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Ghibli's The Wind Rises Earns US$306,000 on Opening Weekend

The Box Office Mojo website reports that Hayao Miyazaki's final film, The Wind Rises opened in limited release this weekend in 21 theaters with an estimated US$306,000. Those box office receipts gave the film a per-screen average of US$14,571, the second highest among all films in the United States this weekend (after Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me's US$15,000 average on two screens).

Disney released the film in North America, and Studio Ghibli International produced the English-language dub starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt with producer Frank Marshall (From Up On Poppy Hill, The Secret World of Arrietty, Ponyo).

The film is now playing in Landmark Theaters across the United States including Kendall Square Cinema in Boston, Century Centre Cinema in Chicago, The Landmark in Los Angeles, Lagoon Cinema in Minneapolis, Sunshine Cinema in New York, Hillcrest Cinemas in San Diego, Embarcadero Center Cinema and California Theatre in San Francisco, Tivoli Theatre in St. Louis, and Bethesda Row Cinema in Washington D.C. The film will get a wide release on February 28.

The film also played in New York and Los Angeles in November and in Santa Monica last month.

The Wind Rises won the Annie Award for Writing in an Animated Feature Production on February 1. The film is nominated in the Academy Awards' Best Animated Film category.

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip.