If anime-loving time travelers from 2013 jumped forward a decade to 2023, would they be more surprised to see a new Hayao Miyazaki film in theaters ¡ª or learn that it wasn¡¯t even the biggest hit of the year?
Ten years after he announced his retirement from filmmaking, the Studio Ghibli co-founder and Academy Award winner re-emerged this July with ¡°The Boy and the Heron,¡± a box-office success that proved the 82-year-old auteur hasn¡¯t lost his touch.
¡°The Boy and the Heron,¡± which Ghibli chose not to publicize ¡ª no pre-release trailer, promo stills, etc. ¡ª opened to critical acclaim and has so far earned ?8.56 billion (roughly $58.2 million) in Japan. But while that¡¯s a solid return, to see a Miyazaki film at anything less than No. 1 for the year ¡ª after all, of Japan¡¯s 10 highest-grossing films of all time, three are Miyazaki¡¯s ¡ª would make our time travelers scratch their heads.
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