One year after the work “The Wind Rises” (Japanese title: Kaze Tachinu), renowned director Hayao Miyazaki brings to the screen a new film titled “The Boy and the Heron” (Japanese title: Kimitachi wa Dou Ikiru ka), which has become a focal point not only in Japan but across the globe.
Not Just the Final Film of Hayao Miyazaki
In 2013, director Hayao Miyazaki released “The Wind Rises,” a film about an aircraft designer during World War II. Subsequently, Hoshino Koji, the studio head of Studio Ghibli, indicated that the director would retire following this project.
However, during the Oscar Week event in 2017, producer Toshio Suzuki shared that director Miyazaki had returned to filmmaking. “The Boy and the Heron” became known as “the final film of Hayao Miyazaki,” and at the same time, it served as a farewell gift from him to his grandson. Recognized as the last film in the illustrious career of this legendary director, “The Boy and the Heron” has garnered substantial public attention.
Following a successful premiere in his home country of Japan, many sources reported in September that Miyazaki Hayao had found inspiration for a new project and was ready to return to work, despite being 82 years old. So, will “The Boy and the Heron” really be his last film? Audiences remain entirely delighted with this “legendary return.”
The Film Took 6 Years to Complete
In 2020, producer Toshio Suzuki announced that the film had been completed with a runtime of 36 minutes after more than three years of work. Previously, director Miyazaki typically directed around 7 – 15 minutes of film in a month, but during the production of “The Boy and the Heron,” he was only able to produce one minute of film per month. This was partly due to a change in work style, as Studio Ghibli employees could often leave by 8 PM each day. The cheerful staff jokingly mentioned that the time to leave became “longer than ever.”
By the end of 2020, it was reported that the film had been completed with a duration exceeding 125 minutes, and by 2023, the film was ready to premiere for audiences.
No Marketing Materials Used Aside from the Poster
In Japan, “The Boy and the Heron” has not utilized any marketing materials beyond a handcrafted poster featuring the heron. All information regarding the film, including its content, cast, and crew, has been kept entirely confidential until the premiere date.
The rationale behind this “no marketing” strategy, as shared by producer Suzuki, is, “I believe that nowadays, there is a lot of information about films released over time… And then I began to wonder, how would people think if a film had no promotional information at all? This is just my personal opinion, but in today’s time, having ‘no information’ can also be a form of entertainment.”
This unique strategy from Studio Ghibli has proven to be highly effective. Audiences have approached the film with an air of mystery, with great anticipation for director Miyazaki Hayao and the return of Studio Ghibli. The premiere of “The Boy and the Heron” in Japan has become an important cinematic event of the year, making the film particularly distinctive in its nature. If the marketing strategy for “The Boy and the Heron” is considered a gamble, then Studio Ghibli has certainly won a significant bet.
The film opened with 1.35 million tickets sold, exceeding 2.1 billion yen in revenue, and became the highest-grossing film in Ghibli’s history, surpassing even the legendary “Spirited Away.” Currently, the film has grossed 8.4 billion yen, ranking third among the highest-grossing films in Japan for 2023 and the highest among non-franchise works.
This unique marketing strategy, along with the success of a film that resonates with the artistic vision of director Hayao Miyazaki, has made the promotion of “The Boy and the Heron” in international markets particularly challenging. The film’s distributor in North America, GKIDS, shares that “The Boy and the Heron” poses the greatest marketing challenge for the company to date. They not only hope to bring the film to theaters across North America but also aim for the film to “find its audience.” With all these unique details, “The Boy and the Heron” is indeed a work destined for success in theaters by the end of this year.
THE BOY AND THE HERON – Vietnamese title: THIẾU NIÊN VÀ CHIM DIẾC – premieres on December 15.
