‘Your Name’ Dethrones ‘Spirited Away’ to Become the Highest Grossing Anime Film of All Time

Makoto Shinkai’s masterful anime film “Kimi no Na wa” (“Your Name”) is now the highest grossing anime film ever, dethroning Studio Ghibli’s “Spirited Away”, which held the record for 15 years.

The impressive accomplishment comes after a record-breaking run not only in Japan but also around the world, grossing over ¥33.93 billion ($290 million) at the international box office, surpassing Hayao Miyazaki’s classic which raked in ¥32.96 billion ($289 million), reports Otakutale.

In Japan, domestic returns racked up a whopping ¥22.4 billion ($192.5 million), making it the country’s third all-time highest grossing movie.

The film also did well in China, earning ¥9.23 billion ($81 million) — the highest ever earning Japanese film in China.

South Korean moviegoers also contributed to the film’s massive success by adding in over ¥1.7 billion ($15 million) since its release in the country on January 4.

The film’s writer and director, Shinkai, has been called “The New Miyazaki” by several mainstream film reviewers. A longtime fan of the legendary Studio Ghibli filmmaker, he calls such comparisons an “overestimation.”

Although he began his directing stint in 1997, it was his work on the 2002 film “Voices of a Distant Star” where he was first noticed, winning several awards including the Animation Kobe award and the Seiun Award.

In 2007, he wrote, directed and produced the award-winning “5 Centimeters Per Second” and also worked on 2013’s “The Garden of Words”.

“Your Name”, Shinkai’s latest, has so far received critical acclaim for its breathtaking animation and engaging story. The film follows the story of teenagers Taki from Tokyo and Itomori from the countryside, who, due to a mysterious phenomenon, switch bodies at random points in time.

While currently released in international movie theaters, the film is still yet to be released in over 85 regions worldwide.

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