The Boy and the Heron streams on Netflix globally except US, Japan

Modified Mar 26, 2024 00:49 GMT

The Boy and the Heron streams on Netflix globally except US, Japan (Image via Studio Ghibli)

On March 21, 2024, the official X account for Netflix Anime confirmed that the platform will stream The Boy and the Heron sometime this year. It was later confirmed that Netflix will be streaming the film only outside of the United States of America and Japan. The platform is yet to reveal the exact release date. However, it has been confirmed that the allocation of the license for the film is part of a new deal between Netflix, Goodfellas, and GKIDS.

As a part of the collaboration, an additional 22 Studio Ghibli titles beyond The Boy and the Heron will continue to stream on Netflix globally. This includes, but is not limited to, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Arrietty, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. GKIDS also announced the schedule for its Studio Ghibli Fest 2024, which will run from April 27 to December 11, 2024.

The Boy and the Heron and several other Studio Ghibli titles set to stream on Netflix in most of the world

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As mentioned above, The Boy and the Heron’s Netflix availability applies to everywhere but Japan and the United States. For Japan, the film has been available on various domestic streaming services for quite some time, considering its original July 2023 Japanese theatrical release.

For the United States, the film will stream exclusively on Max (formerly HBO Max), which also extended its multiyear U.S. licensing deal with Studio Ghibli.

The film was directed by Hayao Miyazaki, and was said to be his last prior to its release, but this sentiment has seemingly changed since. The film won Best Animated Feature Film in the 96th Academy Awards ceremony on March 10, 2024. The film is the second of Miyazaki’s to win the award after Spirited Away in 2003. Howl’s Moving Castle and The Wind Rises were both nominated in the appropriate years, but failed to secure victory.

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The film opened in Japan in July 2023, and sold 1.003 million tickets to earn roughly $13.2 million USD in its first three days in Japan. In its Friday-Monday long weekend, the film sold 1.353 million tickets and amassed around $15.53 million USD (about 2.149 billion yen), with Monday (July 17) being the Marine Day holiday in the country. It is the 71st highest-grossing movie ever in Japan, and the third highest-grossing domestic film in the country for the year 2023.

The film ranked at #1 in its opening weekend in the United States box office, with sources such as Variety reporting it as the “first original anime production” to top the U.S. box office.