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In a scene from Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 film Spirited Away, Chihiro (voiced for its China run by Zhou Dongyu) runs away after being released from a resort for supernatural beings. The film has broken box office records in China.
LifestyleEntertainment

Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away sets China box office record, trumps Toy Story 4, 18 years after rest of world saw it

  • Anime master Hayao Miyazaki’s second film to get a belated cinematic release in China, Spirited Away has biggest opening weekend ever there for a Japanese film
  • Story of a girl who moves to a city’s suburbs and enters a supernatural realm has taken US$33 million in five days, more than double sales for Pixar’s new film
Asian cinema: Japanese films
Elaine Yau
Elaine Yauin Beijing
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Animation maestro Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 film Spirited Away had a record opening weekend for a Japanese film in China, and has taken more than twice as much as another big animated film, Pixar’s Toy Story 4, which hit Chinese cinemas the same day.

As of the afternoon of June 25, Spirited Away had box office takings of more than 230 million yuan (US$33 million) in China, compared with less than 110 million yuan for Toy Story 4.

Spirited Away took 127.7 million yuan from Friday to Sunday, performing even better than the first Miyazaki film to enjoy a wide cinematic release in China, My Neighbor Totoro, which opened in December 2018. While Miyazaki’s whimsical films have enchanted worldwide audiences for decades, none of his films had gone on general release in China until then.

My Neighbor Totoro took 170 million yuan during its run in Chinese cinemas.

Chinese film-goers’ eager embrace of Spirited Away comes as President Xi Jinping prepares to make a three-day visit to Japan to attend the G20 summit in Osaka, his first visit to the country since taking office in 2013.

Spirited Away revolves around the adventures of a moody 10-year-old girl who, to her dismay, moves to the suburbs with her parents. After wandering into a world filled with witches and spirits, she has to save her parents, who have been turned into pigs in the mythical realm.

Hayao Miyazaki at the Venice International Film Festival in 2008. His films have won worldwide acclaim, but until December 2018 none had enjoyed wide cinematic release in China. Photo: AFP
The film broke box office records and won rave reviews on its initial release in Japan in 2001. Until another animated film, Your Name, broke its record in 2017, the Studio Ghibli fantasy adventure held the record for the highest-grossing anime film. The film took US$368 million outside Japan, and won the Academy Award for best animated feature in 2003.
Spirited Away has a score of 9.3 points out of 10 points on Chinese film rating site Douban. Its Chinese release features the voice of actress Zhou Dongyu (Us and Them, The Thousand Faces of Dunjia), who voices the girl protagonist, Chihiro. Other notable names in the voice cast include Jing Boran and Peng Yuchang.

The latest instalment of Pixar and Disney’s Toy Story franchise is the second highest grossing film at the Chinese box office this week. The film revolves around the adventures of a new toy called “Forky”, Woody the cowboy and his friends.

A still from My Neighbor Totoro, Hayao Miyazaki’s 1988 film which went on general release in Chinese cinemas in December 2018.

Four other Studio Ghibli films – Castle in the Sky, Howl’s Moving Castle, The Wind Rises and Princess Mononoke – are expected to go on general release for the first time in China soon.

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