Hayao Miyazaki’s movies have always managed to capture its target audience of young children despite having darker undertones. A great example is Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli’s highest-grossing film which portrays consumerism and environmentalism under the facade of a fantasy movie.
Many people consider that if Hayao Miyazaki has one competitor, it would be Makoto Shinkai. Shinkai’s movies have captured the hearts of audiences across all age groups, and their themes of romance have tugged at heartstrings.
Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away Box Office Record was Beaten by One Makoto Shinkai Movie
If you look at the list of highest-earning movies in Japan, it is peppered with Shinkai and Ghibli movies. Spirited Away premiered in 2001 and grossed around $395 million at the worldwide box office. It instantly became the highest-earning movie in Japanese history. It held its record till 2016 when Makoto Shinkai released Your Name, which grossed over $400 million worldwide after its release.
Of course, adjusting the inflation rate might help Spirited Away reach its top position again. However, you also need to keep in mind the budget of the two films. Spirited Away had a budget of $19.2 million. Your Name, on the other hand, had a budget of $7.5 million.
Genki Kawamura, the co-producer of Your Name, stated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
Because The Garden of Words took only 150 million yen [$1.3 million], we thought no matter how hard we tried Your Name could only do 10 times that amount, so the production and promotion budgets were kept really low, smaller than an average Toho release.
-Genki Kawamura
Shinkai’s previous film, The Garden of Words, was released on just 23 screens. The film has a complex story and it was an original work by Makoto Shinkai, however, it is nowhere near the level of success achieved by Suzume, Your Name or Weathering With You.
How Your Name Beat Spirited Away
After the release of Your Name and it acheieved unbelievable success despite its low budget, Toho’s operating profit jumped by 30% for its first three quarters. According to the CEO of Toho, Yoshishige Shimatani, the greatness of Shinkai as a director was recognized by the young audiences. The news of the film was spread at a great speed via social media.
Your Name‘s target audience might have been teenagers, but its beautiful story and heart-touching romance has pulled in people belonging to all age groups. According to a Tokyo businesswoman in her 50s,
As it was an anime, I thought it would be kind of silly; I don’t watch anime, I’ve never even seen one Miyazaki film. But the story of Your Name was really moving and actually made me cry.
– Hitomi Mizune
The idea of connected fates and being destined to be with someone is a popular concept in not only Japan but also overseas. Thus, when Your Name portrayed the same emotions without making it feel cliched, people showered it with love. The way Your Name depicted its central theme and developed the story often makes people feel that the story has actually happened to them or long to be the protagonists.
Your Name is available to watch on Crunchyroll. Spirited Away is currently streaming on Max.
