News
Miyazaki's Ponyo Brings in US$1.2 Million on Friday (Updated)
posted on by Egan Loo
The Box Office Mojo website reports that Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli's Ponyo anime film earned an estimated US$1,170,000 on its opening day in the United States. With 927 theaters screening it on August 15, the film release had an estimated per-screen average of US$1,262. On its first day, Ponyo is already the 10th highest grossing theatrical anime release in the United States. By comparison on their first day of release, Princess Mononoke (1999) earned US$24,401 on 38 theaters, Spirited Away (2002) earned US$125,272 on 26 theaters, and Howl's Moving Castle (2005) earned US$129,077 on 36 theaters.
The film's story follows an ordinary boy named Sosuke (Frankie Jonas in the English dub) and his friendship with Ponyo (Noah Cyrus), an unusual goldfish from the seas. The other English-language castmembers include Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Cloris Leachman, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, and Betty White. The Yahoo! Movies and Apple websites have been streaming the trailers.
Thank you to Soskyon for the news tip.
Image © 2008 Nibariki, GNDHDDT
© Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Update: Neill Blomkamp's District 9 film, which also opened in the United States on Friday, topped the box office chart with an estimated US$14,200,000.
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history