Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron Jumps 15 Places on Japanese All-Time Box Office After Oscar Win

With an Academy Award and Japan Academy Film Prize under its belt, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron is getting more showings in Japan with a huge expansion set later this week that includes screenings of the English dub of the film across Japan. Before then though, that didn’t stop people from rushing out and seeing the latest from Studio Ghibli over the last week, giving the film two new milestones on its bird belt.

As of March 17, The Boy and the Heron has made 9.08 billion yen (US$63.55 million) at the Japanese box office with 6.12 million tickets sold. Since the film’s last major placing in the charts in September 2023, this newest update–which has the film passing 9 billion yen!–has brought the Miyazaki feature up 15 places on the all-time charts, putting it at 64th place and less than 100 million yen behind Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.

The Boy and the Heron was originally released in Japanese theaters on July 14, 2023, with its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, and its initial U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival on October 29 before going wide on December 8. The film expands nationwide again in Japan on March 20 and returns to theaters in North America on March 22.

The movie won Best Animated Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards on March 11, Best Animation of the Year at the 47th Japan Academy Film Prize Awards on March 8, Best Animated Film at the British Academy Film Awards on February 18, and Golden Globe for Best Animated Film on January 7, among other awards.

Crunchyroll released the film in Australia and New Zealand on December 7, 2023, and describes The Boy and the Heron as such: