‘The Boy and the Heron’ Leads Muted Box Office With $12.3 Million Opening

The box office is laboring through a very slow weekend with Hollywood waiting until closer to Christmas to release new films. But it’s a great weekend for indie animation distributor GKIDS, as they have set a new company record with the $12.3 million opening for Studio Ghibli’s “The Boy and the Heron.”

Such a result makes Hayao Miyazaki’s new film the first original anime title to open to No. 1 at the U.S. box office, and puts it in position to become Miyazaki’s highest grossing movie in the U.S. after grossing over $85 million in Japan.

While noted by critics to be less accessible than many past Miyazaki films, the director’s devoted fans are still enjoying the film, giving it an A- on CinemaScore and 4.5/5