Hayao Miyazaki’s Retirement Pushes ‘The Wind Rises’ Toward $100 Million in Japan

TOKYO — Hayao Miyazaki‘s The Wind Rises took another $4.5 million at the Japanese box office on the weekend, up 13.6 percent over last week, when the director’s retirement was announced at Venice Film Festival, and taking its total to $97 million (9.7 billion yen) after two months at No. 1.

REVIEW: The Wind Rises (Kaze Tachinu)

Miyazaki held a press conference in Tokyo on Friday to confirm that The Wind Rises would be his last film and explain his reasons for retiring. With this being the last opportunity to see a Miyazaki animation on wide release in theaters, Japanese audiences can be expected to continue to flock to see it.

STORY: Japan’s Hayao Miyazaki Insists Decision to Retire Is Final

Harlock: Space Pirate, a $30 million 3D reimagining of Leiji Matsumoto‘s classic sci-fi manga Space Pirate Captain Harlock, opened in second place at the weekend, taking $1.3 million and knocking Man of Steel down to third place after it bowed at No. 2 last week. The Toei production, directed by Shinji Aramaki, looks like it will have to score well in the international markets it is aimed at in order to recoup its budget, which is huge by local standards.  

REVIEW: Harlock: Space Pirate

Sadako 3D 2, the latest release from The Ring horror franchise, rose one spot to fifth after a $1.6 million bow last weekend.

Monsters University dropped two places to seventh in its 10th weekend on the box office charts, while Star Trek Into Darkness fell to eighth on its third weekend.           

Twitter: @GavinJBlair