Hayao Miyazaki’s most recent film, “The Boy and the Heron” (Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka, or “How Do You Live?”), won the Best Animated Film award at the 89th annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards.
Makoto Shinkai’s “Suzume,” “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Robot Dreams,” and “Elemental” were among the entries in the competition. The movie, GKIDS, will open in theaters across North America on December 8; previews will begin on November 22.
Both Japanese audio with English subtitles and English dubbing will be available for viewing.
On September 7, the movie had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), becoming the first Japanese and animated movie to do so. On September 22, the European premiere took place at the San Sebastian Film Festival (SSIFF), where Miyazaki received the Donostia Award for his outstanding career.
The Boy and the Heron
In addition, the movie premiered at a number of other events, such as the Miami Film Festival’s Gems 2023 and the Independent Film Festival Boston. It also launched the 2023 Animation Is Film Festival.
“The Boy and the Heron,” which debuted in Japan on July 14, was a huge hit, selling 1.003 million tickets and making over US$13.2 million in its first three days of sales.
At 8,333,397,800 yen (about US$55.60 million) in total, it became the 74th highest-grossing movie in Japan. It is noteworthy for being the first Studio Ghibli movie to be released simultaneously in IMAX and to be available in DTS:X, Dolby Atmos, and Dolby Cinema.
The original effort, including directing and authoring the narrative, is credited to Hayao Miyazaki. Joe Hisaishi composed the soundtrack, while Kenshi Yonezu sang the theme song, “Chikyūgi” (Globe).
