Netflix announced this week that Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron will make its international debut on the streaming platform later this year.
If you are a Studio Ghibli fan with a Netflix subscription, get ready to be excited! Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron will be coming to Netflix around the world outside of the U.S. and Japan as part of a deal announced this week. Additionally, the streamer secured a deal to bring 22 Studio Ghibli films as well. The U.S. made their own extension deal to keep the studio’s library on Max.
In the U.S., Max recently landed the streaming rights to the great animator Miyazaki’s semi-autobiographical fantasy film to become the exclusive streaming home for the films of Studio Ghibli. GKIDS, which handles North American distribution for Studio Ghibli, and Max signed a multiyear extension of their deal to keep the studio’s library on the Warner Bros. Discovery platform. However, it did not seem that they secured The Boy and the Heron for the platform.
While this deal was made for the U.S., Netflix reworked a worldwide agreement with Goodfellas and GKIDS to release Studio Ghibli films outside the U.S. and Japan. There has not been a premiere date for the Oscar award-winning and Golden Globe award-winning film The Boy and the Heron coming to the streamer. The film held a lot of significance as it was Miyazaki’s return to the big screen in 10 years. He directed it using his traditional hand-drawn style and adapted it from the novel by himself.
The Boy and the Heron earned over $85 million at the box office in Japan, opened the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with a world premiere, and then topped the North American box office chart on its opening weekend with a record-breaking $12.8 million. Netflix also picked up other Studio Ghibli titles like Miyazaki’s other Oscar award-winning Spirited Away along with Princess Mononoke, Arrietty, Kiki’s Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya.
Be sure to check our review of The Boy and the Heron. We wrote, “From windswept islands to the nuanced expressions of its characters, the film is a visual feast and stands next to the studio’s best work.”
