Japanese films ‘The Boy and the Heron’, ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Set records at US box office

LOS ANGELES: A pair of Japanese film titans reigned at the box office this weekend.

Animation great Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, took the top spot, earning a record-breaking US$12.8 million for its opening weekend (the film premiered Nov 22 in Los Angeles and New York). It’s the first original anime film ever to top the domestic box office chart and it marks the acclaimed filmmaker’s biggest opening ever in North America, reported German news agency (dpa).

Anticipation was high for The Boy and the Heron, Miyazaki’s first film since 2013’s The Wind Rises, which at the time of release was purported to be the co-founder’s final film – much like this one. The film hit theatres in Japan in July without any traditional marketing and played the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Set during World War II, The Boy and the Heron is a fantasy coming-of-age story following young Mahito. After losing his mother in a hospital fire in Tokyo, Mahito is sent to a mansion in the countryside to live with his new stepmother, Natsuko (who is also his mother’s younger sister). There he encounters a menacing grey heron who leads him into a mysterious, magical realm.

“The very last moment in The Boy and the Heron is the simplest, loveliest, most quietly shattering thing,” writes Los Angeles Times film critic Justin Chang in his review.

“The image itself defies description, as Miyazaki’s art often does… this parting shot feels like an end and a beginning, a departure and a return, a reminder of all the imaginative wonders that can spring from the dimmest recesses of a boy’s memory.”

The film currently sits with a 96 per cent rating from critics and a 91 per cent audience score at review aggregate site as well as an A- in the poll from CinemaScore. Worldwide, The Boy and the Heron has grossed US$97 million.

Joining Miyazaki in the box office top three is Godzilla Minus One, which made US$8.3 million in its second weekend. The kaiju epic smashed records on its own, becoming the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film in North America with US$25.3 million after having the biggest domestic opening of an international film this year at US$11.4 million.

Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, Godzilla Minus One is the first Japanese film featuring the iconic kaiju since 2016’s Shin Godzilla. Godzilla has since expanded his Hollywood footprint with Legendary’s MonsterVerse entries Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and current AppleTV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

Set in post-World War II Japan, Godzilla Minus One returns the kaiju series to its roots as a commentary on nuclear war. The film garnered an impressive 97 per cent from critics and 98 per cent from audiences at , with an equally stellar A grade from CinemaScore.

“Yamazaki’s take on Godzilla is classical, utilising the giant kaiju as a metaphor for social commentary, and his aesthetic is classical as well, combining a retro 1940s style with cutting-edge visual effects for one of the most striking Godzilla monsters we’ve seen in years,” writes Tribune News Service film critic Katie Walsh in her review.

“The way its craggy fins break the surface of the ocean is almost photorealistic, and when Godzilla’s atomic-powered glowing spine bursts with power, it’s breathtakingly beautiful.”