Miyazaki does China!

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

Chinese release of Japanese anime film classic is a box office hit 30 years on

• Screening of My Neighbor Totoro, three decades after its initial worldwide release, ranks second for cinema takings in China over the weekend
• The Hayao Miyazaki film from Studio Ghibli earned more than US$418,000 in three days

 

Quote

Depicting the magical encounters between two female siblings and wood spirits resembling giant chinchillas in post-war rural Japan, My Neighbor Totoro had taken more than 93.6 million yuan (US$418,000) by the end of Sunday. The heart-warming film sold more tickets than four new offerings – The Grinch, Searching, Running to the Spring and Padman.

 

My Neighbor Totoro is the first of Miyazaki’s film to receive a wide public release in China – it is showing in 6,000 cinemas. While Miyazaki’s films and his whimsical cinematic characters have regaled worldwide audiences for decades, the films have never had a widespread public release in China. A public relations executive for China Jash Film, the promoter of the film, told the Post they were only screened as academic releases before.

. . .

In China, two versions, one in the original Japanese and one dubbed into Mandarin, are available.

 

Edited June 27, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)