The Boy and the Heron, the new film by the master of Japanese animation Hayao Miyazaki, took the lead at the North American box office this weekend, according to estimates from Exhibitor Relations on Sunday. With 12.8 million dollars in revenue, the fantasy film achieved “the best figures for a Studio Ghibli film” during a first weekend of release, underlines Exhibitor Relations.
The film depicts the life of an 11-year-old boy, Mahito, who leaves Tokyo after the death of his mother in a fire to live with his father in the countryside. Mahito then meets a gray heron who becomes his guide in an epic in the purest style of Miyazaki’s tales, creator of, among others, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.
In another universe, The Hunger Games – The Ballad of the Serpent and the Songbird continues its run on the podium for the fourth weekend in a row. The prequel to the dystopian saga of the same name taken from the novel series by Suzanne Collins, which recounts the youth of Coriolanus Snow, future dictator of the saga, collected $9.4 million between Friday and Sunday.
Godzilla Minus One, by Japanese director Takashi Yamazaki produced by Toho Studios, comes in third position for the second weekend in a row, with 8.3 million dollars, followed by Trolls 3 (6.2 million), and the last Disney Studios film, Wish, which closes the top 5 with $5.3 million. Followed by Renaissance, a film by Beyoncé (5 million), Napoléon (4.2 million), Waitress (3.2 million), Animal (2.3 million) and The Shift (2.1 million).