With the flow of mainstream Hollywood films interrupted by now-settled labor strikes and the pandemic, expect occasional unusual successes to surprise in domestic theatrical boxoffice.
In an unusual occurrence, the Japanese animation import “The Boy and the Heron” was the No. 1 grossing movie at cinemas in the U.S./Canada for the Dec. 8-10 weekend with $13 million. This second weekend in December is traditionally quiet, because it is hammock between peaks of Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it’s still a surprise a foreign film can top any weekend.
“Heron” is distributed by New York-based distributor GKids, which has a 13-year history bringing top Japanese and Asian animation to the U.S. “Heron” is from Studio Ghibli, whose sophisticated cartoon-films appeal to adults as well as kids. Ghibli produced 2001 worldwide blockbuster “Spirited Away,” which grossed an astonishing $357 million worldwide via Walt Disney Studios; Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki have a brand-name-like following that provides a lift to “Heron.”
TOP FIVE GKIDS THEATRICAL RELEASES-U.S. & CANADA
| RANK | TITLE | DATE | RATING | BOXOFFICE |
| 1 | The Boy and the Heron | Dec. 8, 2023 | PG-13 | $13.0m* |
| 2 | Weathering With You | Jan. 15, 2020 | PG-13 | $8.1m |
| 3 | Belle | Jan. 14, 2022 | PG | $4.0m |
| 4 | Promare | Sept 17, 20219 | PG-13 | $2.5m |
| 5 | Meari to Majo No Hana | Jan 19, 2018 | PG | $2.4m |
GKids booked “Heron” in 2,205 domestic theaters, which registers as a wide release. Foreign films playing in domestic U.S./Canada theaters usually have narrow releases in the dozens or just a few hundreds of theaters. Definitions vary but 600 to 1,999 theaters are generally considered a wide domestic run. After its $13 opening weekend, “Heron” remained on top of domestic boxoffice Monday-Thursday with around $1 million each weekday, for what is a decent midweek hold.
The often-surreal “Heron” qualifies as an “artbuster,” which is a contraction of arthouse (typically foreign films) and blockbuster. “There is no universally agreed upon benchmark for artbusters, but $10 million and up is often used,” say the third edition of academic/business book “Marketing to Moviegoers.” The anime “Heron” is being exhibited in dubbed and subtitled versions in the U.S. market.
“Heron” will be knocked off its domestic boxoffice throne this weekend, as Warner Bros. Pictures $125 million production of family film “Wonka” (the Willie Wonka chocolate factory franchise) premieres. “Wonka” is the only wide release hitting cinemas hitting the weekend of Dec. 15-17, but there are a half dozen other significant titles. “Heron” still might end up a lofty No. 2 in its second weekend.
As for the broader matter of film supply disruption, the Covid pandemic closed cinemas for two years (and stopped film production). Then, labor strikes were a double-whammy, interrupting Hollywood production this year first by writers (off work from May 2 to Sept. 27) and then actors (striking July 14 to Nov. 9).
In the aftermath, film distributors such as Hollywood’s five major studios began pushing back planned theatrical releases, as work stoppages interrupted production. For example, in recent months Disney’s “Deadpool 3” was delayed to July 26, from May 2 where it held the summer cinema kickoff spot that is now vacant.
Elsewhere, Sony Pictures’ “Venom 3” isn’t ready for its original July 14 date; Disney pushed back “Captain America: Brave New World” to 2025, and the list goes on. Smaller films step up to fill near-term gaps, but that means the short-term lineup for cinema tilts to lightweight.
Most of the film-slate developments are negatives, but Taylor Swift’s out-of-nowhere concert movie belted out $179.2 million in domestic cinemas via AMC Theatres distributing. Another concert-type film that also a late add to cinema release is “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé,” though its gross is not blockbuster material. So even amid the gloom about disrupted movie flow, there always seem to be at least some unanticipated pleasant surprises.
“Heron’s” marketer GKids is a niche distribution outfit. GKids logged 63 theatrical releases since 2010, according to The-Numbers.com with most generating domestic boxoffice in the low single-digit millions to just tens of thousands of dollars. Though far short of major studio levels, domestic boxoffice that hits in the millions of dollars is decent for what are foreign imports.
GKids ranks No. 76 of all domestic theatrical distributors for the range 1996-2023, at The-Numbers.com (so for the first 14 years of that range GKids had just a few films).
Since 2010, GKids titles have landed an impressive 12 Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations, though no wins, probably due to Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios dominating victories.
The centerpiece of its business is distributor of Studio Ghibli since 2011, a relationship previously held by Disney. GKids is a sort of curator of the Ghibli brand. For example, since 2017 GKids commissioned Fathom Events to rerelease Ghibli titles to North American cinemas packaged as a festival.
GKids is closely-held and its founder Eric Beckman previously ran the New York International Children’s Film Festival.
GKids’ modus operandi is to latch on to prestige content that will win awards, creating a publicity buzz for low-cost marketing. “The Oscars are the great equalizer,” Beckman told the Wall Street Journal in 2012. “You don’t have to spend millions to reach millions, you look to a smaller group of people who know and like film. But you’ve got to start with something super.”
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