An animated film is making waves in Japan's movie scene as well as that in the West. Makoto Shinkai's "Kimi No Na Wa" ("Your Name") is being hailed as the Japan's biggest box office hit for 2016. Making 19.4 billion yen or roughly $173 million in the box office since its premiere in Japan on Aug. 26, "Your Name" overtook Studio Ghibli's "Princess Mononoke" rake-in which stood at 19.3 billion yen ($172 million) from its year of release in 1997.
"Kimi No Na Wa" topping "Princess Mononoke" ("Mononoke-hime"), a Hayao Miyazaki blockbuster and a decided classic in the Japanese film scene, places the Shinkai masterpiece as the sixth most popular film in the Japanese all-time box office and the third highly successful in the history of the Japanese movie industry.
Any time now, 'Kimi No Na Wa" is also expected to top another Miyazaki film triumph, "Howl's Moving Castle" ("Howl no Ugoku Shiro"), which achieved box office record earnings of 19.6 billion yen when it came out in 2004. This latest of Shinkai's films has even surpassed the box office performance of western films as "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and James Cameron's "Avatar."
Reports from the weekend box office for Nov. 26th and 27th places "Kimi No Na Wa" right after the top spot occupied by "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," ranking second. It comes as no surprise then that this animated film from anime director Shinkai has grabbed the attention of the highly respected film award-giving body, the Academy Awards, with an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Feature award category.
The film premiered at the Anime Expo 2016 in Los Angeles, California, where it was honored with three standing ovations. The coming-of-age story is based on Shinkai's novel of the same name.
Mike DuBoise, the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Funimation, which holds the film license, was quoted as saying, "We're incredibly excited to bring this Oscar-worthy film from Makoto Shinkai to audiences across the U.S. and Canada."