Spirited Away was the top Japanese film released in China in 2019, as reported by the China Film Association. Spirited Away earned 488 million yuan (US $70 million), playing on some 9,000 screens in China. Spirited Away was only the second Studio Ghibli film to be released in China. The first was My Neighbor Totoro, released in 2018.
The second highest grossing Japanese film was Makoto Shinkai’s Tenki no Ko (Weathering With You), which earned 288 million yuan (US $41 million). Shinkai’s previous film Kimi no Na wa (Your Name), earned twice as much in the China market with a take of US $88 million.
The number one film in China was Ne Zha with US $714.75 million in box office revenue. The animated movie is the second highest grossing film ever in China. Ne Zha will be released on Blu-Ray and DVD on March 3, and is available for preorder on Amazon.
Box office revenue in China set a new record with 64.2 billion yuan (US $9.2 billion). The China Film Administration also reported that domestic films grossed 41.2 billion yuan last year, an increase of 8.65% over 2018.
STUDIO GHIBLI’S NEW FILMS
Speaking of Studio Ghibli. The studio is reportedly working on two new films according to a recent interview with Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki that aired on NHK General TV. Hayao Miyazaki is directing the film Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka (How Do You Live?) despite “retiring” in 2013 after the release of The Wind Rises.
Suzuki said the film, named after the 1937 book How Do You Live? written by Genzaburo Yoshino, was roughly 15% complete as of October 2019 after three and half years of production. He said Miyazaki used to direct around 7-10 minutes of animation per month. However, despite budgeting five minutes per month, Miyazaki is taking his sweet time—directing about one minute per month. The film will be ready in 2021 or 2022. It was originally scheduled for release for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo on Earth.
If we’ve learned anything about Miyazaki’s perfectionism over the past decades, the film will definitely be worth the wait.
STUDIO GHIBLI THEME PARK
If you haven’t heard the news, the Studio Ghibli theme park “Ghibli Park” is scheduled to open in Nagakute City, Aichi, Japan, Earth in the fall of 2022. Ghibli Park will exist on 494 acres of pure anime bliss with five areas based on Studio Ghibli films My Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, and more.
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