Forum - View topicNEWS: Ghibli's Princess Kaguya Opens in 3 U.S. Theaters With US$51,700
|
Goto page Previous 1, 2 Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cptn_Taylor
Posts: 925 |
|
|||||||
You should have written even Japanese fans don't really seem to give Ghibli the time of day beyond Miyazaki, to them Ghibli and Miyazaki are synonyms. Don't try to depict western fans, even arthouse cinema fans as ignorant when even the japanese public doesn't give a damn outside of Miyazaki movies. Do they even know there are other artists working at Studio Ghibli ? "Kaguya hime" was not a success in Japan. What does that say about them ? The fairy tale is certainly not obsure to the japanese, neither are the themes of the film. So why haven't they gone in droves to the theater to watch it ? |
||||||||
|
||||||||
mdo7
 Posts: 6264 Location: Katy, Texas, USA |
|
|||||||
I know, but you said and probably implied that this film would've failed if it didn't have Miyazaki's name on there. So as I said, if it has Studio Ghibli in there, it would sell. As I said, I've seen anime and feature films having a lot of advertising and commercial but can end up as box-office failure.
Really, is that right? I thought Princess Kaguya had a successful debut in Japan. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
badatgames
Posts: 1 |
|
|||||||
|
I was lucky enough to be able to watch this when it was at the Toronto International Film Festival.
It's fantastic. Easily Isao Takahata's best movie since Grave of the Fireflies and probably my favourite Ghibli movie since Spirited Away. When I saw it at TIFF, Takahata was even present to do Q&A after the movie, which was pretty sweet. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
GATSU
Posts: 15323 |
|
|||||||
|
mdo: I'm sure they know about Ghibli here, but it's not what sells. If the ads for Kaguya Hime said, 'From the director of Grave of the Fireflies', it would probably disappoint here. There's nothing wrong with the approach GKids used, if it helps Takahata get some wider recognition. But that's still the reality. And I'm saying that as a Takahata supporter. As for how Kaguya did in Japan, it had a good opening, but it still needs to make back the rest of its budget.
Last edited by GATSU on Wed Oct 22, 2014 12:51 am; edited 1 time in total |
||||||||
|
||||||||
Tenchi
 Posts: 4471 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
|
|||||||
Kaguya-hime debuted at number one, yes, but it had weak legs for a Ghibli film. It only got to around ¥2,313,602,733 (US$22,613,153) total box office. That's less than a third of what the latest Doraemon film has gotten so far, less than a fifth of what The Wind Rises earned, and less than a tenth of Frozen's monster Japanese gross. Kind of like how Godzilla (2014) opened in North America with an impressive $95 million but struggled to get to $200 million total (only barely inching past $200 million when it was making six-digit weekends in dollar theatres). That was a very underwhelming ~2.1 opening weekend multiplier, disappointing for what was expected to be one of 2014's biggest summer tentpoles. (Godzilla did pretty well in Japan, though, which may be obvious but Pacific Rim struggled there.) |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
GATSU
Posts: 15323 |
|
|||||||
|
Tenchi: Well, non-Emmerich Godzilla movies usually don't open that big here, anyway. They're just perceived as novelties that only kaiju geeks and children really enjoy. And even in Japan, Toho hasn't had a big hit with their own Godzilla in a long time. So, for them, they're probably happy that it's as good as they could ever get with a non-Transformers giant monster tearing shit up in Tokyo. And that it doesn't hurt their brand like that '98 thing. Could it have been bigger? Maybe, but again, there's a lot of competition. So, yeah, that's kind of a weak analogy, to compare it with Kaguya.
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
Jayhosh
 Posts: 972 Location: Millmont, Pennsylvania |
|
|||||||
|
Yeah, it's not that Kaguya didn't do well. It did decent at the Japanese box office I'd say. The problem is a decent run isn't good enough when you're the most expensive Japanese animated film to date.
And I agree, even if there is a bit of Miyazaki referencing in the advertising, I'm fine with it because any tactic that helps Takahata's work become more well known is okay in my eyes. I'm also a big supporter of the man. This could be his first truly "somewhat sorta kinda popular" film in the west. Even if it's just a small limited theatrical run, it's better than what I think all of his previous films got. I know that they've been screened at a few art house film festivals, but that's about it. I really cannot wait to finally watch this though. It looks so good, and Hisaishi even scored the film! I wish GKIDS had the rights to all of the Ghibli films. I know they take a bit longer and don't have as wide releases as Disney does, but at least they seem to somewhat care about their films. Unlike Disney, who just seem to kind of throw them out there under the radar as if they were nothing but a liability. At least give GKIDS the release rights to Only Yesterday. And I don't think anybody has Ocean Waves' rights over here. |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
GATSU
Posts: 15323 |
|
|||||||
|
Jay: Well, like I said, just hope that the good WOM and decent box office for Kaguya will finally convince GKids to nab the Ghibli holdovers, Only Yesterday and Ocean Waves. And no, Disney does have first dibs on those, but doesn't want 'em. They probably could've also distributed Kaguya and Poppy Hill themselves, but most likely didn't think they'd appeal to the Wal-Mart buyers they're targeting.
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group