The Boy and the Heron: historic start for the new Miyazaki in France

Already 200,000 entries recorded on Wednesday. (Source: Le Film Français)

This Wednesday, the tone was Japanese animation with the big return of Hayao Miyazaki after ten years of absence (his previous long one was The wind picks up). The Boy and the Heron got off to an excellent start with 145,511 admissions on its first day, and a cumulative 227,457 tickets sold if we take previews into account. Quite simply the best launch of a film by the master in French cinemas.

The Boy and the Heron also achieves the second best launch of all time for a Japanese animated film in France, and incidentally, the 8th best launch of the year 2023. In August 2022, One Piece Red had sold 267,631 tickets on the Wednesday of its release, then 980,000 in total. Note that it was offered in 631 theaters, compared to 461 for Miyazaki.

A thunderous introduction, which is however not a habit for the filmmaker in France. Even if he is today considered essential, his previous releases were sometimes laborious, and contrary to what one might think, only three of his films have passed the million admissions mark: Spirited away in 2002 (1,436,845 spectators), The Howl’s Moving Castle in 2005 (1,381,328 spectators) and Ponyo on the cliff in 2009 (1,464,473 spectators).

What is most surprising with the filmmaker’s different releases is to note that the most “cults” benefiting from regular releases are not those who break records for tickets sold, but rather the opposite. So, even with three releases in 1999, 2002 and 2018, My Neighbor Totoro (the mythical creature is also the logo of Studio Ghibli) only has 548,225 entries at the French box office. Same phenomenon for Princess Mononoke which followed two consecutive outings in 2000 and 2001 with a total of 709,773 countermarks.

This particularity is explained by the fact that the first animated films from Studio Ghibli were released late in France, several years after their success in Japan. Totoro was, for example, proposed in 1999, 11 years after its initial release!

It is therefore necessary to put The Boy and the Heron in perspective by making the distinction between the worldwide artistic recognition of its author and his success in theaters which varies from one film to another. Until now, his films had in any case started with between 30,000 and 45,000 admissions on the first day. Even ignoring his previews and knowing that the start of his latest production was boosted by the holiday, this debut is truly phenomenal.

Far behind Miyazakithe following six new releases in the top 10 are mainly French: Flo, a biopic about the navigator Florence Arthaud, takes second place with 28,277 entries. For a first film, the director Geraldine Danon has nothing to be ashamed of.

It is closely followed by Invaluablethe new comedy from Didier Bourdon directed by Eric Fraticelliwhich is off to a much better start than the director’s two previous films: 27,075 tickets for Invaluable against 8,638 and 18,420 entries at the respective starts of Clan (January 2023) and Building permit (March 2022). Are linked together Completely Burnt! (21,767 spectators) with John Malkovich And Fanny Ardant, Mr. Mayor (14,286 entries) with Clovis Cornillac, Pick up (13,132 tickets sold) a film that comes to us from Italy and Marguerite’s theorem (8168 entries) with Jean-Pierre Darroussin.

In eighth position we find Insidea behind-closed-doors thriller with William Dafoe (which only attracted 432 spectators despite the presence of the star) Note the presence of two documentaries which complete this top 10 new releases for this Wednesday: Ghost Portraits of Kleber Mendonça Filho And The Lair of Opposites of Léa Rinaldi which attracted 375 and 65 curious spectators respectively to the room.

The Boy and the Heron: at what age can we see the new Miyazaki?