According to a report from entertainment news website Deadline, Netflix has announced that they will be streaming The Boy and the Heron (Kimi-tachi wa Dō Ikiru ka), the latest feature film from Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki, to audiences worldwide, excluding Japan and the United States.
The license allocation is a result of a new agreement between Netflix, Goodfellas, and GKIDS.
Netflix Streams The Boy and the Heron Film outside US and Japan
Netflix has expanded its streaming library to include an additional 22 Studio Ghibli titles, ensuring that fans worldwide can enjoy these beloved films.
Some of the titles you can find are Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Arrietty, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
GKIDS has also unveiled the schedule for the Studio Ghibli Fest 2024, which will take place from April 27 to December 11.
The Boy and the Heron will be available for streaming exclusively on Max (formerly HBO Max) in the United States.
The streaming service for The Boy and the Heron has announced an extension of its multiyear U.S. licensing deal with Studio Ghibli.
The film was awarded Best Animated Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards ceremony on March 10.
Miyazaki’s second film to win came after Spirited Away in 2003.
He was also nominated for Howl’s Moving Castle and The Wind Rises.
The film was honored with the Animation of the Year award at the 47th annual Japan Academy Film Prizes and also received recognition in the Best Motion Picture – Animated category at the 81st Golden Globes Awards earlier this year.
The film also received accolades from the Annie Awards, recognizing its exceptional storyboarding and character animation, as well as the British Academy Film Awards, which honored it as an outstanding animated film.
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists honored it with the Best Animated Film award in its EDA Awards on December 31.
The 78th Mainichi Film Awards announced ahead of its February 14 ceremony that the film would be honored with the Noburou Oofuji Award, recognizing its innovative and creative expression in the realm of animation.
The film had a successful opening in Japan in July 2023, with an impressive 1.003 million tickets sold and earning approximately US$13.2 million in its first three days.
The film had an impressive performance over the long weekend, selling 1.353 million tickets and earning 2.149 billion yen (about US$15.53 million). This success was particularly notable considering that July 17 was a holiday in Japan.
It has achieved an impressive milestone in Japan, ranking as the 71st highest-grossing film of all time. Additionally, it holds the distinction of being the third highest-grossing domestic film in Japan in 2023, with a remarkable gross of 8.66 billion yen (approximately US$61.4 million).
The film soared to the top spot during its opening weekend in the U.S. box office, raking in an impressive US$12,836,313 in just three days.
According to Variety, the film has achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the highest-grossing original anime production in the U.S. box office.
Since 2020, the Max streaming service has been providing GKIDS’ complete Studio Ghibli film library.
Sources for this information include Deadline and a press release.
