boy named Mahito, who struggles to fit into the new town he moves to. This transition is difficult for him since it comes right after his mother’s death.

However, his life completely changes when he comes in contact with a talking heron, which informs him that his mother is still alive. Mahito is then taken to a new magical world.

Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2023 progresses.