The Boy and the Heron is the first film in Hayao Miyazaki’s career to top the U.S. box office

Hayao Miyazaki is the legendary director behind classic movies like My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. His latest film, The Boy and the Heron, is typical of his work: lushly animated, richly imagined, and magical in a way that only he and his colleagues at Studio Ghibli can quite manage.

Miyazaki’s films have been popular around the world for decades, but have found the most success in his native Japan. However, The Boy and the Heron opened this past weekend at the top of the U.S. box office, the first time in Mayazaki’s career that this has happened. At 82 years old, Miyazaki is finally getting some respect stateside!

Here’s are top 10 highest grossing movies in the U.S. over this past weekend, per Box Office Mojo. The number at the end is how much money they’ve made in the U.S. so far:

1. The Boy And The Heron ($12.8 million)
2. The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes ($135.6 million)
3. Godzilla Minus One ($25.3 million)
4. Trolls Band Together ($83 million)
5. Wish ($49.4 million)
6. Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé ($28 million)
7. Napoleon ($53 million)
8. Waitress: The Musical ($3.2 million)
9. Animal ($11.5 million)
10. The Shift ($8.5 million)

The Boy and the Heron has made an additional $74 million overseas, mostly from (where else) Japan. It’s great to see a Miyazaki movie do this well right out of the gate. It might even inspire him to return to make another one? At this point, Miyazaki has made several movies that he said would be his “final” movie beforehand, only for him to come back later and make another one. At 82, no one would blame him if he wants to relax, but if he wants to keep working, we probably won’t complain either.

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