Buzz
Surrounding Studio Ghibli's Latest Project are Plenty of Intriguing Stories about the Film's Production and Promotion.
Ten years after the film 'once considered the last' The Wind Rises, director Miyazaki Hayao brings to the silver screen a new film The Boy and the Heron, becoming the center of attention not only in his homeland Japan but also worldwide.
Another Film... Not Miyazaki Hayao's Last
In 2013, director Miyazaki Hayao released The Wind Rises, a film about an aircraft designer during World War II. Later, former president of Studio Ghibli - Hoshino Koji announced that the director would 'retire' after this project.
However, during the Oscar Week 2017 event, producer Suzuki Toshio shared that director Miyazaki had returned to filmmaking. The Boy and the Heron became 'Miyazaki Hayao's last film,' also a farewell gift to his grandson. Considered the last film in the illustrious career of the director, The Boy and the Heron attracted a lot of public attention.
Following the highly successful debut of the film in his homeland Japan, in September last year, numerous sources revealed that Miyazaki Hayao has found inspiration for a new project and is ready to return to work, despite now being 82 years old. Thus, The Boy and the Heron may continue... not his final film after all. However, the audience remains completely delighted with this 'trick'.
The film took 6 years to complete
In 2020, producer Suzuki Toshio announced that the film had completed 36 minutes of footage after more than three years of production. Previously, director Miyazaki typically directed about 7-15 minutes of footage in a month, but when working on The Boy and the Heron, he only produced 1 minute of footage per month. This is partly related to a reorganization of the working style, where Studio Ghibli employees could leave work at 8 p.m. every day. Staff humorously shared that leaving work on time every day made them 'more human' than ever.
At the end of 2020, there was information that the film had completed half of its journey in a total duration of 125 minutes, and by 2023, the film had been completed for release to the audience.
No promotional materials other than the poster were used
In Japan, The Boy and the Heron did not use any promotional materials other than a single hand-drawn poster of the heron bird. All information about the film including the plot, cast, production staff... was kept completely confidential until the premiere date.
Explaining the 'no promotion' marketing strategy, producer Suzuki shares: 'I think that currently, a lot of information about films is put out during the promotional period. [...] And then I started thinking, what if a film had no promotional information at all? This is just my personal thought, but in an age with so much information like now, 'no information' might also be a form of entertainment.'
Studio Ghibli's unique strategy has proven to be very effective. Audiences approached the film with curiosity, with absolute trust in director Miyazaki Hayao and admiration for Studio Ghibli. The debut of The Boy and the Heron in Japan has become a significant cinema event of the year, making the film truly special as it is. If the marketing strategy for The Boy and the Heron was a gamble, Studio Ghibli perhaps won big.
The film opened with 1.35 million tickets sold, surpassing the 2.1 billion yen mark in revenue and becoming the highest-grossing opening film in Ghibli history, surpassing even Spirited Away. Currently, the film has grossed 8.4 billion yen, ranking third among the highest-grossing films of 2023 in Japan and first among non-franchise works.
Studio Ghibli's unique marketing strategy, successful box office performance, and the stature of director Miyazaki Hayao have made promoting The Boy and the Heron in international markets a challenging task. The film's distributor in the US - GKIDS, shares that The Boy and the Heron could be the biggest marketing challenge they've ever faced. They not only aim to bring the film to theaters across North America but also hope the film 'finds the audience it deserves.' With all these special elements, The Boy and the Heron is truly a film worth experiencing in theaters this year-end.
THE BOY AND THE HERON - Vietnamese title: THIẾU NIÊN VÀ CHIM DIỆC - premieres on December 15th.
