‘The Boy And The Heron’ Takes The Top Place In US Box Office With $10.7 Million Domestically

After last weekend’s surprise box office hit with Godzilla Minus One, this weekend has another Japanese feature dominating the box office, but not to as much surprise. Hayao Miyazaki’s newest film, The Boy And The Heron, opens to US markets this weekend. 

The Boy And The Heron, distributed in the states by GKIDS, is now the best opening the company has ever seen. Acclaimed director Miyazaki’s newest picture is looking to take home $10.7-$12 million domestically this weekend, with $5.56 million from Friday and preview shows. 

As Deadline points out, The Boy And The Heron received high praise, with a Cinemascore of A- and a 95% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. 38% of the overall gross thus far is taken up by PLF and IMAX screens, with AMC Boston Common ranking as the highest-grossing cinema in the nation for the film, with $39K. 

Similarly to last weekend, Hunger Games: Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes pulls into second place for the weekend. Different from last weekend, however, is how Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé is fairing. After taking the top spot last weekend, Beyoncé’s new concert film dropped by 74% this weekend, falling to fifth place. Comparing it to fellow concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, that film dropped by a somewhat similar amount of 64% in its second weekend. 

Third place this weekend goes to Godzilla Minus One again, after a week of breaking box office records for a live-action Japanese film in the US market, closing in on $30 million domestically after this weekend. Fourth goes to Trolls World Tour, with $6.2 million this weekend. 

The box office chart according to Deadline:

1. The Boy And The Heron (GKIDS) 3-Day $10.7M-$12M/ Wk 1
2. Hunger Games: Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes (LG) 3-Day $2.7 M/ Total $135.7M/ Wk 4
3. Godzilla Minus One (Toho) 3-Day $7.9M/ Total $24.9M/ Wk 2 
4. Trolls Band Together (DreamWorks) 3-Day $6,2M/ Total $83M/ Wk 4 
5. Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé (AMC) 3-Day $5.6M/ Total $28.6M/ Wk 2 
6. Wish (Dis) 3-Day  $5.4M/ Total $49.5M/ Wk 3 
7. Napoleon (App/Sony) 3-Day $4.1M/ Total $53M/ Wk 3
8. Animal (Cine) 3-Day $2.66M/ Total $11.9M/ Wk 2 
9. Waitress (BST) 3-Day $2.4M/ Total $3M/ Wk 1 
10. The Shift (Angel) 3-Day $2.2M/ Total $8.5M/ Wk 2