News
Arrietty Film Now 4th Highest-Grossing Anime Film in U.S.
posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
The Box Office Mojo website reports on Friday that Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Studio Ghibli's anime film The Secret World of Arrietty (Karigurashi no Arrietty) earned US$106,361 on Thursday, March 8 to give it a gross-to-date total of US$17,155,268, pushing it past the 2001 Pokémon 3 - The Movie's box office total of US$17,052,128. The Secret World of Arrietty is now the fourth highest-grossing anime film in the U.S. The film is currently ranked at #14 at the box office.
Here is how anime films have performed in the United States:
| Film | Lifetime Gross / Theaters | Opening Gross / Theaters | Opening Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pokémon: The First Movie | US$85,744,662 / 3,043 | US$31,036,678 / 3,043 | 11/10/99 |
| Pokémon 2000 - The Movie | US$43,758,684 / 2,752 | US$19,575,608 / 2,752 | 7/21/00 |
| Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie | US$19,765,868 / 2,411 | US$9,485,494 / 2,411 | 8/13/04 |
| The Secret World of Arrietty | US$17,155,268 / 1,522 | US$6,446,395 / 1,522 | 2/17/12 |
| Pokémon 3 - The Movie | US$17,052,128 / 2,675 | US$8,240,752 / 2,675 | 4/6/01 |
| Ponyo | US$15,090,399 / 927 | US$3,585,852 / 927 | 8/14/09 |
Last Thursday, Arrietty earned US$186,421 to give it a gross-to-date total of US$15,268,380, pushing it past Ponyo's box office total of US$15,090,399 and making it the highest-grossing Ghibli film in the U.S.
In his directorial debut, Yonebayashi re-imagines Mary Norton's 1952 novel The Borrowers by moving the story to a Tokyo suburb. The story revolves around Arrietty, a member of the "little people" who live under the floorboards of a regular human family's home. Arrietty's family tries to remain hidden from the human "beans." Walt Disney Pictures is giving the film the widest opening for a Studio Ghibli film in North America to date.
Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip.
