Makoto Shinkai’s anime smash Your Name (Kimi no Na wa) has become the second-biggest-grossing Japanese film of all time, overtaking Hayao Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle with a ?19.95 billion ($197.5 million) 15-week run.
Your Name passed Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke (1997) last weekend, and is still going strong at the local box office, spending 12 weeks at No. 1 and three weeks at No. 2. It was in second place again this weekend, behind Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Miyazaki’s Oscar-winner Spirited Away is the highest-grossing film ever in Japan, domestic or imported, having pulled in around 30.4 billion yen ($300 million) in 2001. While Your Name may not reach that domestically, a strong overseas run could push it past Miyazaki’s classic in total worldwide earnings. Its $41 million opening in China over the weekend comfortably bested the bow of fellow anime Stand by Me Doraemon in 2015, which finished with around $100 million.
Much of Spirited Away‘s global earnings came after its Oscar triumph in 2002. Your Name is currently on a limited release in the U.S. to qualify it for consideration for next year’s best animation Oscar. Even if it doesn’t get an Oscar nomination, a big run in China (which wasn’t a significant market when Spirited Away was released), along with other territories, could still make Your Name the biggest Japanese film of all time worldwide.
Your Name is now the fifth-highest box-office earner ever in Japan, imported or domestic, and is on pace to pass Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which raked in 20.4 billion yen ($200 million) in 2001, before the end of the year.
(Dollar-to-yen values calculated at $1 = ?101, the rate when Your Name was released.)
