Highlights

• Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Crane exceeded box office expectations worldwide, becoming a huge success outside Japan.
• Miyazaki's success in America changed when GKids took over distribution, nurturing his films and giving them greater exposure.
• The film's success is attributed to years of cultivation by GKids and other markets, expanding Miyazaki's worldwide appeal.

Although Hayao Miyazaki The Boy and the Heron It was expected to be an acclaimed film (if not a bit strange in the end), the only question people had was "how much money will this make?" While Miyazaki's films are typically financially successful in Japan, success has been more mixed in other countries.

America, in particular, has been a tough nut to crack, with its films being seen as undiscovered gems in the United States. However, The Boy and the Heron ended up becoming a huge success outside of its mainland country, which begs the question: what was different this time?

What are some of the most successful anime studios?

While it goes without saying, Studio Ghibli isn't the only anime studio to achieve significant financial success. Several other anime studios have also posted figures that would catch the eye of a major studio CEO. Toei Animation, for example, has achieved significant financial success thanks to the production of successful franchises like Dragon Ball, One pieceand Sailor Moon. Madhouse is another studio that has produced critically acclaimed and financially successful anime, such as Death Note, One Punch Manand Hunter x Hunterestablishing itself as a versatile and reliable studio.

Other studios known for their reliable success include Gainex, Sunrise, Kyoto Animation (despite their struggles), and MAPPA, all of which have produced series and films that have garnered huge financial returns. Most, however, haven't achieved the same consistent financial success as Studio Ghibli (and haven't actually achieved nearly as consistent a box office success as Hayao Miyazaki).

Anime movies by the numbers

Several non-Studio Ghibli anime films have achieved notable financial success worldwide. Here are some of the most successful:

1. Your Name (2016): Directed by Makoto Shinkai, this film is a beautifully animated science fiction love story that grossed approximately US$380 million worldwide. It explores the lives of two high school students who mysteriously switch bodies, blending elements of romance and fantasy.
2. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train (2020): Directed by Haruo Sotozaki, the film is a direct sequel to the Demon Slayer anime series and became the highest-grossing anime film worldwide, grossing over US$500 million. Hayao Moyazaki himself stated that Demon Slayer is “your rival”.
3. Pokémon: The First Movie (1998): This film, based on the popular Pokémon franchise, grossed over $163 million worldwide. It was a huge hit during the height of the Pokémon craze and remains the highest-grossing anime at the American box office, with $85.75 million.
4. Weathering with You (2019): Another film from Makoto Shinkai (the guy knows how to make critically acclaimed blockbusters), this romantic fantasy about a boy who can manipulate the weather grossed around US$193 million worldwide.
5. Dragon Ball Super: Broly (2018): This portion of the Dragon Ball series grossed over US$115 million worldwide and was one of the first anime since Pokémon: The First Movie to debut in the top 3 at the American box office on its opening weekend.

How successful is Miyazaki in comparison?

Compared to other studios, there's nothing quite like a Hayao Miyazaki film. His films tend to gross millions of dollars worldwide, and other films are removed from the Japanese schedule if they open the same week. His films are so popular that Away from spirit was one of the first Japanese films to be released in American theaters and have midnight showings. His films are so highly anticipated that his latest film – How do you live? (which was renamed The Boy and the Heron for the international release) – managed to raise around US$13 million in Japan without any kind of advertising campaign (only a sketch was released as a poster).

In America and other countries, their films didn't make the same amount of money. This is largely because their previous distributor, Walt Disney Pictures, bought the rights to their catalog and continued to show a disappointing lack of interest. Most of the titles went straight to DVD, where they outsold most anime in America (but far less than homegrown Disney titles like Finding Nemo and Lilo and Stitch). However, Miyazaki's success in America would soon change.

Miyazaki in numbers

Hayao Miyazaki's films have achieved impressive worldwide box office sales, contributing significantly to Studio Ghibli's global success. Here are some of his most notable box office performances:

1. Spirited Away (2001): By far his most successful film, Spirited Away grossed approximately US$1,400,000 worldwide at the box office. It is also the second-highest-grossing film in Japanese history.
2. Howl's Moving Castle (2004): This film grossed around US$1.4 billion globally.
3. Ponyo (2008): US$ 204 million worldwide gross.
4. Princess Mononoke (1997): This earlier Miyazaki hit grossed approximately US$169 million worldwide and was the highest-grossing film in Japan until James Cameron's film. Titanic knocked it down (but barely).
5. The Wind Rises (2013): Miyazaki's previous "final film" grossed US$136 million worldwide.

The Boy and the Cranes Calculated Worldwide Success

When The Boy and the Heron debuted at number one at the US box office. Not only did Miyazaki finally top the American box office, he did so with his most unconventional film. The film also debuted at number one in China, a country where his films had been virtually unavailable for decades. Canada was another country where the film debuted at number one. So what happened? Why did a man whose films had gone largely unnoticed at the box office suddenly start hitting number one worldwide? Well, it's because something happened to Miyazaki's films under the current distributors that never happened with Disney: they were cultivated. While we don't want to take anything away from what Disney did to bring Studio Ghibli to America (including some of the best dubbing of all time), the reality is that they never invested in nurturing them as a company.

They probably wanted these films because they were competition for them, so as long as they controlled the competition, they could keep them buried (and if the films were successful… well, then they would benefit from them). Once GKids came on the scene, everything changed. GKids saw the value of Miyazaki's work. They knew that Studio Ghibli's catalog would be valuable if given a chance to shine. So when they got the films, they started putting them in theaters (starting with From On Poppy Hill, the second feature film by their son Goro Miyazaki). Although they weren't doing wide releases from the beginning, they made a point of moving the limited release nationwide. So when Studio Ghibli released its first TV series – Ronja, the thief's daughter – GKids made a deal to release the series on Amazon, which pushed the series to its millions of subscribers.

Thus, Ghibli Fest was formed and became an annual tradition that continues to this day, where all the old Ghibli films are filmed and shown in theaters. As the festival continued and Blu-ray re-releases increased, Studio Ghibli soon became a household name. They did the same with Canada, and thus Miyazaki's profile continued to rise in North America. About five years ago, the Studio Ghibli catalog was finally approved for release in China. Chinese moviegoers embraced the Ghibli catalog, and a new audience was discovered. Other countries that had already embraced Miyazaki continued to do so. When the time came... The Boy and the Heron to be released in America and Canada, GKids pulled out all the stops: wide release, IMAX presentation, and big names for the dub (although that was more of a tradition at this point).

Thanks to years of encouragement from GKids and other markets over the years, the world invested in seeing Miyazaki's (alleged) final film in theaters. While the film may not have made as much money, Away from spirit did, for the first time his film was more than just an event that the Japanese enjoyed and the rest of the world shrugged off. He had made a film that the whole world wanted to see. A film that connected despite its personal nature. And if this is how Miyazaki's career ends, then we can think of no better way to end a filmmaker's career.