The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) will screen the international premiere of Hayao Miyazaki’s latest masterpiece, How Do You Live? (Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, or The Boy and the Heron), as its opening film on September 7 at Roy Thomson Hall. This marks a significant achievement for both the festival and Japanese cinema, as it is the first time an animated film has been chosen to open the event and also the first time a Japanese film has received this honor.
The film’s release in Japan saw great success, with an impressive 1.003 million tickets sold and earnings of about US$13.2 million in its initial three days. The film continued to accumulate 1.353 million tickets, earning 2.149 billion Yen (around US$15.53 million) over the Friday-Monday long weekend. As of the latest weekend, How Do You Live? has sold a total of 2.32 million tickets, amounting to a cumulative total of 3.6 billion Yen (around US$25.43 million).
With simultaneously screening on IMAX alongside its general release in Japan on July 14, the film set new records, beating the performance of Hayao Miyazaki’s famous Academy Award-winning film Spirited Away within its first four days and outperforming his 2013 film The Wind Rises by 50%.
And if you thought it stops there, you’re wrong. The film achieved a remarkable three-day opening record, grossing over US$1.7 million from 44 IMAX screens. How Do You Live? is now the first Studio Ghibli film to receive a simultaneous IMAX release, with additional screenings in Dolby Atmos, Dolby Cinema, and DTS: X.
GKIDS, the film’s distributor, has acquired the rights for North American theaters and plans to release it later this year. The success of this film surpassed all our expectations, but are we really surprised a Hayao Miyazaki film performed so well?
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How Do You Live? Had No Marketing
No one in the anime world or Japanese community needs an introduction to Hayao Miyazaki. The renowned Japanese director, often called a wizard of storytelling, has given us several captivating, engaging narratives and stunning visuals through his iconic Studio Ghibli productions.
However, his latest creation, How Do You Live? Didn’t receive any marketing; no posters, trailers, or advertisements. Hayao Miyazaki, in an interview, spoke of why he chose to make his creative decision. “You get tired of doing the same thing over and over. We wanted to try something new this time,” said Miyazaki.
The movie started and ended its journey with only one poster, designed by producer Toshio Suzuki. Suzuki claimed he was initially hesitant about this decision, but acknowledging the overwhelming flood of information in today’s news, Suzuki expressed that the constant availability of movie details can take away from the raw joy of experiencing a film.
Miyazaki expressed how he was aware he didn’t need to introduce the community to his works, so he allowed his audience to decide whether this film would live up to previous expectations or not. Before the release of the movie, information on the plot and cast remained unknown.
Set in the backdrop of World War II, the story follows Mahito, a young boy who tragically loses his mother to the fire bombings of Tokyo. For a fresh start, Mahito and his father move to the countryside, where his father remarries his late mother’s pregnant sister.
Struggling to cope with his complex and confusing emotions, Mahito suddenly meets a stalking heron. The heron offers him the chance to reunite with his mother in another world, sparking a magical journey where Mahito must deal with his inner conflicts and embark on a surreal adventure to meet his mother again.
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