tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24969765.post116224030584508864..comments2024-03-19T02:27:08.584-05:00Comments on Ghibli Blog: Studio Ghibli, Animation and the Movies: Studio Ghibli's Domestic GrossesDaniel Thomas MacInneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01406180871529775448noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24969765.post-1162441635752332102006-11-01T22:27:00.000-06:002006-11-01T22:27:00.000-06:00Actually, 6.46 billion yen comes to around $54 mil...Actually, 6.46 billion yen comes to around $54 million. I'm just using the calculator on Windows and doing basic 'rithmatic, just so you know.<BR/><BR/>As I've said, these aren't numbers that should be set in stone. First, they haven't been adjusted for inflation, which would show larger numbers for the earlier pictures (there's a reason Nausicaa remains so popular). Second, I have read final numbers for Miyazaki's last three features that were higher than these, if only slightly. Saying that Mononoke broke $150m is more of a milestone than anything.<BR/><BR/>I don't want to become obsessed over box office returns. I think it's a horrible concept that has done more to destroy Hollywood over the past quarter-century than anything. And the rise of high-school gossip shows like Entertainment Tonight have conditioned the public to accept numbers as Gospel Truth.<BR/><BR/>Pauline Kael wrote the definitive piece on modern Hollywood called, "Why Are the Movies So Bad? Or, The Numbers." Reading, you begin to understand how destructive the current reign of profit-hungry conglomerates are to the movies.<BR/><BR/>My motive for showing Studio Ghibli's numbers is because of the recent Times article on Goro Miyazaki, which labeled Gedo Senki a disappointment, because it made "only" $60 million. Looking properly, we can see that the movie is an unqualified success, and any comparisons to Mononoke, Sen, and Howl are patently absurd and completely unfair. To judge by those standards, all American movies besides Gone With The Wind, Star Wars, E.T., The Ten Commandments, and The Sound of Music are failures.<BR/><BR/>I mean, hey, why couldn't your movie pull in $800 million? What's wrong with you?Daniel Thomas MacInneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01406180871529775448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24969765.post-1162424856627990062006-11-01T17:47:00.000-06:002006-11-01T17:47:00.000-06:00My trusty copy of Sengo Kinema Junpo might have th...My trusty copy of <I>Sengo Kinema Junpo</I> might have the box-office figures for <I>Whisper of the Heart</I> in it. Shall I go take a look?<BR/><BR/>I mentioned in the epilogue to my essay that <I>The Cat Returns</I> made 6.46 billion yen (source: <I>Sengo Kinema Junpo</I>) -- does that agree with the <I>Box Office Mojo</I> figure?Oliverhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15219572144160281548noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24969765.post-1162379162635148072006-11-01T05:06:00.000-06:002006-11-01T05:06:00.000-06:00I think it's also safe to say that Japanese audien...I think it's also safe to say that Japanese audiences wanted another movie like Mononoke. They wanted another Kurosawa action epic. Takahata went in the exact opposite direction.<BR/><BR/>There's a concern that the public is so enamoured with Miyazaki now, that they'll never accept anyone else. This is something Goro is learning the hard way, with Tales From Earthsea. It's hard to say.<BR/><BR/>I don't think the movie's episodic style would have been a hindrance. Most of the Ghibli films follow an episodic structure, although they're more tightly would together. Jarinko Chie is the closet the Yamadas, and that was a success - enough so to spawn a popular TV series.<BR/><BR/>I think what happened at the box office with Yamadas was just a combination of many factors. Again, it went up against Pokemon and Phantom Menace. I think even Miyazaki would have a fight on his hands under those conditions.Daniel Thomas MacInneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01406180871529775448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24969765.post-1162303298250777872006-10-31T08:01:00.000-06:002006-10-31T08:01:00.000-06:00I'd like to know the US grosses over time for My N...I'd like to know the US grosses over time for My Neighbor Totoro (I guess it would be US domestic sales of the DVD at this point; was the film ever theatrically released in the US?).<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I actually think it's kind of funny about My Neighbor the Yamadas. I personally love the film (it's one of my favorites), but its loosely episodic nature and its style were a gamble, I would think, for crowds looking for a linear, predominantly single plot-thread narrative structure. I can just imagine the reactions. :-) I wish they'd make more like it though!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com